Dorothy Allison (2019 Medal Winner) is a novelist, poet, story writer, essayist, professor, editor, and mentor to many. Her most famous novel, Bastard Out of Carolina, has been translated into more than a dozen languages and was a finalist for the 1992 National Book Award. The novel won the Ferro Grumley prize, an ALA Award for Lesbian and Gay Writing, and became a best seller and award-winning movie. Her collection of stories, Trash, won two Lambda Literary Awards and the American Library Association Prize for Lesbian and Gay Writing. In 2018 she was inducted as a Trailblazer to the Golden Crown Literary Society, joining a select few authors who have made a huge impact on the lesbian reading and writing community. Dorothy grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, the first child of a fifteen-year-old unwed mother who worked as a waitress. She was the first member of her family to graduate from high school, then attended Florida Presbyterian college on a National Merit Scholarship and studied anthropology at the New School for Social Research. Now living in Northern California with her partner Alix and her son, Wolf Michael, she describes herself as a feminist, a working class story teller, a Southern expatriate, a sometime poet, and a happily born-again Californian. To find out more about Dorothy and her writing, visit her website.

Lynn Ames (2020 Medal Winner), the founder of Phoenix Rising Press, is the best-selling author of multiple works of fiction which have garnered six Goldie awards, the coveted Ann Bannon Popular Fiction Award (for All That Lies Within), the Arizona Book Award for Best Gay/Lesbian book, and several Rainbow Reader Awards. Lynn is a two-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award finalist, and a Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards Honorable Mention winner. She also is the writer/director/producer of the history-making documentary, “Extra Innings: The Real Story Behind the Bright Lights of Summer,” which chronicles the real-life story of Hall-of-Famer Dot Wilkinson and the heyday of women’s softball. Lynn is a former press secretary to the New York state senate minority leader and spokesperson for the nation’s third-largest prison system. She worked as an award-winning broadcast journalist and has been editor of a critically acclaimed national magazine. As a nationally recognized speaker and public relations professional, she has particular expertise in image, crisis communications planning, and crisis management. She now lives with her wife, Cheryl Pletcher, and their various fur kids in Asheville, North Carolina.To find out more about her, visit her at website.

Robin Alexander (2013 Medal Winner) is the author of the Goldie Award-winning Gloria's Secret and many other novels for Intaglio Publications. Robin spends her days working with the staff of Intaglio Publications and her nights with her own writings. She still manages to find time to spend with her menagerie of dogs and cats. You can find out more about Robin's work at her website.

Carol Anshaw (2015 Medal Winner) - Carol Anshaw is the author of the novels Carry the One, Lucky in the Corner, Seven Moves, and Aquamarine. Her books have won the Carl Sandburg Award, the Ferro-Grumley Award, and the Society of Midland Authors Award. Her stories have appeared in Tin House, Granta Online, New Ohio Review and three times in Best American Short Stories. Anshaw is a past fellow of the NEA and Illinois Arts Council. For her book criticism she was awarded the NBCC Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. She is a professor in the MFA in Writing program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Anshaw is also a painter. In 2012, Rockford University put up a show of her biographical paintings of Vita Sackville-West and her lovers.To learn more about Carol, please visit her website.

Kim Baldwin (2008 Medal Winner) is the author of five novels published by Bold Strokes Books: Hunter's Pursuit, a 2005 Golden Crown Literary Award finalist; Whitewater Rendezvous, a 2007 Golden Crown Literary Award finalist; Force of Nature; and the 2007 releases Flight Risk and Focus of Desire. Her sixth novel, co-authored with Xenia Alexiou, is the first book in the Elite Operatives Series, the intrigue/romance Lethal Affairs (July, 2008). Kim has also contributed stories to four books in the BSB Erotic Interlude Series: Stolen Moments, Lessons in Love, Extreme Passions, and Road Games. A network news journalist for twenty years before she begain writing fiction, she lives in a cabin in the north woods of Michigan and takes to the road with her laptop and camera whenever possible. You can find out more about Kim's work at her website.

Ann Bannon (2008 Medal Winner) has been called "The Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction" for her landmark Beebo Brinker Chronicles, a series of five original paperback novels published by Gold Medal Books about young lesbians in pre-Stonewall Greenwich Village from 1957-1962. For an entire generation of readers, these stories provided the first representation in literature of women loving women. Bannon and others helped to end the isolation and ignorance that had kept thousands of lesbians in virtual prisons, and pave the way for the new generation of lesbian writers who were to follow. With their colorful covers, their coded blurbs ("twilight," "strange," "shadows," "secret," "odd," "evil," and "warped"), and their lively, passionate heroines, Bannon's books were quickly snatched from drugstore shelves. From the shy, smoldering Laura to the buccaneering young butch, Beebo herself, the series attracted a devoted following of women hungry to find themselves and their sexuality validated. Back in the repressive Fifties and Sixties, it was literally a lifesaver for many readers. And now "The Beebo Brinker Chronicles" is a New York play presentation! Written by Kate Moira Ryan and Linda Chapman, it is following its initial success in Fall 2007 with a new off-Broadway run starting in February 2008. No one is more delighted than Ann herself at the durability and appeal of these stories from long ago. That they should have inspired such an affectionate and witty rendering in the new millennium is more than any author dare hope for, and Ann is grateful to everyone who made it possible. You can find out more about Ann's work at her website.

Alison Bechdel (2007 Medal Winner), the writer of the comic strip "Dykes To Watch Out For," has become a countercultural institution since it began in 1983. The strip is syndicated in dozens of newspapers, translated into several languages and collected in a series of award-winning books. Utne Magazine has listed DTWOF as "one of the greatest hits of the twentieth century." And Comics Journal says, "Bechdel's art distills the pleasures of Friends and The Nation; we recognize our world in it, with its sorrows and ironies." In addition to her comic strip, Bechdel has also done exclusive work for a slew of publications, including Ms., Slate, The Village Voice, The Advocate, Out, and many other newspapers, websites, comic books, and Ezines. In 2006, Houghton Mifflin published her graphic memoir, Fun Home: FamilyTragicomic. The bestselling coming-of-age tale has been called a "mesmerizing feat of familial resurrection and a rare, prime example of why graphic novels have taken over the conversation about American literature." Fun Home was named "best book of the year" by TIME magazine. Bechdel lives near Burlington, Vermont, and you can find out more about her work at her website.

Georgia Beers (2023 Medal Winner) is an award-winning author who has written more than thirty novels of sapphic romance. She resides in a cute little townhouse in upstate New York with a cat, a dog, and a wide array of houseplants. When not writing, she searches for a good scary movie, explores the worlds of wine, cocktails, and tea, and pictures various faces on the heavy bag when she boxes. She is currently hard at work on her next book. To find out more about Georgia’s work, please visit her website.

Saxon Bennett (2012 Medal Winner) is a voracious reader and a compulsive writer. She is the author of Date Night Club, Back Talk, and Goldie winner Family Affair among many others. She has written thirteen novels to date and has no plans on stopping anytime soon. You can find out more about Saxon's work at her website.

S. Renée Bess (2019 Medal Winner) is the author of five novels and various short stories. A former teacher, Renée began writing in earnest after her short story, “At the Beauty Parlor,” won first place in a Philadelphia area literary contest. Her novels, Leave of Absence, Breaking Jaie, RE:Building Sasha, The Butterfly Moments, and The Rules have transitioned from romance to general dramatic fiction. With Lee Lynch, Renée co-curated Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars, an anthology of short fiction, memoirs, and poetry which won the Golden Crown Literary Society’s 2018 Anthology Award. Renée remains committed to writing stories that include diverse characters, cogent social themes, and well-crafted language. To find out more about Renée and her writing, visit her website.

