Noelle Howey (born 1971/1972 [1] ) is an American writer and executive. She won the 2003 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Literature for Dress Codes (2002), a memoir inspired in part by her experiences with her father's transitioning, as well as two Lambda Literary Awards for the essay anthology Out of the Ordinary (2000). She has also worked as a senior magazine editor, including for Glamour , Time Out , and Real Simple .
Howey was born in Ohio, [2] and raised in an Ohio suburb. [3] She is the daughter of Dinah and Christine Howey, the latter of whom is a transgender woman who worked as an advertising executive in Cleveland. [1] She had learned about Christine's cross-dressing from Dinah as a teenager, and as a young adult went to Belgium when Christine had gender reassignment surgery there. [2] She obtained her BA from Oberlin College in 1994. [2] She worked as a reporter and producer for NPR. [2]
In 2000, Howey and Ellen Samuels edited Out of the Ordinary, an anthology of essays from the children of LGBT parents focusing on their relationship with them; [4] [2] they won both the 2001 Lambda Literary Award for Anthologies and Nonfiction and Children's and Young Adult Literature for the book. [5] She was a 2001 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow. [2]
In 2002, Howey released Dress Codes , a memoir about her personal experiences with her parents, including her father's transitioning. [3] It was featured on Good Morning America 's Read This! book club segment in 2002. [1] She won the 2003 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Literature for Dress Codes, [6] as well as a 2003 Stonewall Book Award in Non-Fiction. [7]
Howey has also worked in journalism, including as a senior editor for Glamour , editor-in-chief for Time Out New York Kids, and deputy editor for Real Simple , [8] [9] and she wrote book reviews for the Cleveland Free Times . [2] She also worked as an executive for Everytown for Gun Safety. [9] In 2024, she joined Blue State Digital as Managing Director of Strategic Communications and Creative Director. [9]
Howey has one daughter. [2] Living in Cleveland Heights, Ohio as of 2002, [1] she later moved to Minneapolis. [2]