Madelyn Arnold

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Madelyn Arnold (born 1950) is an American fiction writer. In 1989, she won the inaugural Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Debut Fiction for her novel Bird-Eyes.

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Early life and education

Madelyn Arnold was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1950. [1] Her childhood was marked by poverty and abuse, and she became responsible for taking care of the household at only 8 years old. [1] She became involved in political activism as a teenager, joining the NAACP in high school and writing to Socialist political candidates for information. [2]

Arnold attended college at Ball State University starting around age 16, studying biology and medical illustration. [1] It was there that she discovered her lesbian identity, and after being outed she was forced to leave the school. [1] She did eventually obtain a bachelor's in microbiology from Indiana University Bloomington in 1973, but she also became homeless and was institutionalized for a period before finding a new home in Seattle, Washington, in 1975. [1] [3] [4]

In Seattle, she worked in labs, hospitals, and clinics throughout the 1970s and '80s. [1] [4] She went on to obtain a master's in creative writing from the University of Washington. [1]

Writing career

Arnold's debut novel, Bird-Eyes, was published in 1988 to critical acclaim. [3] [4] Distributed by Seal Press, it won the inaugural Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Debut Fiction in 1989. [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] It fictionalized her real experiences with institutionalization as a teenager, in a period when queer women were frequently committed to mental institutions. [1] [7] [8] [9] It was later re-released by St. Martin's Press. [1]

In 1992, she released the short story collection On Ships at Sea, which included pieces she had been working on since 1976. [3] [6] The collection, published by St. Martin's Press, features predominantly lesbian characters in a wide variety of circumstances. [3] It was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction the following year. [10]

Then, in 2000, she published the novel A Year of Full Moons, which tells the story of a tomboy girl named Josephine Margaret Butler growing up in Kentucky during the turbulent political year of 1963. [2] [6] [7]

Arnold has been a longtime contributor to the Seattle Gay News , for which she wrote the column "Not Thinking Straight." [1] [2] She also wrote for the Zodiac News Service [1] and has taught fiction at the University of Washington and Seattle Central Community College. [3] [7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 James, Marcus (2009-06-26). "Girl disappearing: The legacy of Seattle author Madelyn Arnold". Seattle Gay News. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  2. 1 2 3 Nagle, Matt (2000-11-10). ""Through the eyes of a Queer young girl..."". Seattle Gay News.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Flint, Tom (1992-01-17). "Madelyn Arnold comes out with terrific new book". Seattle Gay News.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Madelyn Arnold to hold reading from her latest novel, Divided by One". Seattle Gay News. 2006-05-19.
  5. ↑ "Bimonthly review honors gay, lesbian authors with awards". Journal and Courier. 1989-06-13.
  6. 1 2 3 "Madelyn Arnold". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  7. 1 2 3 Archer, Max (2002-06-21). "Madelyn Arnold: Local Girl Makes Good". Seattle Gay News.
  8. ↑ Lynch, Lee (1988-12-09). "A holiday gift guide to books for lesbian readers". Dallas Voice. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  9. ↑ McNamara, Mary (1988-10-02). "IN SHORT; FICTION". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  10. ↑ "5th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. 1993-07-14. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
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