Dan Savage wins Webby Award for It Gets Better Project

June 3, 2011

, author of the sex , has won a  for his work on the. He started the project in 2010 to address a series of incidents of.

Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, co-edited a book featuring selections from the It Gets Better Project. The book, , includes a piece from Barack Obama – who also filmed a video for the online project. In both the book and the online project itself, individuals submitted contributions with messages of hope and optimism directed towards LGBT teenagers.

In an interview published Thursday with , Savage commented on his initial response when contacted by the to receive a video contribution from the President for the It Gets Better Project: "You could have knocked me over with a feather when the White House called and said the President would record a video. And they not only recorded a video, they were calling me to let me know and they were giving it to us first to release on the 'It Gets Better' website."

The Webby Award is presented anually by the, for excellence on the Internet. Savage was selected for recognition with a Special Achievement Award for his work on the It Gets Better Project. His project focuses on combatting bullying directed against teenagers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.