Lawrence Schimel (born October 16, 1971) is a bilingual (Spanish/English) American writer, translator, and anthologist. His work, which frequently deals with gay and lesbian themes as well as matters of Jewish identity, often falls into the genres of science fiction and fantasy and takes the form of both poetry and prose for adults and for children. [1]
Schimel was born in New York City. He is Jewish and identifies as a post-Zionist. [2]
Schimel obtained a B.A. in literature from Yale University. [3]
Schimel is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Academy of American Poets. He is a founding member of the Publishing Triangle, an organization of lesbians and gay men in the publishing industry, which he chaired for two terms (1996–1998).
Schimel's short stories and poetry have appeared in a wide range of anthologies and literary journals. He has also acted as editor or co-editor of numerous short story anthologies from Arsenal Pulp Press, St. Martin's Press, Cumberland House, and others; many of these collections feature work engaging in LGBTQ+ themes.
In addition to his work as a writer and editor, he is a prolific translator to and from Spanish [4] of poetry, prose fiction, and children's books.
In 2021, Schimel's rainbow family board books Early One Morning and Bedtime, Not Playtime! caused controversy in Hungary, with a Hungarian bookseller being fined for selling these books on the grounds that putting books depicted same-sex couples was an unfair commercial practice, as "[C]ontent which deviates from the norm.... The book was there among other fairytale books and thus committed a violation," Pest County Commissioner Richard Tarnai said. "There is no way of knowing that this book is about a family that is different than a normal family." [5] [6]
Schimel has written over sixty children's books, including:
PoMoSexuals, an anthology co-edited by Schimel, won the 1998 Lambda Award for Best Transgender Book. First Person Queer, edited by Schimel, won the 2008 Lambda in the Best LGBT Anthologies category. Several other books written, translated, or edited by Schimel have been shortlisted in other categories of the Lamba Award over the years.
In 2002, Schimel's poem "How to Make a Human" placed first in the Long category of the annual Rhysling Awards. [9] His translation to English of Sofía Rhei's short-form poem "embalsamado" (as "embalmed") won the 2019 Dwarf Stars Award. [10]
In 2005, Schimel's Nohay nada como el original was selected by the International Youth Library, Munich, as a White Ravens Book. [11] In 2020, his picture book Qué suerte tengo!, translated into Maltese as Meta Mmur għand Sieħbi Carlos by Clare Azzopardi, was a finalist for the Maltese National Book Prize. [12] Also in 2020, Schimel's translation of Some Days by María Wernicke (AmazonCrossing) was chosen as a 2021 USBBY Outstanding International title by the United States Board on Books for Youth [13] and as a Notable Translation of 2020 by World Literature Today. [14]
Schimel's ¡Qué suerte tengo! was also chosen by IBBY for Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities.
Hatchet, Schimel's translation of Carmen Boullosa's poetry collection Hamartia, won the Cliff Becker Book Prize in Translation. [15] Schimel's translation of Poems the Wind Blew In by Karmelo C. Iribarren won a PEN Translates Award (EnglishPEN) [16] and a Highly Commended Award from the CLiPPA. [17] Schimel's translation of Voice of the Two Shores by Agnès Agboton was a recipient of a PEN Translates Award (EnglishPEN). [18]
I Offer My Heart as a Target, Schimel's translation of Johanny Vázquez Paz' Ofresco mi corazón como una diana, is a recipient of the Paz Prize for poetry.
Several other translations by Schimel have been shortlisted or longlisted for other literary translation awards.
The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. The award name was dubbed by Andrew Joron in reference to a character in a science fiction story: the blind poet Rhysling, in Robert A. Heinlein's short story "The Green Hills of Earth". The award is given in two categories: "Best Long Poem", for works of 50 or more lines, and "Best Short Poem", for works of 49 or fewer lines.
Speculative poetry is a genre of poetry that focusses on fantastic, science fictional and mythological themes. It is also known as science fiction poetry or fantastic poetry. It is distinguished from other poetic genres by being categorized by its subject matter, rather than by the poetry's form. Suzette Haden Elgin defined the genre as "about a reality that is in some way different from the existing reality."
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) is a society based in the United States with the aim of fostering an international community of writers and readers interested in poetry pertaining to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror. The SFPA oversees the quarterly production of literary journals dedicated to speculative poetry and the annual publication of anthologies associated with awards administered by the organization, i.e. the Rhysling Awards for year's best speculative poems in two length categories and the Dwarf Stars Award for year's best very short speculative poem. Every year since 2013, the SFPA has additionally administered the Elgin Awards for best full-length speculative poetry collection and best speculative chapbook.
Robert Alexander Frazier is an American writer of speculative poetry and fiction, as well as an impressionist painter on Nantucket Island.
Latino poetry is a branch of American poetry written by poets born or living in the United States who are of Latin American origin or descent and whose roots are tied to the Americas and their languages, cultures, and geography.
Apex Magazine, also previously known as Apex Digest, is an American horror and science fiction magazine. This subscription webzine, Apex Magazine, contains short fiction, reviews, and interviews. It has been nominated for several awards including the Hugo Award.
Eliot Weinberger is an American writer, essayist, editor, and translator. He is primarily known for his essays and political articles, the former characterized by their wide-ranging subjects and experimental style, verging on a kind of documentary prose poetry, and the latter highly critical of American politics and foreign policy. His work regularly appears in translation and has been published in more than thirty languages.
Theodora Goss is a Hungarian American fiction writer and poet. Her writing has been nominated for major awards, including the Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, World Fantasy, and Seiun Awards. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Year's Best volumes.
Mike Allen is an American news reporter and columnist, as well as an editor and writer of speculative fiction and poetry.
Mayapple Press is a literary small press originally from Bay City, Michigan, but now based in Woodstock, New York. Founded by poet and translator Judith Kerman. Mayapple Press has produced more than 70 titles, primarily poetry by single authors, but also poetry anthologies, short fiction and Great Lakes nonfiction. Mayapple publishes poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. The Press has an interest in works that straddle conventional categories: Great Lakes/Northeastern U.S. literature, women, Caribbean, translations, science fiction poetry and recent immigrant experience. Publications are in both chapbook and trade paperback formats.
Mary Soon Lee is an American speculative fiction writer and poet.
Sofia Samatar is an American scholar, novelist and educator from Indiana. She is an associate professor of English at James Madison University.
Johanny Vázquez Paz is a Puerto Rican poet, narrator and professor.
G. Sutton Breiding is an American poet and zine publisher of Speculative poetry, science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror poetry characterized by mysticism, black humor and references to San Francisco.
Nebula Awards 24 is an anthology of award-winning science fiction short works edited by Michael Bishop, the second of three successive volumes published under his editorship. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in April 1990.
Nebula Awards 23 is an anthology of award winning science fiction short works edited by Michael Bishop, the first of three successive volumes under his editorship. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in April 1989.
R. B. Lemberg is a queer, bigender, and autistic author, poet, and editor of speculative fiction. Their work has been distributed in publications such as Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Uncanny Magazine, and stories have been featured in anthologies such as Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology and Transcendent 3: The Year's Best Transgender Speculative Fiction 2017.
F. J. Bergmann is the pen name of Jeannie Bergmann, an American editor and writer of speculative poetry and prose fiction.
Ann K. Schwader is an American poet and writer of short fiction based in Westminster, Colorado. Schwader is a grand master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, a multiple winner of the Rhysling Awards, and has been called one of the "top poets" in the speculative poetry genre.
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