Melissa Brayden (2017 Medal Winner) is a multi-award winning romance author with eight novels published with Bold Strokes Books. She is currently hard at work on her next novel and embracing the full-time writer’s life in San Antonio, Texas. Melissa is married and working really hard at remembering to do the dishes. For personal enjoyment, she spends time with her Jack Russell Terriers and checks out the NYC theater scene several times a year. She considers herself a reluctant patron of spin class, but would much rather be sipping wine and staring off into space. Coffee is her very best friend. To learn more about Melissa, visit her website.

Gun Brooke (2009 Medal Winner) lives in a Viking era village in Sweden together with her small, tightly knit family. In love with the English language, she writes her novels and maintains her web site full time, when she isn't working and playing with her beloved grandchildren and her dogs. A three-time Golden Crown Literary Society Award winner and shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award for her novel Sheridan's Fate, Gun has written three contemporary romance novels (Course of Action, Coffee Sonata, and Sheridan's Fate) and also three novels in the Supreme Constellations series which takes place some three-hundred years in the future (Protector of the Realm, Rebel's Quest, and Warrior's Valor). Gun is currently editing her fourth romance, September Canvas, due to be released June 2009. She has also written several short stories for erotica and romance anthologies for Bold Strokes Books and Alyson Books. When asked where she finds all her storylines, Gun confesses that finding them is the easy part, it's choosing between the multitude of characters in her head demanding attention that's hard. You can find out more about Gun's work at her website.

Jessie Chandler (2022 Medal Winner) is the author of seven novels, including the humorously suspenseful Shay O’Hanlon Caper Series, and a bunch of short stories—usually involving her series characters—in various anthologies. Her crime fiction has garnered a Lambda Literary finalist nod, three Golden Crown Literary Awards, three USA Book Awards, one American Fiction Book Award, and an Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY). Fall and winter finds her feverishly writing, and she spends springtime knee deep in edits and revisions. For many years, she has mentored, encouraged, and critiqued aspiring writers. Summers are spent selling books, T-shirts, Pride flags, and other assorted trinkets to unsuspecting conference and festivalgoers. She lives in Minnesota during the summer and in Oregon the rest of the year. To find out more about Jessie’s work, please visit her website.

Cate Culpepper [1957 - 2014] (2008 Medal Winner) is the author of the Tristaine Series (The Clinic, Battle for Tristaine, Tristaine Rises, and Queens of Tristaine) about a modern-day Amazon clan and published by Bold Strokes Books. The second book in the series, Battle for Tristaine, won a 2004 Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Speculative Fiction. A Tristainian short story will appear in a 2008 romance anthology from Bold Strokes. Cate Cate resided in the Pacific Northwest and she supervised a transitional housing program for homeless young gay adults before her long battle with cancer which ultimately took her life in late 2014. You can find out more about Cate's work at her website.

Fletcher DeLancey (2019 Medal Winner) is the author of many novels, short stories, and fan fiction. She is an Oregon expatriate who left her beloved state when she met a Portuguese woman and had to choose between home and heart. She chose heart. Now she lives in the sunny Algarve and is retraining her green thumb from wet Oregon gardening to survive-a-Mediterranean-summer gardening (and thinks about writing a new book: How I Learned to Love Succulents). She is best known for her science fiction/fantasy series, Chronicles of Alsea, which has so far collected an Independent Publisher's Award, a Golden Crown Literary Society Award, a Rainbow Award, and been shortlisted twice for a Lambda Literary Award. Fletcher believes that women need far more representation in science fiction and fantasy and takes great pleasure in writing immersive tales where women not only head up the action, but also burst with so much life that they leap off the page. Her day is made every time another reader says, “I didn’t think I liked science fiction, but then I read yours.” To find out more about Fletcher and her writing, visit her website.

Lauren Wright Douglas (2008 Medal Winner) is the author of seven books in the Caitlin Reece mystery series (A Tiger's Heart, The Always Anonymous Beast, Goblin Market, Chasing the Shadow, The Daughters of Artemis, A Rage of Maidens, and Ninth Life); two books in the Alison O'Neil series (Death At Lavender Bay, Swimming Cat Cove); a post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel, In The Blood; and a romance, Osten's Bay (originally written under the pen name of Zenobia N. Vole). Lauren was born in 1947 to a military family in Canada. She spent most of her adolescence in Europe before returning to Ottawa to attend University. Following that she taught high school English for several years before taking up writing. She's well-known for the work helping animal welfare groups with grant-writing and fundraising. She does not maintain a website or contact page for reader contact at this time.

Sarah Dreher [1937 - 2012] (2005 Medal Winner) was best known for her award-winning Stoner McTavish mystery series. Born in Pennsylvania in 1937, she died in April 2012 in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she had lived since 1965. Dreher was a talented clinical psychologist, playwright, novelist, and speaker. She published nine books including the seven-book Stoner McTavish series, a book of five plays called Lesbian Stages, and a romance novel set in pre-Stonewall days called Solitaire and Brahms. Sarah was an active participant in all aspects of the women's movement. As a clinical psychologist specializing in women’s issues and dream analysis, she also co-founded a local nonprofit organization focused on improving the quality of life for the most disadvantaged population in Springfield, MA. Sarah loved animals, especially dogs. She gardened avidly, and for peace and rejuvenation, she spent quiet time at her cabin in the wilds of the Berkshires with the resident bear and coyotes. Sarah had a finely-tuned sense of humor. On her website, she wrote: "In 1997, at the age of 60, I was diagnosed with Adult Attention Deficit Disorder, which is why I sometimes forget to answer my mail. I've recently taken up the practice of Core Shamanism. On a more personal level, I'm an Aries (March 26, 1937), born in Hanover, Pennsylvania. It's a good place for a lesbian to be from as it creates a driving and life-long ambition to Get And Stay The Hell Out Of There. Graduated from Wellesley College in the same class as Miss Manners. They wanted to throw me out for being a lesbian, but cooler heads prevailed." During her 75 years, Sarah Dreher made a great deal of difference in the lives of others, both in person and in through her writing. Her website is not maintained, but as of 2021 is still located here.

Erin Dutton (2011 Medal Winner) is the author of six romance novels with Bold Strokes Books. She is eagerly anticipating the release of her seventh, Reluctant Hope, in June 2011. She has also contributed to the erotica anthology, Erotic Interludes 5: Road Games, as well as to BSB's Romantic Interludes books: Discovery and Secrets. She recently revisited one of her favorite couples from her novel A Place to Rest in the anthology Breathless: Tales of Celebration. Erin has been making up stories for as long as she can remember, and, in 2007, was given the incredible opportunity to become a published author. She enjoys the challenge of creating new characters and is proud to contribute to the community of authors who have entertained her for years. You can find out more about work at her website.

