The POZ Awards spotlight the best representations of HIV/AIDS in media and culture. The POZ editorial staff selects the nominees, but the winners are voted most popular by POZ readers.

Eligibility is performed, published or accomplished between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2016. Deadline for voting has been extended past World AIDS Day, which is Thursday, December 1, by one week to Thursday, December 8.

UPDATE: VOTING IS NOW CLOSED!

CLICK HERE FOR THE WINNERS.

Here are the 2016 nominees for best literature, fiction:

Capsid: A Love Song

Comprised of eight prose poems meant to reflect the eight stages of the HIV life cycle, Joseph Osmundson’s Capsid reimagines the host-guest relationship between HIV and a person. If the person is a “host,” then HIV is a guest, but what kind of guest is HIV? 

Christodora: A Novel

Set on New York City’s Lower East Side, Tim Murphy’s Christodora spans several decades and touches myriad aspects of the epidemic: Lower East Side Latinos, the history of New York City bureaucracy, club culture, drug use and more. This complex novel, featuring beautifully-written and fully-developed characters, shows just how many lives HIV has touched — and all living under one roof.

Justin Chin: Selected Works

Born in Southeast Asia into a family of medical professionals, Justin Chin passed away from an AIDS-related illness in 2015. This collection of his poetry and short fiction explores his conception of the world as a set of dueling forces: sacred and profane, saints and sinners, health and illness, hope and despair, life and death.


The POZ Awards in Media and Culture

Read about the nominees:

Best Celebrity Advocate

Best in Film or Television

Best Actor or Actress in Film and Television

Best Documentary

Best Web Series

Best in Performing Arts

Best in Visual Arts

Best Literature, Fiction

Best Literature, Nonfiction

Best Journalism