Firecracker Alternative Book Awards
The FABs were started in 1996 by a group of book industry professionals to celebrate and publicize the best in alternative publishing.

2002

Fiction :  This Too Can Be Yours by Beth Lisick

NonFiction :  Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Poetry :  Cunt-Ups by by Dodie Bellamy

Graphic Novel :  Palestine by Joe Sacco

Music :  We Owe You Nothing, Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews,  Daniel Sinker, editor

Art/Photo :  Devil's Advocate: The Art of Coop by Chris Cooper

Kids :  Little Lit: Strange Stories for Strange Kids by Art Spiegelman and  Francois Mouly, editors

Politics :  9-11 by Noam Chomsky

Sex :  Hardcore from the Heart: The Pleasures, Profits and Politics of Sex in Performance by Annie Sprinkle and Gabrielle Cody

Drugs :  Junkie Love by Phil Schoenfelt

Special Recognition :

Most Frantic Yet Deserving Campaign For A Spoken Word Award :
Why Things Burn: Poems by Daphne Gottlieb

2001

Fiction :  Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature by Neal Pollack

NonFiction :  The Strange Case of Edward Gorey by Alexander Theroux

Poetry :  Little Book of Ass  by Shappy & Sam Henderson

Graphic Novel :  Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware

Music :  Strange Fruit by David Margolick

Art/Photo :  This Is Blythe by Gina Garan

Kids :  The Real Rules for Girls by Mindy Morgenstern

Politics :  The Ralph Nader Reader by Ralph Nader

Sex :  Deviant Desires by Katharine Gates

Drugs :  Aunt Mary Jane's Baking With Pot by Mary Jane


2000

Fiction :  Po Man's Child by Marci Blackman

NonFiction :  The Future of History by Howard Zinn and David Barsamian

Poetry :  The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry edited by Alan Kaufman and S.A. Griffin

Graphic Novel :  My New York Diary by Julie Doucet

Music :  Fucked Up + Photocopied: Instant Art of the Punk Rock Movement edited by Bryan Ray Turcotte and E Bryan R. Turcott

Art/Photo :  From Girls to Grrrlz : A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines by Trina Robbins

Kids :  The Story of Colors/La Historia de los Colores: A Bilingual Folktale from the Jungles of Chiapas by Subcomandante Marcos, Anne Bar Din (translator), Domitilia Dominguez (Illustrator)

Politics :  No More Prisons by William Upski Wimsatt

Sex :  I was a Teenage Dominatrix by Shawna Kenney

Drugs :  High Times Presents Paul Krassner's Pot Stories for the Soul compiled by Paul Krassner

Special Recognition :

Books about Gap-Toothed Deceased Female Cartoonists with Smelly Dogs :
Dori Stories by Dori Seda

Best Propaganda Video Guide :
Mental Hygiene : Classroom Films 1945-1970 by Ken Smith 


1999

Fiction :  The Leather Daddy and the Femme: An Erotic Novel by Carol Queen

NonFiction :  Cunt: A Declaration of Independence by Inga Muscio

Poetry :  Burning in Paradise by Michael Madsen

Graphic Novel :  Street Posters & Ballads by Eric Drooker

Music :  Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground by Didrik Sderlind

Art/Photo :  The Beauty of Fetish by Steve Diet Goedde

Kids :  Facetasm: A Creepy Mix & Match Book of Gross Face Mutations by Charles Burns and Gary Panter

Politics :  Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion by Gary Webb

Sex :  Maurice Vellekoop's ABC Book: A Homoerotic Primer by Maurice Vellekoop

Drugs :  Steven Cerio's ABC Book: A Drug Primer by Steven Cerio

Self Improvement :  My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely by Kate Bornstein

Special Recognition :

Maybe Mr. Falwell Was Right :
Teletubbies: Dancing with the Skirt edited by Andrew Davenport

Maybe the NEA Was Wrong :
The Story of Colors/La Historia de los Colores: A Bilingual Folktale from the Jungles of Chiapas by Subcomandante Marcos, Anne Bar Din (Translator), Domitilia Dominguez (Illustrator)


1998

Fiction
Winner:  In Awe by Scott Heim
Nominees:

  • The Drag Queen of Elfland by Lawrence Schimel 
  • Henry Rollins: The First Five by Henry Rollins
NonFiction
Winner:  Ono Ono Girl's Hula by Carolyn Lei-Lanilau
Nominees:
  • Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by John Lee Anderson 
  • Not Wet Yet by Ian Shoales 
Poetry
Winner:  Queer Dog: Homo Pup Poetry, edited by Gerry Gomez Pearlberg
Nominees:
  • Bite Hard by Justin Chin
  • Voodoo and Doll Shoes by John Gurney 
Graphic Novel
Winner:  Minimum Wage: Book 2-- The Tales of Hoffman by Bob Fingerman
Nominees:
  • Dear Julia by Brian Briggs
  • Ghost World by Dan Clowes 
Music
Winner:  Monk, edited by Laurent de Wilde
Nominees:
  • All Ages: Reflections on Straight Edge by Beth Lahickey 
  • Janis Joplin: a Performance Diary, edited by David Dalton and John Cooke
Art/Photo
Winner:  Devil Babe's Big Book of Fun, edited by Isabel Samaras
Nominees:
  • The Art of the Fillmore by Gayle Lemke 
  • Dirty Boulevard by Tony Fitzpatrick
Kids
Winner:  In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers, edited by Javaka Steptoe
Nominees:
  • Open Me ... I'm a Dog! by Art Spiegelman 
  • Changing the Game: the Inside Stories of Tennis Champions Alice Marble and Althea Gibson by Sue Davidson
Politics
Winner:  The Zinn Reader by Howard Zinn
Nominees:
  • 20 Years of Censored News by Carl Jensen 
  • Censored 1998: The News That Didn't Make the News--The Year's Top 25 Censored News Stories by Peter Phillips
Sex
Winner:  The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women by Tristan Taormino
Nominees:
  • PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality, edited by Carol Queen and Lawrence Schimel 
  • Sex, American Style: An Illustrated Romp Through the Golden Age of Heterosexuality by Jack Boulware 
Drugs
Winner:  The Joint Rolling Handbook, edited by Richard Kemplay
Nominees:
  • Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts by Lynn Zimmer and John P. Morgan 
  • Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy by Cynthia Kuhn, et al. 
Special Recognition
Best Distraction from the E. Coli Blues :
Red Meat by Max Cannon 

 I Always Knew Kirk & Spock Were Lovers!
NASA/Trek: Popular Science and Sex in America by Constance Penley 

 'If I Didn't Do This I'd Kill People!'
Original Sin: The Visionary Art of Joe Coleman by Joe Coleman


1997

Fiction
Winner:  Distorture by Rob Hardin
Nominees:

  • The Sub by Jimmy Jazz
  • Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
NonFiction
Winner:  Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg
Nominees:
  • Surfer Grrrls by Laurel Gilbert and Crystal Kile 
  • A User's Guide to the Millennium by J. G. Ballard 
Poetry
Winner:  Home in Three Days. Don't Wash. by Linda Smukler
Nominees:
  • Bite Hard by Justin Chin 
  • Princess of Hollywood by Pleasant Gehman 
Graphic Novel
Winner:  Real Americans Admit: "The Worst Thing I've Ever Done!" by Ted Rall
Nominees:
  • Fax From Sarajevo by Joe Kubert
  • Illuminated Poems by Allen Ginsberg and Eric Drooker 
Music
Winner:  I Need More by Iggy Pop
Nominees:
  • Angry Women in Rock, edited by Andrea Juno 
  • Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain 
Art/Photo
Winner:  Nothing But the Girl, edited by Susie Bright and Jill Posener
Nominees:
  • Body Alchemy by Loren Cameron 
  • Dream Baby Dream by Stephanie Chernikowski 
Kids
Winner:  The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children edited by Davida Adedjouma
Nominees:
  • Girl Goddess #9 by Francesca Lia Block 
  • The World Out There: Becoming Part of the Lesbian and Gay Community by Michael Thomas Ford
Politics
Winner:  Censored 1997: The News That Didn't Make the News: The Year's Top 25 Censored News Stories by Peter Phillips and Project Censored

Nominees:

  • Corporations Are Gonna Get Your Mama, edited by Kevin Danaher 
  • Death Blossoms by Mumia Abu-Jamal 
Sex
Winner:  The Guide to Getting It On! by the staff of Goofy Foot Press
Nominees:
  • Once Upon a Time: Erotic Fairy Tales for Queer Women, edited by Michael Ford 
  • Susie Bright's Sexual State of the Union by Susie Bright 
Drugs
Winner:  Everything I Know I Learned on Acid, edited by Coco Pekelis
Nominees:
  • The Sacred Mushroom Seeker, edited by Thomas J. Riedlinger 
  • Why Marijuana Should Be Legal by Ed Rosenthal 
Special Recognition
This Ain't Yer Family's Photo Album : 
Death Scenes by Katherine Dunn and Sean Tejaratchi

Don't Cook With Your Mouth Full :
Intercourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook by Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge


1996

Fiction :  A Void, by Georges Perec, translated by Gilbert Adair

NonFiction :  Censored: The News that Didn't Make the News--and Why by Carl Jensen and Project Censored

Poetry :  In Defense of Mumia, edited by S.E. Anderson & Tony Medina

Graphic Novel :  The Narrative Corpse, edited by Art Spiegelman & R. Sikoryak

Music :  Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag by Henry Rollins

Politics :  Race for Justice: Mumia Abu-Jamal's Fight Against the Death Penalty, by Leonard Weinglass

Sex :  Breathless: Erotica by Kitty Tsui

Drugs :  Pharmako/Poeia : Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft by Dale Pendell

Special Recognition

Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash
Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes by Peter Lamborn Wilson

Kool Kids
Marco Solo, by James Schwinn and Gail Harlow

Cemetery Art
Saving Graces: Images of Women in European Cemeteries by David Robinson


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