Jane Fletcher (2009 Medal Winner) is a Golden Crown Literary Society award-winning writer and has been short-listed for the Gaylactic Spectrum and Lambda awards. She is author of two ongoing sets of fantasy/romance novels: the Celaeno series (The Walls of Westernfort, Rangers at Roadsend, The Temple at Landfall, Dynasty of Rogues and Shadow of the Knife) and the Lyremouth Chronicles (The Exile and The Sorcerer, The Traitor and The Chalice, The Empress and The Acolyte, and The High Priest and the Idol, due out July 2009). Her love of fantasy began at the age of seven when she encountered Greek Mythology. This was compounded by a childhood spent clambering over every example of ancient masonry she could find (medieval castles, megalithic monuments, Roman villas). Her resolute ambition was to become an archaeologist when she grew up, so it was something of a surprise when she became a software engineer instead. Born in Greenwich, London in 1956, she now lives in south-west England where she keeps herself busy writing both computer software and fiction, although generally not at the same time. You can find out more about Jane's work at her website.

Katherine V. Forrest (2005 Medal Winner) is the internationally known author of 15 works of fiction, including the lesbian-feminist utopian trilogy that began with Daughters of the Coral Dawn and the Kate Delafield mystery series, which is a three-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award and was the very first novel in the American lesbian mystery genre. She has also written a number of romance and science fiction novels, and her romance A Curious Wine is considered a classic of American lesbian literature.. She has edited numerous anthologies, and her stories, articles, and reviews have appeared in publications worldwide. She was senior editor at Naiad Press for ten years, and continues to edit as well as teach classes in the craft of fiction. She was a recipient of the Lambda Literary Foundation's Pioneer Award and lives with her partner in San Francisco. You can find out more about her work at her website.

Catherine Friend (2010 Medal Winner) Catherine Friend farms in Minnesota with her partner of twenty-four years. The award-winning author of six children's books, two nonfiction books, and three romantic adventure novels, Catherine would rather write than wrangle sheep, but is proud she can do both. She shares her life with between fifty and one hundred sheep, three llamas, two dogs, two cats, and lots of ducks and chickens. She has a B.A. in Economics and Spanish, and a M.S. in Economics, neither of which she has used for years. She has held an impressive array of odd jobs, such as working in bookstores, packing cheese and sausage gift boxes, weeding on an organic vegetable farm, and working an assembly line packing boxes of Christmas decorations. For many years she taught writing for the Institute of Children's Literature, then worked as a freelance editor. She currently gives writing workshops, volunteers on the local library board, does chores on the farm, is afraid of geese, and wears an Elvis watch. You can find out more about Catherine's work at her website.

Jennifer Fulton (2006 Medal Winner) grew up in New Zealand and now lives in the Midwest with her partner and a menagerie of animals. Jennifer began publishing with the Naiad Press fifteen years ago and is the author of twelve novels under three pen names: Jennifer Fulton, Rose Beecham, and Grace Lennox. Her book trade experience dates back twenty years: starting out as a librarian, she became a bookstore owner, literary critic, editor, author, screenwriter, and teacher of writing. In 2005 Jennifer added two new works to her acclaimed Moon Island romance series: The Sacred Shore and Guarded Heart and also kicked off a new thriller/romance series with Dark Dreamer. As Rose Beecham, she published Grave Silence, the first in a new mystery series featuring a Colorado county Sheriff's detective, Jude Devine. Not content with four new novels, Jennifer added Chance, written as Grace Lennox. She describes this as a contemporary story of a young woman's quest for a new life as "lesbian chick-lit." No matter what pen name she uses, Jennifer's writing is always fresh, witty, and thought provoking. She says of her work, "my first aim is always to provide top notch entertainment to my readers." RCE's Yellow Rose Books and Bold Strokes Books publish Jennifer's work and you can find out more about her at her website.

Camarin Grae (2022 Medal Winner) is the author of eight novels and a three-time Lambda Literary Award nominee. Marian Grace used the pen name Camarin Grae (an anagram of her name) because of prejudice against lesbians at the time and especially because of being employed at a Catholic university. She originally published several of her books through a press she established called Blazon Books, then later was published by Naiad Press. Marian was married for ten years and had one daughter who she lost custody of during her divorce because, as the patriarchal judge said, she rode around on a motorcycle, held religion in low regard, was raising her daughter to be independent, associated with “known homosexuals” and may have been one herself, and planned to continue her graduate studies while being a mother. Marian received a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois-Chicago then worked at a university counseling center for most of her career. She volunteered at a women's crisis line in Chicago and was active in several feminist groups. Marian finally left Chicago in 2000 when she retired and moved to a lively, supportive, lesbian community in Florida. Currently, she focuses on making digital photoart collages and creating sculptural art figures of women using cardboard, twigs, and fabric. Her writing now is restricted to taking notes on the many non-fiction books she reads as she continues to learn more about this horrible, wonderful world in which we live. To find out more about Camarin’s work, please visit her page at wikipedia.

Nicola Griffith (2009 Medal Winner) is a native of Yorkshire, England, where she earned her beer money teaching women's self-defense, fronting a band, and arm-wrestling in bars before discovering writing and moving to the US. Her immigration case was a fight and ended up making new law: the State Department declared it to be "in the National Interest" for her to live and work in this country. This didn't thrill the more conservative powerbrokers, and she ended up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, where her case was used as an example of the country's declining moral standards. In 1993 a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis slowed her down a bit, and she concentrated on writing. Her novels are Ammonite (1993), Slow River (1995), The Blue Place, (1998), Stay (2002), and Always (2007). She is the co-editor of the Bending the Landscape series of original short fiction published by Overlook. Her non-fiction has appeared in a variety of print and web journals, including Out, Nature, and The Huffington Post. Her awards include the Tiptree Award, the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Lambda Literary Award (six times). Her latest book is a memoir, And Now We Are Going to Have a Party: Liner Notes to a Writer's Early Life. She lives in Seattle with her partner, writer Kelley Eskridge, and takes enormous delight in everything. You can find out more about Nicola's work at her website.

Ellen Hart (2005 Medal Winner) After spending twelve years as a kitchen manager at a large sorority in the Midwest, it was either do the real thing or commit murder on paper. Hence, Ellen Hart became a crime writer. Since 1989, she has penned twenty-three mysteries in two different series. Ellen is a five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery, a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Crime & Detective Fiction, and a two-time winner of the Golden Crown Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery/Adventure. Entertainment Weekly has named her one of one-hundred-and-one "movers and shakers in the gay entertainment industry." She teaches mystery writing through the The Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation, and lives in Minneapolis with her partner of twenty-nine years. You can find out more about her work at her website.

Penny Hayes (2018 Medal Winner) is the author of numerous Western-themed novels and is credited with single-handedly creating the genre of the lesbian western, starting with her 1986 novel The Long Trail. She is also the author of Grassy Flats, Yellowthroat, Omaha's Bell, Kathleen O'Donald: A Novel, City Light, Country Candles, The Tomstown Incident, and Now and Then. To find out more about Penny and her writing, visit her publishers website.

Cheryl A. Head (2022 Medal Winner) is the author of six mystery novels and an historical novel. She has twice been shortlisted for Lambda Literary Awards. Her Charlie Mack Motown Mystery Series features a kick-ass Black, lesbian private investigator from Detroit. The series has been short-listed by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, recorded in the Detroit Public Library African American Book List, and installed in the Michigan State Library collection. Cheryl’s novel Long Way Home: A World War II Novel (2014) about black service men and women of World War II was a two-time finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Head was named to the Hall of Fame of the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in 2019 and awarded the 2020 Golden Crown Literary Society’s Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. She lives in Washington, DC, with her partner, Teresa, and Abby & Frisby who provide canine supervision. To find out more about Cheryl’s work, please visit her website.

