Marijanne Meaker, author of the very popular 1952 Lesbian pulp novel Spring Fire, died on November 21, 2022. Marijane wrote under multiple names, including M.E. Kerr, Vin Packer and under the lesbian persona, Ann Aldrich. As M.E. Kerr she wrote YA fictional novels and was considered as a trailblazer in true-to-life fiction. Marijane was presented … Read more
Poet and author Ellen Wittlinger, whose YA novels have been praised for their depiction of memorable and realistic protagonists. The characters navigated the experiences of first love and other provocative issues of adolescence. Wittlinger died November 17, 2022 following her battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. She was 74 years old. Wittlinger was born October 21, 1948, … Read more
Author and activist Barbara Joan Love, co-author of the originative work Sappho Was A Right-on Woman, has died. Love was a lesbian activist, writer and editor. With the National Organization for Women, Love organized and participated in demonstrations and marches. She also worked within the organization to improve the acceptance of lesbian feminists within the … Read more
Doris Grumbach wrote novels, essays, and literary criticism in the second half of the 20th century that explored how women were trapped within repressive families and disintegrating marriages. Grumbach also wrote about lesbian characters and themes in a way that was unusual at the time in mainstream literature. She died on November 4, 2022, at … Read more
Influential Jewish Lesbian author Elana Dykewomon passed away on August 7, 2022. She was 72 years old. Her brother Daniel Nachman said the cause was complications of esophageal cancer. Dykewomon’s published works, listed below, spanned more than 40 years. The Lambda Literary Award winner was born Elana Nachman in New York City in 1949. After … Read more
Activist, attorney and author Urvashi Vaid died of breast cancer on May 18, 2022. Born in New Delhi, India, Vaid moved to the USA when she was a child. She attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, graduating with degrees in English and Political Science in 1979. A year later she enrolled in law school … Read more
Writer Frances Eleanor Cherry died April 24, 2022 after fighting Parkinson’s disease, leaving an extensive legacy in literature and a life-long commitment to anti-establishment themes, which often accompanied her writing. Daughter Caitlin Cherry led funeral-goers in a rendition of one of her mother’s favourite songs, Ode to a Gym Teacher. The anthem was a … Read more
Lesbian icon and author Leslie Cohen passed away in Miami, Florida on March 16, 2022. Cohen was the author of the memoir The Audacity of a Kiss. She grew up in Queens, New York, and attended Buffalo State College, then Queens College. Cohen received her Master’s degree in Art History. She worked at Artforum magazine … Read more
On December 15, 2021, esteemed Black queer feminist author bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins) passed away at her home in Berea, Ky. She was 69. Her sister Gwenda Motley said the cause was end-stage renal failure. The American activist and author was a Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College. Her work focused on the … Read more
Lesbian athlete and author Angela Madsen has passed away after trying to row from California to Hawai’i. Her lifeless body was found in the Pacific Ocean after the US Coast Guard was contacted. Madsen had radioed her wife, sayng she was going into the water, but failed to check in again. Madsen had been at … Read more