Barbara Wilson (born 17 October 1950) is the pen name of Barbara Sjoholm, an American writer, editor, publisher, and translator. She co-founded two publishing companies: Seal Press and Women in Translation Press. As Barbara Sjoholm, she is the author of memoir, essays, a biography, and travelogues, including ''The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O’Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea,'' which was a finalist for the PEN USA award in creative nonfiction. She is also a translator of fiction and nonfiction by Norwegian and Danish writers into English, and won the Columbia Translation Award and the American-Scandinavian Translation Award. As Barbara Wilson, she has written two mystery series and has won several awards for her mystery novels, including the British Crime Writers Association award and the Lambda Literary Award. She is known for her novel ''
Gaudi Afternoon
''Gaudi Afternoon'' is a 2001 American-Spanish comedy film starring Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor, Juliette Lewis, Christopher Bowen and Courtney Jines. The film is based on Barbara Wilson's detective novel and directed by Susan Seid ...
'', which was made into a film directed by
Susan Seidelman
Susan Seidelman (Born December 11, 1952) is an American film director, producer, and writer. She first came to notice with '' Smithereens'' (1982), the earliest American independent feature to be screened in Competition at the Cannes Film Festiva ...
in 2001.
Biography
Wilson was born on 17 October 1950, in Long Beach, California. In 2000, she legally changed her name to 'Sjoholm' and writes under that name. She continues to publish mysteries under the last name of Wilson.
Career
In 1976, Wilson co-founded the feminist publishing company Seal Press in Seattle, Washington with
Rachel da Silva, and was an editor in addition to being a publisher. In 1989, she co-founded the nonprofit press
Women in Translation Press, formerly an imprint of Seal Press, and was the director from 1989 to 2004.
Wilson was one of the first American authors to publish short stories, novels, and mystery novels featuring lesbian protagonists, and has two mystery novel series, one featuring a fictional Seattle-based printer named Pam Nilsen, and another featuring a London-based American translator, Cassandra Reilly. The first Cassandra Reilly book, ''Gaudi Afternoon,'' won several awards including the British Crime Writers Association Award and the
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery
The Lambda Literary Award for Mystery is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, to a mystery novel by or about people in the LGBT community. Prior to 2021, the award was separated into separate categories for Gay a ...
. In 2001, her book ''
Gaudi Afternoon
''Gaudi Afternoon'' is a 2001 American-Spanish comedy film starring Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor, Juliette Lewis, Christopher Bowen and Courtney Jines. The film is based on Barbara Wilson's detective novel and directed by Susan Seid ...
'' was adapted into a film of the same name, directed by
Susan Seidelman
Susan Seidelman (Born December 11, 1952) is an American film director, producer, and writer. She first came to notice with '' Smithereens'' (1982), the earliest American independent feature to be screened in Competition at the Cannes Film Festiva ...
. Wilson later expressed regrets that the aspects of lesbian identity present in the book were eliminated from the film. ''Slate'' described Wilson as a "genre pioneer" for her mystery novels. After a hiatus of many years, Wilson published a new mystery, ''Not the Real Jupiter,'' with her character Cassandra Reilly, in 2021. In 2021, she published an article in ''Crime Reads, "''The Queer Old Case of the Spinster Sleuth" about older lesbians in crime fiction.
In addition to fiction, Wilson has published significant works of nonfiction. Her memoir, ''Blue Windows: A Christian Science Childhood'', was a winner of the Lambda Literary Award and a finalist for the PEN USA award.
Writing as Barbara Sjoholm, her nonfiction includes several travelogues, including a memoir of her travels as a young writer, ''Incognito Street''. She wrote ''The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O’Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea'', which was a finalist for the PEN USA award in creative nonfiction.I
In 2017, she published a biography of Danish artist,
Emilie Demant Hatt, titled ''Black Fox.'' Sjoholm has also translated two books by Demant Hatt, the travel narrative, ''With the Lapps in the High Mountains,'' and ''By the Fire: Sami Folktales and Legends.'' Sjoholm's historical novel about the relationship between Emilie Demant Hatt and Danish composer Carl Nielsen, ''Fossil Island,'' won Best Indie award from the Historical Novel Society. Its sequel is ''The Former World.''
As Barbara Sjoholm, she has also published many essays and travel articles in publications such as the ''New York Times, Smithsonian, LA Times, Slate, Harvard Review, American Scholar, Feminist Studies,'' and ''Scandinavian Studies.''