Fran Heckrotte (2011 Medal Winner) lives in the Sunny South with her husband, three dogs, Boris, Sophie and Skipper, three koi, several goldfish and a yard full of moles and occasional snakes. A few of her life experiences include living in Alaska for three years, goldpanning, bull riding, scuba diving, flying, training gaited horses, and motorcycling. After spending five years in law enforcement, she switched to construction and eventually real estate. She now owns a small property management company. Her hobbies include water gardening, landscaping, photography, and skiing in Montreal. She credits her best friend for encouraging her writing. Fran loves interacting with readers and authors.You can find out more about work at her website.

Peggy J. Herring (2004 Medal Winner) lives on 7 acres in south Texas with her cockatiel, hermit crabs, 2 wooden cats and several chickens. When she isn't writing, Peggy enjoys traveling. She is the author of Once More With Feeling, Love's Harvest, Hot Check, A Moment's Indiscretion, Those Who Wait, To Have and to Hold, Calm Before the Storm, The Comfort of Strangers, Beyond All Reason, Distant Thunder, White Lace and Promises, Midnight Rain, and Shelter From the Storm. Her next romance is titled All That Glitters and should be released in the fall of 2007. Her current project is a romance titled Forsaking All Others to be released in 2008. You can contact Peggy through Bella Books, her publisher.

Gerri Hill (2007 Medal Winner) has published multiple works, including Lambda finalists Gulf Breeze and Artist's Dream, and GCLS finalist Hunter's Way. She is published by Bella Books, and has three titles, The Target, The Cottage, and In the Name of the Father - a sequel to Hunter's Way - scheduled for release in 2007. She began writing lesbian romance as a way to amuse herself while snowed in one winter in the mountains of Colorado, and hasn't looked back. Her first published work came in 2000 with One Summer Night. Hill's love of nature and of being outdoors usually makes its way into her stories as her characters often find themselves in beautiful natural settings. When she isn't writing, Hill and her longtime partner, Diane, can be found at their home in East Texas, where their vegetable garden, orchard, and five acres of woods keep them busy. They share their lives with two labs, Max and Zack, and an assortment of furry felines. You can find out more about her work at her website.

Jae (2021 Medal Winner), is the best-selling author of twenty-one romance novels between women as well as numerous short stories. Her books have won a total of thirty-seven awards, among them several GCLS Literary Awards, eLit Awards, IPPY Awards, and Rainbow Awards. She lives in Freiburg, the sunniest city in Germany, where her novel Paper Love is set. The writing bug bit her at the age of eleven. She used to work as a psychologist but gave up her day job in 2013 to become a full-time writer and a part-time editor. When she’s not working on her own novels, she’s mentoring new writers or editing their manuscripts in her role as Ylva Publishing’s senior editor. As far as she’s concerned, getting to work with books is the best job in the world. In her spare time, Jae is an avid reader, indulges her ice cream and stationery addictions, and watches way too many crime shows. To find out more about Jae’s work, please visit her website.

Barbara G. Johnson (2018 Medal Winner) is an author, editor, and resident of Maryland. With German as a first language and a childhood steeped in homophobic and misogynistic messages, Barbara did not seem destined to become a bestselling author of lesbian novels, short stories, and novellas. Her first serious attempt at writing came at age 10, when she wrote an award-winning essay entitled "What It Means to Me to Be a Good Catholic." Her second effort, at age 20, was a tad more controversial—a semi-autobiographical, coming-out novel for a creative writing class at a university that in 1976 still refused to recognize the student LGBT group. Naiad Press published Barbara’s first novel, the Regency romance Stonehurst, in 1992. She then went on to write lesbian mystery and romance novels, short stories, and novellas, as well as edit anthologies, some of which are still available from Bella Books. Several of her short stories are available in e-story format. Barbara does not have a personal website, but you can visit her publisher’s site at publisher's website.

Jennifer L. Jordan (2008 Medal Winner) is the author of the Lambda Literary Award-nominated Kristin Ashe Mystery Series published by Spinsters Ink (A Safe Place to Sleep, Existing Solutions, Commitment to Die, Unbearable Losses, Disorderly Attachments, and Selective Memory). Her seventh in the series, If No One is Looking, will be released in fall 2008. Self-employed since the age of twenty-one as a marketing consultant, Jennifer has taught thousands of women how to start and run their own small businesses. She is an avid snowboarder and Nordic skier who divides her time between Denver and Winter Park, Colorado. You can read excerpts from each of her lesbian mysteries and find out more about Jennifer's work at her website.

Karin Kallmaker (2004 Medal Winner) is the author of more than twenty romances and fantasy-science fiction novels, and recently expanded her repertoire to include explicit erotica. As Karin says, "Nice Girls Do." Her works include the award-winning Just Like That, Maybe Next Time, and Sugar, as well as numerous other Lambda Award and Golden Crown Literary Award finalists. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies from publishers such as Alyson, Circlet, Haworth, and Regal Crest Enterprises. She began her writing career with the venerable Naiad Press and continues with Bella Books. She and her partner are the mothers of two and live in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is descended from Lady Godiva, a fact which she'll share with anyone who will listen. She likes her Internet fast, her iPod loud, and her chocolate real. You can find out more about her work at her website.

Lori L. Lake (2007 Medal Winner) is the author of twelve novels, two short story collections, and the editor of four anthologies including the Lambda Literary Award Finalist The Milk of Human Kindness: Lesbian Authors Write About Mothers & Daughters. Her novel, Snow Moon Rising, won the 2007 Golden Crown Literary Award in General/Dramatic Fiction as well as the 2007 Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. She has won Rainbow Awards for Lesbians on the Loose, Eight Dates, and A Very Public Eye. For the mystery, Buyer's Remorse (2012), and the anthology she edited with Jessie Chandler, Lesbians on the Loose: Crime Writers on the Lam, she won Golden Crown Literary Awards. Lori lived in the Twin Cities for 26 years but has been located in Portland, Oregon, for the last decade or so. She runs a small publishing company (Train Wreck XPress), coaches aspiring writers at Oregon Coast retreats, and presents seminars and workshops on writing topics such as character building, plot, the writing process, the writing life, mystery structure, and form and structure in the modern novel. She's currently at work on her next novels. When she's not working at her computer, you can find her making some art, working on a jigsaw puzzle, or curled up in a chair reading. For more information about her work, see her website.

Anne Laughlin (2022 Medal Winner) is the author of six novels published by Bold Strokes Books, winner of four Goldie Awards from the Golden Crown Literary Society, and has been shortlisted three times for the Lambda Literary Award. In both 2008 and 2014 she was selected to attend the Lambda Literary Foundation writer's retreat. She has been accepted into writing residencies at Ragdale, Vermont Studio Center, Tongue River Artist Residency, and others. Her short stories have appeared in multiple publications, with "It Only Occurred to Me Later" being a finalist in the Saints & Sinners Short Fiction Contest. Anne also writes about books for The Lambda Literary Review and The Gay & Lesbian Review. She lives in Chicago with her wife, Linda Braasch. To find out more about Anne’s work, please visit her website.

Malinda Lo (2021 Medal Winner) is the critically acclaimed author of several young adult novels, including Last Night at the Telegraph Club, which received seven starred reviews and the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Her debut novel Ash, a lesbian retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and was a Kirkus Best Book for Children and Teens. She has been a three-time finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Malinda’s nonfiction has been published by The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The Horn Book, and several anthologies. She lives in Massachusetts with her partner and their dog. To touch base with Malinda, please check out her website.

