Richard Walden Yates was an American fiction writer identified with the mid-century "Age of Anxiety." His first novel, Revolutionary Road, was a finalist for the 1962 National Book Award, while his first short story collection, Eleven Kinds of Loneliness, brought comparisons to James Joyce. Critical acclaim for his writing, however, was not reflected in commercial success during his lifetime.
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 1960s 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. English professor Stephanie Foote 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." Joan Nestle refers to lesbian pulp fiction as “survival literature.” Lesbian pulp fiction provided representation for lesbian identities, brought a surge of awareness to lesbians, and created space for lesbian organizing leading up to Stonewall.
George Henry Smith was an American science fiction author who also wrote soft-core erotica. He is not the same person as George H. Smith, a libertarian writer, or George O. Smith, another science fiction writer. There were at least three authors writing as "George H. Smith" in the 1960s; one wrote many "swamp love" paperback originals, which are often erroneously attributed to George Henry Smith. Smith himself used the pseudonyms Jeremy August, Jerry August, Don Bellmore, Ross Camra, M J Deer, John Dexter ; George Devlin, Robert Hadley, Jan Hudson, Jerry Jason, Clancy O'Brien, Alan Robinson, Holt Standish, Diana Summers, Hal Stryker, Hank Stryker, Morgan Trehune, Roy Warren, and J X Williams for publishers such as Avalon, Beacon, Boudoir, Brandon House, Epic, Evening Reader, France, Greenleaf, Midwood, Monarch, Notetime, Pike, Pillow, and Playtime. It is known that he wrote more than 100 novels.
Dorothy Baker was an American novelist who wrote the lesbian pulp novel Trio (1943), along with widely-successful romance novels. She married poet Howard Baker and together they composed fiction and plays.
Ann Weldy, better known by her pen name Ann Bannon, is an American author who, from 1957 to 1962, wrote six lesbian pulp fiction novels known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. The books' enduring popularity and impact on lesbian identity has earned her the title "Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction". Bannon was a young housewife trying to address her own issues of sexuality when she was inspired to write her first novel. Her subsequent books featured four characters who reappeared throughout the series, including her eponymous heroine, Beebo Brinker, who came to embody the archetype of a butch lesbian. The majority of her characters mirrored people she knew, but their stories reflected a life she did not feel she was able to live. Despite her traditional upbringing and role in married life, her novels defied conventions for romance stories and depictions of lesbians by addressing complex homosexual relationships.
Katherine V. Forrest is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. She has been referred to by some "a founding mother of lesbian fiction writing."
Valerie Taylor was an American author of books published in the lesbian pulp fiction genre, as well as poetry and novels after the "golden age" of lesbian pulp fiction. She also published as Nacella Young, Francine Davenport, and Velma Tate. Her publishers included Naiad Press, Banned Books, Universal, Gold Medal Books, Womanpress, Ace and Midwood-Tower.
Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest topics. A similar term is sapphic literature, encompassing works that feature love between women that are not necessarily lesbian.
Barbara Grier was an American writer and publisher. She is credited for having built the lesbian book industry. After editing The Ladder magazine, published by the lesbian civil rights group Daughters of Bilitis, she co-founded a lesbian book-publishing company Naiad Press, which achieved publicity and became the world's largest publisher of lesbian books. She built a major collection of lesbian literature, catalogued with detailed indexing of topics.
Tereska Torrès was a French writer known for the 1950 book Women's Barracks, the first "original paperback bestseller." In 2008 historians credited the republished book as the first pulp fiction book published in America to candidly address lesbian relationships, although Torrès did not agree with this analysis.
Guy Augustin Marie Jean de la Pérusse des Cars was a best-selling French author of popular novels.
Ivan E. Coyote is a Canadian spoken word performer, writer, and LGBT advocate. Coyote has won many accolades for their collections of short stories, novels, and films. They also visit schools to tell stories and give writing workshops. The CBC has called Coyote a "gender-bending author who loves telling stories and performing in front of a live audience." Coyote is non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. Many of Coyote's stories are about gender, identity, and social justice. Coyote currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Horwitz Publications is an Australian publisher primarily known for its publication of popular and pulp fiction. Established in 1920 in Sydney, Australia by Israel and Ruth Horwitz, the company was a family-owned and -run business until the early 21st century. The company is most associated with their son Stanley Horwitz, who took over publishing operations in 1956. Stanley was eventually succeeded by his son Peter and daughter Susan, who was the company's director in the years 1987-2016.
Midwood Books was an American publishing house active from 1957 to 1968. Its strategy focused on the male readers' market, competing with other publishers such as Beacon Books. The covers of many Midwood Books featured works by prolific illustrators of the era, including Paul Rader.
Yvonne Christine MacManus was an American novelist specializing in lesbian fiction and science fiction. Although she used her real name when writing in other genres, MacManus published lesbian fiction under the pseudonym Paula Christian.
Julie Ellis was an early lesbian pulp fiction author of the 1960s, writing pro-lesbian romance and erotica under varied pseudonyms for Midwood-Tower Publications. She changed her writing pseudonyms and legal name usage numerous times and later in life she wrote historical and romance fiction under the name Julie Ellis.
Sally M. Singer is an American writer who penned lesbian pulp fiction from the late 1950s through the mid-1970s. She is most well known for works she wrote under the pseudonyms March Hastings and Laura Duchamp, mostly for Midwood-Tower Publications. These works include Three Women, The Third Theme, and Duet.
The Girls in 3-B is a classic work of lesbian pulp fiction by Valerie Taylor which was published in 1959 by Fawcett. Its happy ending for a lesbian character was unusual for the time period. It was one of the first three novels of any pulp fiction genre to be reprinted in 2003 by Feminist Press.
Women's Barracks: The Frank Autobiography of a French Girl Soldier is a classic work of lesbian pulp fiction by French writer Tereska Torrès published in 1950. Historians credit it as the first US paperback-original bestseller, as the first lesbian pulp fiction book published in America, and as "the pioneer of lesbian fiction". As the first of its genre, it received heavy backlash, and it was banned in Canada. Its popularity prompted the formation of the House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials in the United States. Its original cover art is considered a classic image of lesbian fiction.
This is a list of works by Lawrence Block, an American author of mystery fiction, with a career spanning six decades.
