Award-winning author Martin Duberman’s Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS was named an Honor Book in Nonfiction at the 2015 Stonewall Book Awards, which are sponsored by the American Library Association and recognize exceptional books that relate to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.

A moving dual biography of two men fighting for their lives in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, Hold Tight Gently has been praised by academics, activists, and critics alike for its profound exploration of the intersection of race, sexuality, class, and identity and the politics of AIDS activism.