Christopher Bram
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Christopher Bram (born February 22, 1952) is an American author. Bram grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia (outside Norfolk), where he was a paperboy and an
Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...
. He graduated from the
College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
in 1974 (B.A. in English). He moved to New York City in 1978. His nine novels range in subject matter from gay life in the 1970s to the career of a Victorian musical clairvoyant to the frantic world of theater people in contemporary New York. Fellow novelist
Philip Gambone Philip Gambone (born July 21, 1948) is an American writer who has published both fiction and non-fiction. Biography Philip Gambone was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, on July 21, 1948. He earned a BA from Harvard College and an MA from the Epi ...
wrote of his work, "What is most impressive in Bram's fiction is the psychological and emotional accuracy with which he portrays his characters ... His novels are about ordinary gay people trying to be decent and good in a morally compromised world. He focuses on the often conflicting claims of friendship, family, love and desire; the ways good intentions can become confused and thwarted; and the ways we learn to be vulnerable and human." Bram has written numerous articles and essays (a selection is included in ''Mapping the Territory''). He has also written or co-written several screenplays, including feature documentary and short narrative films directed by his partner, Draper Shreeve. His 1995 novel ''
Father of Frankenstein ''Father of Frankenstein'' is a 1995 novel by Christopher Bram that speculates on the last days of the life of film director James Whale. Whale directed such groundbreaking works as the 1931 ''Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern ...
'', about film director
James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Fran ...
, was made into the 1998 movie '' Gods and Monsters'' starring
Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
,
Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...
, and
Brendan Fraser Brendan James Fraser ( ; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor known for his leading roles in blockbusters, comedies, and dramatic films. Having graduated from the Cornish College of the Arts in 1990, he made his film debut in '' ...
. The film was written and directed by
Bill Condon William Condon (born October 22, 1955) is an American director and screenwriter. Condon is known for writing and/or directing numerous successful and acclaimed films including '' Gods and Monsters'', ''Chicago'', '' Kinsey'', ''Dreamgirls'', ' ...
who won an Academy Award for the adapted screenplay. Bram was made a Guggenheim Fellow in 2001, and is a multiple nominee for the
Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction The Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a work of fiction on gay male themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of the ...
, winning for ''Lives of the Circus Animals''. In May 2003, he received the
Bill Whitehead Award The Bill Whitehead Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour lifetime achievement by writers within the LGBT community. First presented in 1989, the award was named in honour of Bill Whitehead, an editor with ...
for Lifetime Achievement from
Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...
, and in 2013 his book ''Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America'' won the organization's
Randy Shilts Award The Randy Shilts Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour works of non-fiction of relevance to the gay community. First presented in 1997, the award was named in memory of American journalist Randy Shilts. Winn ...
. He lives in Greenwich Village and teaches at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
.


Bibliography


Novels

*''Surprising Myself'' (1987) *''Hold Tight'' (1988) *''In Memory of Angel Clare'' (1989) *''Almost History'' (1992) *''Father of Frankenstein'' (1995) *''Gossip'' (1997) *''The Notorious Dr. August: His Real Life and Crimes'' (2000) *''Lives of the Circus Animals'' (2003) *''Exiles in America'' (2006)


Non-fiction

*''Mapping the Territory'' (2009) *''Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America'' (2012) *''The Art of History: Unlocking the Past in Fiction and Nonfiction'' (2016)


Essays

*"Perry Street, West Greenwich Village" in ''Hometowns: Gay Men Write About Where They Belong'' edited by John Preston, 1990 *"Slow Learners" in ''Boys Like Us: Gay Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories'' edited by Patrick Merla, 1996 *"A Queer Monster: Henry James and the Sex Question" in ''James White Review,'' 2003 *"Delicate Monsters" in ''I Do, I Don't: Queers on Marriage'' edited by Greg Wharton and Ian Phillips, 2004 *"Homage to Mr. Jimmy" in ''Gods and Monsters'' (new edition of ''Father of Frankenstein''), 2005 *"The Zen of Tolstoy," ''Commonweal Magazine'', March 2016 *"Mr. Smith Goes to Heaven: Remembering Bob Smith," ''Sessums Magazine'', January 2018 *"Pauline at the Buggy Whip Factory: Our Day with Pauline Kael," ''Sessums Magazine'', February 2019 *"A Fan's Notes," introduction to ''Isherwood in Transit'', University of Minnesota Press, 2020


References


Further reading

;Archival sources
George Stambolian Papers, 1955–1992
(5.8 linear feet) are housed at the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
. Contains correspondence with Christopher Bram {{DEFAULTSORT:Bram, Christopher 1952 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers College of William & Mary alumni American gay writers Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction winners Living people Writers from Buffalo, New York 21st-century American novelists American LGBT novelists LGBT people from Virginia American male novelists American male essayists 20th-century American essayists 21st-century American essayists Novelists from New York (state) 21st-century American male writers