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Lesbian pulp fiction is a genre of lesbian literature that refers to any mid-20th century paperback novel or pulp magazine with overtly lesbian themes and content. Lesbian pulp fiction was published in the 1950s and 60s by many of the same paperback publishing houses as other genres of fiction including westerns, romances, and detective fiction. Because very little other literature was available for and about lesbians at this time, quite often these books were the only reference the public had for modeling what lesbians were. Stephanie Foote, from the University of Illinois commented on the importance of lesbian pulp novels to the lesbian identity prior to the rise of organized feminism: "Pulps have been understood as signs of a secret history of readers, and they have been valued because they have been read. The more they are read, the more they are valued, and the more they are read, the closer the relationship between the very act of circulation and reading and the construction of a lesbian community becomes...Characters use the reading of novels as a way to understand that they are not alone."
Gay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the LGBT community which involves characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying male homosexual behavior. The term is now used most commonly to cover specifically gay male literature, with a separate genre of lesbian literature existing for women. Historically, the term "gay literature" was sometimes used to cover both gay male and lesbian literatures.
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Felice Picano is an American writer, publisher, and critic who has encouraged the development of gay literature in the United States. His work is documented in many sources.
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Jacob Anderson-Minshall is an American author.
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'Nathan Burgoine is a Canadian writer. His debut novel Light was a shortlisted Lambda Literary Award nominee in the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror category at the 26th Lambda Literary Awards. The novel was published by Bold Strokes Books in 2013.
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Gay romance is a genre within gay literature and romance fiction focused on same-sex characters who fall in love and have a homosexual or homoromantic relationship. The genre has met with increasing acceptance and sales from the 1980s onward. In 2019, Romance Writers of America accepted Rainbow Romance Writers, a chapter for LGBTQIA+ romance fiction.
Rebekah Weatherspoon is an American author and romance novelist. Her books often feature heroines who are Black, plus-size, disabled, and/or LGBTQ. She founded the website WOC in Romance. Weatherspoon received a 2017 Lambda Literary Award.
References
- ↑ Bold Strokes Books Website, 11 January, 2018 https://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/contact-us
- ↑ Jane Chen: A Survey of the Lesbian Fiction Publishing Industry Archived 2012-06-30 at archive.today AfterEllen.com, July 7, 2006
- ↑ San Francisco Bay Times review
- ↑ Story Circle Book Reviews coverage
- ↑ International Gay & Lesbian Review coverage Archived September 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ “Lesbian, transgender couple become mystery writers”. Oakland Tribune, May 1, 2007 (fee-based access required).
- ↑ "Book review: Light, by ‘Nathan Burgoine". GLBT Reviews (American Library Association).
- ↑ "In LA Magazine, Vol 10, Issue 26". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
