1 6 ▁the ▁Committee ▁awarded ▁Alice ▁B ▁Lav ender ▁Cert ific ates ▁to ▁up - and - coming ▁authors ▁who ▁do ▁not ▁yet ▁have ▁a ▁body ▁of ▁work ▁but ▁who ▁have ▁published ▁a ▁remarkable ▁work ▁or ▁two ▁deser ving ▁of ▁notice . ▁W inners ▁of ▁the ▁certificate ▁received ▁an ▁honor arium ▁of ▁$ 5 0 . ▁After ▁ 2 0 1 6 , ▁the ▁Lav ender ▁Cert ificate ▁was ▁susp ended . ▁Due ▁to ▁the ▁over wh el ming ▁number ▁of ▁debut ▁writers , ▁the ▁Committee ▁was ▁no ▁longer ▁able ▁to ▁read ▁so ▁many ▁books . ▁ ▁Sign ific ance ▁of ▁the ▁Award ▁ ▁Histor ically , ▁les bi ans ▁have ▁rarely ▁had ▁their ▁voices ▁heard ▁in ▁the ▁fiction ▁or ▁non f iction ▁of ▁modern ▁society , ▁( except ▁perhaps ▁as ▁foot notes ▁in ▁medical ▁journ als ▁regarding ▁path ology ). ▁As ▁Ber tha ▁Harris , ▁author ▁of ▁many ▁nov els ▁including ▁L over , ▁once ▁wrote : ▁" B et ween ▁the ▁time ▁of ▁S app ho ▁and ▁the ▁birth ▁of ▁Natal ie ▁Cl iff ord ▁Bar ney ▁lies ▁a ▁' les bian ▁silence ' ▁of ▁twenty - four ▁centuries ." ▁It ▁wasn ' t ▁until ▁the ▁ 1 9 7 0 s ▁and ▁the ▁establishment ▁of ▁N ai ad ▁Press ▁( after ▁the ▁Stone wall ▁ri ots ▁in ▁ 1 9 6 9 ), ▁that ▁books ▁by , ▁for , ▁and ▁about ▁les bi ans ▁began ▁to ▁be ▁regularly ▁published . ▁Still , ▁it ▁was ▁a ▁long ▁hard ▁road ▁with ▁little