Randye Lordon (2015 Medal Winner) - Randye Lordon is the author of the award-winning Sydney Sloane Mystery Series that explores family relationships vis-à-vis murder. Originally from Chicago, Randye moved to Manhattan where she graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. It was a logical jump from acting to writing. Aside from her novels, Lordon's short stories have been published in mystery magazines, anthologies, newspapers, and recorded for a Canadian radio station. She resides now in East Hampton where she is an innkeeper and considers murder daily. To learn more about Randye and her work, please visit her website.

Lee Lynch (2007 Medal Winner) started writing lesbian fiction and non-fiction in the 1960s when she was a frequent contributor to "The Ladder," the only lesbian publication at the time. Since then she has published thirteen books, her stories have appeared in a number of anthologies, and she has written reviews and feature articles for The Lambda Book Report and many other publications. Her syndicated column, "The Amazon Trail," has been running in papers across the country since 1986. She lives on the Oregon Coast where she earns a living as a researcher. In 2006 she was inducted into the Saints and Sinners Literary Hall of Fame in New Orleans, and her novel Sweet Creek, from Bold Strokes Books, was named one of the top ten fiction books of the year by the Q Syndicate. You can find out more about Lee at her publisher's website.

KG MacGregor (2012 Medal Winner) is working on her second dozen books with Bella, all for the lesbian romance audience. Now a member of the Board of the Trustees for the Lambda Literary Foundation, she credits the launch of her writing career in 2002 to the Xenaverse, a community of writers, readers, artists, & enterprisers that sprang from a devotion to Xena:Warrior Princess fanfiction. In 2011, the Xena community's Royal Academy of Bards honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Her sixth Bella book, Out of Love, won the 2007 Lambda Literary Award and a Golden Crown Award in Romance. She's also collected Goldies for four other titles (Without Warning, from the Shaken Series; Secrets So Deep; Worth Every Step; and Photographs of Claudia), and was honored to give the keynote address at the 2011 GCLS annual convention. A former media research consultant, she divides her time between Palm Springs, CA, and her native North Carolina mountains. You can find out more about KG's work at her website.

Jaye Maiman (2017 Medal Winner) is the author of the Lambda Literary Award-winning mystery series featuring lesbian travel writer and romance novelist Robin Miller. Her books, published between 1991 and 1999, include: I Left My Heart, Crazy for Loving (Lambda Winner), Under My Skin, Someone to Watch (Lambda Finalist), Baby, It's Cold (Lambda Finalist), Old Black Magic (Lambda Finalist), and Every Time We Say Goodbye. To learn more about Jaye's books, visit her page at her publisher's website.

Marianne K. Martin (2014 Medal Winner) was a public school teacher for twenty-five years, has worked as a photographer, a photojournalist, and has coached at both the high school and collegiate levels, as well as amateur athletic teams. She founded the Michigan Women's Major Fastpitch Association and was its president for ten years. In 1973 she won the precedent-setting case in a Michigan court establishing equal pay for women coaches. Marianne is co-owner of Bywater Books, and the award-winning author of ten novels of lesbian fiction. She has been shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award three times, and awarded The International Book Award, The USA Best Book Award, and the Global Ebook Award. In 2012, she was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the Golden Crown Literary Society, and inducted into the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival Hall of Fame in 2013. Also in 2013, she was included in Go Magazine's 100 Women We Love. She resides in Michigan with her partner and two Yorkies. She can be reached via her website.

Val McDermid (2008 Medal Winner), recently described in the British national press as a "bloodthirsty lesbian," was born and raised in a mining community in Fife, Scotland. She went on to confound her teachers by winning a place at Oxford University to read English. After graduating, she became an award-winning journalist, working mostly in national newspapers. She ended up as Northern Bureau Chief of a national Sunday tabloid. Her first novel, Report for Murder was published in 1987 and introduced lesbian journalist Lindsay Gordon. She has written a further five Lindsay Gordon novels, the latest of which, Hostage to Murder, was published in the US by Bywater Books in 2005. She has also published six novels featuring PI Kate Brannigan, five novels featuring profiler Tony Hill and police officer Carol Jordan, four standalone novels, a non-fiction book about real women PIs in the US and the UK (A Suitable Job for a Woman, Poisoned Pen Press) and a collection of short stories (Stranded, Amble Press) She also contributes regularly to BBC radio and various newspapers and magazines. Her books have been translated into 37 languages and she is the top-selling British author in Germany (apart from JK Rowling…). She has won many awards including the Gold Dagger, the Los Angeles Times Book Award, the Anthony, the Icon of Scotland, the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, the Portico Prize for Fiction, the French Grand Prix des Romans d'Aventure and most recently, the Stonewall Writer of the Year. (Stonewall is the UK's key GLBT campaigning organisation). Several of her books have been New York Times Notable Books of the Year and she is a Literary Saint in the Saints & Sinners Hall of Fame. Her Tony Hill novels have been adapted for the internationally successful TV series, "Wire in the Blood," now in its sixth season. Work is about to begin on a TV adaptation of her standalone novel, A Place of Execution. Val divides her time between city life in Manchester and village life on the breathtakingly beautiful Northumberland coast. You can find out more about Val's work at her website.

Gill McKnight (2012 Medal Winner) is the author of the Garoul werewolf series, which will probably run longer than she will. She also writes standalone romantic comedies with lighthearted twists. She works as an IT contractor and travels between the UK for work, Ireland for family, and Greece for sanity. You can find out more about Gill's work at website.

Ann McMan (2017 Medal Winner) is the two-time Lambda Literary Award-winning author of twelve novels and two short story collections. She is a four-time Independent Publisher (IPPY) medalist, a Foreword Reviews INDIES medalist, a recipient of multiple Golden Crown Literary Society Awards, and a laureate of the Alice B. Foundation for her outstanding body of work. Ann wields a metaphorical church key that opens up a world broader than two women in love, richer than a quirky cast of supporting characters, and more colorful than the rich, colloquial dialogue that is her trademark. Her prose is smart, funny, and unapologetic. Her characters search for truth and meaning as they travel landscapes that are folksy, gritty, and always punctuated with humor. Ann continues to devote many hours to volunteer work within the LGBT community. She resides in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her wife, Salem West. To learn more about Ann, visit her website.

Claire McNab (2006 Medal Winner) Transplanted from Australia to Los Angeles, Claire McNab continues to be one of the top detective novelists in the genre. Her sixteen-novel Carol Ashton series, six-novel Denise Cleever series, and the new three-novel Kylie Kendall series, as well as two romance novels, certainly make her one of the most prolific writers around. Couple this with a writer with a keen sense of what's topical, an ability to make characters real, a knowledge of investigative methods and procedure, and excellent writing skills, and you've got the promise of a good mystery. Claire's newest series is set in Los Angeles and involves a transplanted Aussie who inherits her dad's private-eye business. For those of us who are a little klutzy, Kylie is a refreshing change from all those other PI's who know what they're doing and always look great doing it. Here's a PI that we can get behind! We might even know her. Alyson publishes the Kylie Kendall series. Bella Books publishes the Carol Ashton and Denise Cleever series. New mystery novels and romances are in the works, and you can find out more about her work at her website.

