Education
M.A., The College of William and Mary
B.A., Chatham College
Creative writing workshops and master classes with Fred Leebron, Margot Livesey, Rebecca Skloot, E.M. Broner, Linsey Abrams, Maureen Brady, Carol Emshwiller, David Freeman, and Robert McKee
Writing Honors and Awards
Gold Medal Winner, Northeast Region, Independent Book Publishers Awards, 2020
Literature Fellowship, North Carolina Arts Council North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, 2019-20
Creative Renewal Fellowship, Arts & Science Council, 2019-20
Finalist, Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction, 2018
Finalist, Foreword INDIES Award for LGBT Fiction, 2018
Finalist, Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Historical Fiction, 2018
Regional Artist Project Grant (made possible by the North Carolina Arts Council, the Blumenthal Endowment, and the arts councils in Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Union, and York counties), 2017
Finalist, Thomas Wolfe Fiction Award, 2016
Finalist, Prime Number Short Fiction Contest, 2015
Grant recipient, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, 2014
Grant recipient, Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation, 2007
Grant recipient, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, 2006
2nd Place, Professional Women in Entertainment Reaching Up Screenplay Competition, 2003
Honor, Best Books for the Teen Age, New York Public Library, 1997
Finalist, Lambda Literary Awards, 1994
Winner, Lambda Literary Awards, 1991
Finalist, Gay and Lesbian Book Award, American Library Association, 1991
Book Publications
Fiction:
Dear Miss Cushman (Bywater Books, forthcoming 2021)
Testimony (Bywater Books, 2021)
Clio Rising (Bywater Books, 2019). Gold Medal Winner, Northeast Region, Independent Book Publishers Awards, 2020
The Ada Decades (Bywater Books, 2017). Finalist, 2018: Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction; Foreword INDIES Award, LGBT Fiction; and Golden Crown Literary Society Goldie Award for Historical Fiction
Chicken. (Alyson Publications, 1997; reprint, Bella Books, 2001)
Home Movies. (Seal Press, 1993). Finalist, Lambda Literary Award, 1994
Out of Time. (Seal Press, 1990; second edition, 1999; e-book reprint, Bywater Books, 2012)
Winner, Lambda Literary Award, 1991; finalist, American Library Association Gay and Lesbian Book Award, 1991
Voyages Out: Short Fiction (Seal Press, 1989); finalist, Lambda Literary Award, 1990
Plus, short stories published in multiple anthologies; and in Main Street Rag, The Raleigh Review, Minerva Rising, Bloom, Sinister Wisdom, Conditions, and Art & Understanding, and others
Nonfiction:
The Queerest Places: A National Guide to Gay and Lesbian Historic Sites. (Henry Holt, 1997); alternate selection of the Quality Paperback Book Club
k.d. lang. Lives of Notable Gay Men and Lesbians young adult biography series; general editor, Martin Duberman. (Chelsea House, 1996); honor: New York Public Library Best Books for the Teen Age, 1997
Plus, essays in Hippocampus and Art & Understanding, among others
Edited Anthology:
The One You Call Sister: New Women’s Fiction (Cleis Press, 1989)
Dramatic Productions and Readings
“All Mapped Out,” 10-minute play. Full production at Estrogenius Festival, New York City, October 2010. Previous production:
• “A Celebration of Women Artists,” No Name Players, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2010. Director: Melissa Grande.
“Their Town,” full-length play. Full production at Rainbow Players Theater Company, Allentown, PA, February 2009. Previous productions:
• Full production at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, June 2007. Director: Adam Kukic.
• Seated reading at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, January 2007. Dramaturg: Ted Hoover.
• Seated reading at Sunday Night Live reading series, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2005. Dramaturg: Christopher Scott.
“Double Shot,” one-act play. Reading at Ganymede Arts Festival, Washington, D.C., September 2008. Previous production:
• Produced at Pittsburgh Pride Play Festival, June 2008.
“The Tenants,” monologue performed by Barbara Russell. Director: Lora Oxenreiter. “Womenscene: An Evening of Original Works about Women,” The Union Project, Pittsburgh, PA, May 2008.
“Bridge,” one-act play. Produced at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, September 2006. Director: Carter Redwood.
“I Won’t Dance, Don’t Ask Me,” one-act play. Produced by the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, as part of the Pittsburgh Pride Theatre Festival, June 2005. Director: Mark Clayton Southers.
“After Life,” one-act play. Produced by the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, as part of the Pittsburgh Pride Theatre Festival, June 2004. Director: Mark Clayton Southers.