Awards
Wilson has won a number of awards during her lifetime, including:
* (1984) Columbia Translation Award for translating
Cora Sandel
Sara Cecilia Görvell Fabricius (20 December 1880 – 3 April 1974), better known by her pen name Cora Sandel, was a Norwegian writer and painter who lived most of her adult life abroad. Her best-known works are the novels now known as the ''Alb ...
's stories.
* (1990)
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery
The Lambda Literary Award for Mystery is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, to a mystery novel by or about people in the LGBT community. Prior to 2021, the award was separated into separate categories for Gay a ...
finalist - for ''Dog Collar Murders''
* (1991)
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery
The Lambda Literary Award for Mystery is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, to a mystery novel by or about people in the LGBT community. Prior to 2021, the award was separated into separate categories for Gay a ...
winner - for ''Gaudi Afternoon''
* (1991) British Crime Writers Association Award - for ''Gaudi Afternoon''
* (1996)
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction
The Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a work of fiction on lesbian themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of t ...
nominee - for ''If You Had a Family''
* (1997)
Lambda Literary award
Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...
winner and PEN Center USA West nominee for ''Blue Windows''
* (1999)
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction
The Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a work of fiction on lesbian themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of t ...
nominee - ''Salt Water and Other Stories''
* (2001)
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery
The Lambda Literary Award for Mystery is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, to a mystery novel by or about people in the LGBT community. Prior to 2021, the award was separated into separate categories for Gay a ...
finalist - for ''The Case of the Orphaned Bassoonists''
* (2007)
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir nominee - for ''Incognito Street''
* (2008) PEN Center USA West nominee for ''The Palace of the Snow Queen''
* (2016) American Scandinavian Translation Award - winner - for ''Clearing Out,'' by Helene Uri
* (2016) Historical Novel Society- Best Indie Novel - winner - for ''Fossil Island''
* (2020) GCLS Trailblazer Award - for contributions to lesbian writing
Bibliography
Novels and Mysteries
* ''Ambitious Women,'' Spinsters Press (New York, NY), 1982.
* ''Cows and Horses,'' Eighth Mountain Press (Portland, OR), 1988.
* ''If You Had a Family,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1996.
* ''Murder in the Collective,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1984.
* ''Sisters of the Road,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1987.
* ''The Dog Collar Murders,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1989.
* ''Gaudi Afternoon,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1990.
* ''Trouble in Transylvania,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1993.
* ''The Death of a Much-travelled Woman and Other Adventures with Cassandra Reilly,'' Third Side Press (Chicago, IL), 1998.
* ''The Case of the Orphaned Bassoonists,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 2000.
* ''Fossil Island'' (Cedar Street Editions) 2015
* ''The Former World'' (Cedar Street Editions) 2015
* ''Not the Real Jupiter'' (Cedar Street Editions), 2021
Short stories:
* ''Talk and Contact,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1978.
* ''Thin Ice,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1981.
* ''Walking on the Moon: Six Stories and a Novella,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1983.
* ''Miss Venezuela,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1988.
* ''Salt Water and Other Stories,'' Alyson Press (Los Angeles, CA), 1999
Translations:
* ''Cora Sandel: Collected Short Stories,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1985.
* Ebba Haslund, ''Nothing Happened,'' Seal Press (Seattle, WA), 1987.
* Liv Finstand and Cecelie Hoigard, ''Backstreets,'' Temple University (Philadelphia PA), 1992.
* Emilie Demant Hatt, With the Lapps in the High Mountains:A Woman Among the Sami, 1907–1908 (University of Wisconsin Press, 2013)
* Sigrid Lien, ''Pictures of Longing,'' University of Minnesota Press, 2018
* Helene Uri, ''Clearing Out'', University of Minnesota Press, 2019
* Emilie Demant Hatt, By the Fire: Sami Folktales and Legends, University of Minnesota Press, 2019
*
* Other writing:
*
* ''Blue Windows: A Christian Science Childhood,'' Picador Press (New York, NY), 1997.
* ''A Clear Spring,'' Feminist Press at the City University of New York (New York, NY), 2002.
* (Editor) ''Steady as She Goes: Women's Adventures at Sea,'' Seal Press (New York, NY), 2003.
* ''The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O'Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea,'' Seal Press (Emeryville, CA), 2004.
* ''Incognito Street: How Travel Made Me a Writer,'' Seal Press (Emeryville, CA), 2006.
* ''The Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland,'' Shoemaker & Hoard (Emeryville, CA), 2007.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Barbara
1950 births
Living people
People from Long Beach, California
21st-century American women writers
21st-century American translators
American book editors
American book publishers (people)
American lesbian writers
American mystery novelists