Susan X Meagher (2014 Medal Winner) lives in Brooklyn with her wife, Carrie. Born in East St. Louis, Illinois, she has lived in both Chicago and Los Angeles for significant periods, but New York fits her very well. She loves to discuss her work and fiction in general. Her novels include The Crush, Almost Heaven, How To Wrangle a Woman, Smooth Sailing, Doublecrossed, The Legacy, The Lies That Bind, Cherry Grove, All That Matters and Arbor Vitae. Her series, “I Found My Heart in San Francisco,” has fifteen books and counting. Her latest novel is The Reunion. You can find out more about Susan at her website.

Marijane Meaker [1927 - 2022] (2007 Medal Winner) arrived in New York City, fresh out of the University of Missouri, in 1949. She could not find a literary agent to represent her and so became an agent herself by having stationery with her name. She had to invent pseudonyms to be her clients: Vin Packer, Ann Aldrich, Laura Winston (who wrote slicks), Edgar and Mamie Stone (confession writers). All were Marijane Meaker. After Packer and Aldrich were successful enough for Marijane to abandon her agency, she free-lanced for many years. Her acquaintance with children's writer Louise Fitzhugh inspired her to write her first young adult novel, Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack, and to choose a new pseudonym: M.E. Kerr. She also wrote adult novels under her own name, her most successful being Shockproof Sydney Slate, which Fox plans to turn into a movie. She was born in Auburn, New York, and now lives in East Hampton, New York. You can learn more about Marijane and the work she's done under all her pen names at her website.

Penny Mickelbury (2020 Medal Winner) is an Atlanta, Georgia, native whose Mimi Patterson/Gianna Maglione mystery novels, now published by Bywater Books, are twice Lammy finalists (Night Songs and Darkness Descending). The fifth book in the series, Death’s Echoes, was a 2019 Goldie finalist and also won the 2019 Independent Publishers Association Bronze Medal. The sixth book in the series You Can't Die But Once came out just in time for Christmas 2020. Penny’s historical fiction novel, Two Wings to Fly Away, also a Bywater book, was a 2020 Goldie finalist in the Historical Fiction category. She has written a previous novel of historical fiction, six other mystery novels in two different series, a collection of short stories published in 2019, as well as half a dozen stage plays. Penny has been the recipient of both the Audre Lorde Estate Grant and a Hedgebrook Residency. She currently resides in Los Angeles. To find out more about her, visit her Wikipedia page or website.

Lesléa Newman (2009 Medal Winner) was born in 1955 in Brooklyn, New York, and is the author of over fifty pioneering books of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Her works for children focus on lesbian and gay families, and the works for adults deal with lesbian identity, Jewish identity, and the intersection and collision between the two. Other topics Ms. Newman explores include AIDS, eating disorders, butch/femme relationships, and sexual abuse. Her books include the ground-breaking Heather Has Two Mommies (the first children's book to portray lesbian families in a positive way), Writing From The Heart, In Every Laugh a Tear, The Femme Mystique, Still Life with Buddy, Fat Chance, and Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear. Her award-winning short storyA Letter To Harvey Milk has been made into a film and adapted for the stage. She has received many literary awards including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, and two Pushcart Prize Nominations. Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists. Lesléa is a popular guest lecturer, and has spoken on college campuses across the US. She is currently a faculty member of the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Southern Maine and has recently been named the Poet Laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts. Upcoming books include a poetry collection entitled Nobody's Mother, a novel entitled The Reluctant Daughter, the picture book, Little Miss Tutu, and the first board books for kids with two moms and two dads entitled Mommy, Mama, and Me, and Daddy, Papa, and Me. You can find out more about Lesléa's work at her website.

Sheila Ortiz-Taylor (2006 Medal Winner) Sheila Ortiz Taylor is a "pioneer" writer selected for her versatility and outstanding work. Faultline (1982) was the first novel ever to feature an out lesbian Chicana sleuth. Along with Southbound (1990) and Spring Forward, Fall Back (1985), all published by Naiad, these three novels are probably the funniest books you'll ever read. Naiad also published her book of poetry, Slow Dancing at Miss Polly's. In addition, University of New Mexico Press published a novel, Coachella (1996) and a memoir, Imaginary Parents (1998). Sheila's newest book, OutRageous (2006) from Spinsters Ink is the fourth in the Benbow Series. In addition to writing, Sheila and her partner have been in the vanguard fighting for our civil rights. They sued a retirement community in Florida for admission a few years back and won. A mystery featuring an older sleuth, Assisted Living, will be published by Spinsters Ink in 2007. When you select a book written by Sheila Ortiz Taylor, you never know what it will be about, or what type a story you'll get, but you know that it'll be well written and entertaining! Sheila is a poet, essayist, teacher, and now retired as professor emerita from Florida State University. You can find out more about her work at her website.

Abigail Padgett (2023 Medal Winner) is the author of fourteen novels and two anthologies of mystery and magical realist short fiction. Her books have been published in five countries beyond the U.S. and one became a movie in France. Abbie is the winner of Agatha and McCavity awards for fiction, holds degrees from Indiana University, the University of Missouri and Washington University in St. Louis, and has taught creative writing at the University of California San Diego and Harvard University. She is mother to an adult child who lives with a chronic psychiatric disability, the impetus behind her stigma-busting six-title Bo Bradley mystery series in which the savvy sleuth, not the repugnant villain, has the psychiatric disorder. Abbie’s work, always laced with wry humor, invariably celebrates “characters of difference” like bipolar Bo Bradley and desert-rat lesbian social psychologist Blue McCarron. To find out more about Abbie’s work, please check out her Wikipedia page.

Radclyffe (2004 Medal Winner) is the author of more than two dozen lesbian romances and novels of intrigue and of multiple erotica anthologies. Her short fiction appears in the Erotic Interlude series (ed. with Stacia Seaman), and selections in multiple anthologies including Call of the Dark and The Perfect Valentine (Bella Books), Best Lesbian Erotica 2006 and 2007, After Midnight (Cleis), First-Timers and Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories About Lingerie and Underwear (Alyson), and Sex and Candy and Naughty Spanking Stories 2 from Pretty Things Press. She is the recipient of the 2003 and 2004 Alice B. Readers' award, a 2005 Golden Crown Literary Society Award winner in both the romance category (Fated Love) and the mystery/adventure/action category (Justice in the Shadows), 2006 GCLS finalist for romance (Distant Shores, Silent Thunder) and winner for mystery (Justice Served), and a 2006 Lambda Literary award winner for romance (Distant Shores, Silent Thunder) and erotica (Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments ed. with Stacia Seaman). A retired surgeon, she is the president of Bold Strokes Books, a publishing company offering acclaimed lesbian-themed general and genre fiction. She lives in New York State with her partner, Lee. You can find out more about her work at her website.

JM Redmann (2010 Medal Winner) J.M. Redmann has written five novels, all featuring New Orleans private detective Michele 'Micky' Knight. Her most recent is Death of a Dying Man, published by Bold Strokes Books. It takes her characters through Hurricane Katrina, an event Redmann experienced in real life. Two previous books, Lost Daughters and The Intersection of Law and Desire were originally published by W.W. Norton. Her third book, The Intersection of Law and Desire won a Lambda Literary Award, as well as being an Editor's Choice of the San Francisco Chronicle and featured on NPR's Fresh Air. Lost Daughters and Deaths of Jocasta were also finalists for Lambda Literary Awards. Her books have been translated into German, Spanish, Dutch, and Norwegian. She lives in New Orleans, just at the edge of the flooded area. You can find out more about JM's work at her website.

D. Jordan Redhawk (2015 Medal Winner) is a crazy cat lady. When not cleaning catboxes and chasing felines about her apartment with feathers and furry toys, she writes books. Becoming hooked on the alternative fan fiction of "Xena: Warrior Princess," she began writing her own in 1998 and eventually worked her way into original fiction. Tiopa Ki Lakota was published in 2000, leaving Redhawk somewhat astonished and more than happy to see if she could produce another fluke. With the ever-present support from her wife of twenty-six years, she seems to have succeeded. Since that first novel, she's published eleven titles (with two more on the way,) most of them through Bella Books. In 2014 she was a finalist in the Golden Crown Literary Society's Ann Bannon Popular Choice award with Broken Trails, and she won the Young Adult category with Orphan Maker. To learn more about Redhawk, please visit her website.

Ann Roberts (2014 Medal Winner) has authored twelve novels for Bella Books and Spinster's Ink, including the Lambda finalist, Beacon of Love, and the GCLS finalist, Deadly Intersections. She enjoys writing mysteries and romances, as well as the occasional work of general fiction. Ann lives in Phoenix with her partner of nearly 20 years and both work as public school educators. She yearns for retirement, which isn't that far away, and more opportunities to sit by the ocean and write! To learn more about Ann and see some cute photos of her pets, please visit her website.

Jane Rule [1931 - 2007] (2007 Medal Winner) was born in New Jersey, March 28, 1931 and died November 27, 2007. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in 1952. She did graduate work at University College, London, England and Stanford University. She taught at Concord Academy in Massachusetts from 1954 through 1956 where she met Helen Sonthoff with whom she lived until Ms. Sonthoff's death in 2000. They moved to Vancouver, B.C. in 1956 and taught at the University of British Columbia until they retired to Galiano Island in 1976. Ms. Rule published 13 books, including 7 novels, 3 collections of short stories, a collection of essays, the critical work, Lesbian Images, and her final collection, Loving The Difficult, which was published posthumously. Her novel Desert of the Heart was made into the film "Desert Hearts." Several documentary films have been made about her and her work, including "Fiction and Other Truths." Her work has been translated into French, German, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. She received an honorary degree from the University of British Columbia and holds both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada. Among many awards during her illustrious career, she won the 2007 Golden Crown Literary Trailblazer Award, which she accepted before her passing, and the 2008 Lambda Literary Award for Nonfiction, which was awarded posthumously.

Joanna Russ [1937 - 2011] (2008 Medal Winner) is the author of numerous works of science fiction, fantasy, and literary criticism. Though best known for the satirical utopian novel, The Female Man (1975), many of her early published works were short horror fiction, and her short fiction has been anthologized in scores of collections. She was first noticed in the science fiction world upon publication of the novel Picnic On Paradise (1968). Generally regarded as one of the leading 20th Century feminist science fiction scholars and writers, she has also written significant nonfiction works such as the essay collection Magic Mommas, Trembling Sisters, Puritans & Perverts: Essays on Sex & Pornography, the book-length study of modern feminism, What Are We Fighting For?: Sex, Race, Class, and the Future of Feminism, and the (unfortunately) still-relevant sarcastic guidebook, How To Suppress Women's Writing, which explains how women and minorities are prevented from producing written works. A playwright, essayist, and short story writer, she has won the Locus Poll Award, the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, and the SF Chronicle Award. She has been nominated multiple times for Hugo and Nebula Awards and won the 1972 Nebula for her short story "When It Changed" and the 1983 Hugo for her novella "Souls." Her latest book is The Country You have Never Seen: Essays and Reviews (2007). A website is not maintained on her behalf.

Justine Saracen (2016 Medal Winner) is a retired university professor, opera manager, and editor who writes historical thrillers that span the ages, from Ancient Egypt through the Crusades, the Italian Renaissance, up to World War II. Her third, Sistine Heresy, about the Sistine Chapel, won a 2009 Independent Publisher's Award, and her fourth, Mephisto Aria, about opera, won a wagon-load of awards. Waiting for the Violins won a 2015 Golden Crown Award, and The Witch of Stalingrad won the 2015 Sandra Moran Rainbow prize for historical fiction. Currently in development is The Sniper's Kiss, and March 2016 will see the release of Dian's Ghost, set in Rwanda. Justine, who speaks German and French, lives in Brussels, within easy reach of the great cities she loves to write about. Her favorite amusements are scuba diving and opera, though one of those is quieter than the other. To learn more about Justine, visit her website.

Sandra Scoppettone (2013 Medal Winner) was born in New Jersey and got out as soon as she could, moving straight to NYC to become a writer and a lesbian. Since she was already a lesbian, she concentrated on writing, starting out as a playwright, but she couldn't make a living so she wrote for several TV soaps. She published several Young Adult (YA) and adult novels, including a YA published by Harper & Row that was about lesbians, a first in that field. She left NYC to live on the North Fork of Long Island, but after meeting writer Linda Crawford, they moved back to NYC. In 1990, the character of Lauren Laurano came to her, and since she'd been writing crime novels, she turned Lauren into a private eye living with Kip Adams in Greenwich Village. She meant to write a stand-alone but somehow it became a series. There are five Laurano books published by mainstream press Little Brown, which was another first for lesbian novels. All five can be found on Amazon as eBooks. Sandra has been nominated twice for Lambda Literary Awards, and her books have been critically praised and published in many languages. In 1998 she and Linda moved back to the North Fork, and in October 2012, after forty years together, they got married. Their dog is named Hammett. You can find out more about Sandra's work at her blog.

Ann Allen Shockley (2006 Medal Winner) Ann Allen Shockley is an academic librarian of note. As a librarian, she long ago noted a gap in black fiction with regard to black lesbians. Her response was to write the novel Loving Her (1974), and a book of short stories, The Black and White of It (1980). Subsequently, she added a second novel, Say Jesus and Come To Me (1982). Naiad reissued all three books in 1987. Of Ann's work, Alice Walker (The Color Purple) wrote: "In its exploration of a daring subject boldly shared, I think [Loving Her] enables us to see and understand, perhaps for the first time, the choices certain women have made about how they will live their lives… [I]t offers the reader an opportunity to develop a new way of seeing and caring." A young black male reviewer's reaction wasn't quite so positive: "This bullshit should not be encouraged!" That too, says it all. Ann also wrote Living Black American Authors: A Biographical Directory (with Sue P. Chandler), A Handbook of Black Librarianship (with E.J.Josey), and edited Afro-American Women Writers 1746-1933: An Anthology & Critical Guide. Her short stories have appeared in Essence, African Americana Review, Negro Digest, Black World, Feminary, Sinister Wisdom, Azalea, New Letters, Freedomways, and more. Ann's latest novel, Celebrating Hotchclaw, was published in 2005 by A & M Books. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and can be reached in care of her publisher.

Linda Kay Silva (2013 Medal Winner) is Linda Kay Silva is a two-time award-winning writer of 18 novels encompassing four series: the Echo Branson Paranormal Series, the Jessie Ferguson Time Travel Series, the Delta Stevens Police Series, and her latest, Man Eaters Zombie Series published by Sapphire Books. Linda Kay is a world traveling fool, a Harley rider, an animal rescuer, an ex-cop, and a literature professor at a military university where she teaches creative writing, African Lit, and several other World Lit courses. Even when she was being charged by an elephant in the bushes of Africa, she thought, "This would make a great scene!" She has four novels coming out in 2013 and is currently at work on another supernatural series. She has spoken at various conferences around the world and will be teaching break-out sessions at the Left Coast Conference in October 2013. You can find out more about this eccentric, off-center Aquarian and her work at her website.

Rachel Spangler (2018 Medal Winner) is the author of numerous novels and she's also an avid blogger. She is a wife, mother, Sunday School teacher, die-hard Cardinals fan, three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, and Goldie award-winning author of over a dozen romance novels. She always makes time for a good romance, whether she's reading it, writing it, or living it. She resides on the East Coast. To find out more about Rachel and her books, visit her website.

Kate Sweeney (2010 Medal Winner) Kate Sweeney was the 2007 recipient of the Golden Crown Literary Society award for Debut Author for She Waits, the first in the Kate Ryan Mystery series. The series also includes A Nice Clean Murder, The Trouble with Murder (a 2008 Golden Crown Award Winner for Mystery), Who'll Be Dead for Christmas, and the latest in the series, Of Course, It's Murder. Other novels include The O'Malley Legacy, Away from the Dawn, Survive the Dawn, and Residual Moon, a 2008 Golden Crown Award Winner for Speculative Fiction. Born in Chicago, Kate now resides in Villa Park, Illinois, where she works as an office manager - no glamour there, folks; it pays the bills. Humor is deeply embedded in Kate's DNA. She sincerely hopes you will see this when you read her novels, short stories, and other works. You can find out more about 's work at her website.

Therese Szymanski (2008 Medal Winner) is an award-winning playwright whose works have been shortlisted for Lammies, Goldies, a Spectrum, and made the 2004 Publishing Triangle list of notable lesbian books. She's written eight Brett Higgins Motor City Thrillers (When the Dancing Stops, When the Dead Speak, When Some Body Disappears, When Evil Changes Face, When the Corpse Lies, When First We Practice, When Good Girls Go Bad, and When It's All Relative) and the latest book in the First Chronicles of Shawn Donnelly, It's All Smoke & Mirrors (2007). She has edited the erotic anthologies Back to Basics, Call of the Dark, and Wild Nights, and co-edited Fantasy: Untrue Stories of Lesbian Passion and A Perfect Valentine with Barbara Johnson. In addition to a few dozen published short stories and essays, she has novellas in Once Upon a Dyke; Stake Through the Heart; Bell, Book and Dyke; and Tall in the Saddle. She's a seasoned writer with two decades' experience writing for nonprofit, advertising, marketing, and journalistic purposes. A second-generation American, she comes from Detroit and currently lives in D.C. You can find out more about Therese's work at her website.

Carsen Taite (2016 Medal Winner) has a specific goal as an author: to spin tales with plot lines as interesting as the cases she encountered in her career as a criminal defense lawyer. She is the award-winning author of numerous short stories and over a dozen novels of romantic intrigue, including the Luca Bennett Bounty Hunter series and the Lone Star Law series. Carsen lives in Dallas, Texas, the setting for many of her stories, with her wife of many years and their fun, furry family. You can learn more about her at website.

Ali Vali (2011 Medal Winner) is the author of over well two dozen books published by Bold Strokes Books including the long-running Cain Casey "Devil" series and the Genesis Clan "Forces" series, as well as numerous standalone romances including two Lambda Literary Award finalists, Calling the Dead and Love Match. Ali has also contributed to numerous anthologies including Breathless: Tales of Celebration, and Girls with Guns. Originally from Cuba, she now lives outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her partner over thirty years. Ali has retained many of her family's traditions and language and uses them frequently in her writing. Having her father read her stories and poetry before bed every night during her childhood gave her a lifelong long of reading. When she isn't writing she works in the non-profit sector. You can find all of Ali's works and other information about her on the Bold Strokes Books website or at her blogsite.

Pat Welch (2016 Medal Winner) is a writer from San Francisco who has authored several books in the Helen Black ex-cop/private detective mystery series. Her novel Moving Target was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award in 2002. She is currently keeping a low profile, so we do not have contact information for her. If you happen to know any contact information for Pat, please let the Alice B administrator know.

Caren J. Werlinger (2021 Medal Winner) has been a lifelong reader and writer and has published sixteen novels at the time of this award. As an indie author, she has the freedom to write a variety of genres, from dramatic fiction to historical fiction to a fantasy trilogy set in ancient Ireland. She has been honored to have her books win four Golden Crown Literary Awards (Looking Through Windows, In This Small Spot, The Beast That Never Was, A Bittersweet Garden). When the Stars Sang won a Silver Medal in the 2020 eLit Awards, and was a finalist in the 2018 Sarton Women’s Book Awards. Her novel Invisible, as Music, in addition to being a Goldie finalist, won the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal and was a finalist in both the International Book Awards and the National Indie Excellence Awards. She has also won numerous Rainbow Awards. As great as awards are, what means even more to her is hearing from readers who have been touched by her stories. She lives in Virginia with her wife and two spoiled dogs, and hopes to retire soon from her day job as a physical therapist. To learn more about Caren, please go to her website.

Mary Wings (2019 Medal Winner) is a cartoonist, artist, and author of several highly acclaimed novels. In 1973, she made history by releasing Come Out Comix, the first underground lesbian comic book. She is also known for her series of detective novels featuring lesbian heroine Emma Victor. Divine Victim, Wings' only Gothic novel, won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery in 1994. Mary Wings is a pioneer in the two literary fields she contributed to: lesbian comics and lesbian mystery novels. Her work is driven generally by the desire to discuss underrepresented topics that are relevant to her personal life. She currently resides in San Francisco. To find out more about Mary and her writing, visit her page at Wikipedia.

Lee Winter (2023 Medal Winner) is an award-winning veteran newspaper journalist who has lived in almost every Australian state, covering courts, crime, news, features, and humour writing. She is now a full-time author and part-time editor. Lee is a 2015 Lambda Literary Award finalist and Golden Crown Literary Society Award winner (The Red Files) and a 2016 Lambda Literary Award finalist for Requiem for Immortals.which also won a Golden Crown Literary Society Award and a Bronze in the mainstream 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards for E-book Mystery/Thriller. In 2018, Shattered won a Golden Crown Literary Society Award for sci-fi/fantasy, and Hotel Queens took out a Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Romantic Blend in 2021. Lee lives in Australia with her long-time girlfriend, where she spends much time ruminating on her garden, weird native wildlife, and shiny, new gadgets. To find out more about Lee’s work, please visit her website.

Jeanette Winterson (2020 Medal Winner) is an English writer who became famous with her first book, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against conventional values. Her subsequent novels explore the boundaries of physicality and the imagination, gender polarities and sexual identity, and the relationship between humans and technology. She is also a broadcaster and a professor of creative writing. She has won multiple awards including a Whitbread Prize for a First Novel, and she is a two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award. She has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Jeanette came out at 16, and because of her love affair with a girl, she was forced to leave home. Her adoptive mother asked her why she was still seeing this girl when she knew the consequences: homelessness. When Jeanette said, "She makes me happy," Mrs Winterson’s response was, "Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?" Jeanette went out into the world and continued to be happy. She grows a lot of her own food and is a partner in a small herd of rare breed sheep. She's married to psychotherapist Susie Orbach (author of Fat is a Feminist Issue) and lives in the Cotswolds. If you want to read about Jeanette and her life, buy the memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? or visit her at her website.