Lee Lynch (born September 9, 1945) is an American author writing primarily on lesbian themes, specifically noted for authentic characterizing of

butch and femme ''Butch'' and ''femme'' (; ; ) are terms used in the lesbian subculture to ascribe or acknowledge a masculine (butch) or feminine (femme) identity with its associated traits, behaviors, styles, self-perception, and so on. The terms were found ...

characters in fiction. She is the recipient of a

Golden Crown Literary Society The Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is an American non-profit organization established in February 2004 as a literary and educational organization for the study, discussion, enjoyment, and enhancement of Lesbian literature. In 2020, in order ...

Trail Blazer award for lifetime achievement, as well as being the namesake for the Golden Crown Literary Society's Lee Lynch Classics Award.

Personal life

Lynch was born in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on September 9, 1945. Throughout school, she was bullied for being different. She began to realize her lesbian sexuality around age 15. Lynch says that her protest against societal norms were individual acts, such as kissing her girlfriend in public, or dressing in men's clothing as much as possible. At the time, acts such as these meant she was basically considered a juvenile delinquent by New York law. In the 1960s, Lynch became aware of '' The Ladder'', the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States, and began contributing lesbian fiction and non-fiction to ''The Ladder''. In the 1980s, Lynch was in a relationship with another lesbian artist,

Tee Corinne Tee A. Corinne (November 3, 1943 – August 27, 2006) was an American photographer, author, and editor notable for the portrayal of sexuality in her artwork. According to ''Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia'', "Corinne is one of ...

. In 2009, Lynch moved from the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

where she earned a living as a researcher. She has since retired and returned to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in 2013, enabling her to work full-time on writing pursuits. In 2010, she married Elaine Mulligan in

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

. The couple lives in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

Career

Lynch published her first piece of writing in '' The Ladder'' in the late 1960s. From there, she became a frequent contributor, as it was the only lesbian publication at the time. In 1983, Lynch published her first novel, ''Toothpick House,'' with

Naiad Press Naiad Press (1973–2003) was an American publishing company, one of the first dedicated to lesbian literature. At its closing it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world. History Naiad Press was founded by partners Barb ...

. She went on to publish 10 more novels with Naiad, between the years 1984-1994. She has also published essays, and her stories have appeared in a number of anthologies. She has written reviews and feature articles for ''The Lambda Book Report'' and many other publications. Lynch's syndicated column, "The Amazon Trail", has been running in papers across the country since 1986. Beginning in 2006, Lynch published 11 more lesbian novels with

Bold Strokes Books Bold Strokes Books is a midsized independent publisher headquartered in Cambridge, New York that offers a diverse collection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer general and genre fiction. Their list includes romance, mystery/intri ...

, a New York queer publishing house. Lynch cites

Isabel Miller Alma Routsong (November 26, 1924 – October 4, 1996) was an American novelist best known for her lesbian fiction, published under the pen name Isabel Miller. Early life Alma Routsong was born Elma Louise Routsong in Traverse City, Michigan, on ...

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...

, and

Jane Rule Jane Vance Rule (28 March 1931 – 27 November 2007) was a Canadian writer of lesbian-themed works. Her first novel, ''Desert of the Heart'', appeared in 1964, when gay activity was still a criminal offence. It turned Rule into a reluctant m ...

as some of her writing inspirations. Many younger lesbian writers such as Lori L. Lake,

Karin Kallmaker Karin Kallmaker (born 1960) is an American author of lesbian fiction whose works also include those originally written under the name Laura Adams. Her writings span lesbian romance, lesbian erotica, and lesbian science-fiction/fantasy. Dubbed th ...

, and Rachel Spangler have cited her influence, especially regarding the importance of authenticity in

lesbian literature Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest topics. Fiction that falls into this category may be of any gen ...

. Her adept way of characterizing

characters in her writing set the standard for many novelists writing since the 1970s. Lynch has stated that her birth family has never read her work.

Awards and honors

In 2006, Lynch was inducted into the

Saints and Sinners Literary Festival Saints and Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival is an alternative literary festival specializing in LGBTQ+ literature. It is held in various locations around the French Quarter neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana each March. Overview ...

's Hall of Fame in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Lynch's novel ''Sweet Creek'' was a finalist for a

Award and was named one of the top ten fiction books of the year by the Q Syndicate. In 2009 Lynch was awarded the

Trail Blazer award for lifetime achievement, in recognition of the contributions she has made to the field of lesbian literature. In addition, her novel ''Beggar of Love'' won the 2010 Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. Amusingly enough, she also won the James Duggins Mid-Career Prize in 2010, after more than forty-five years of writing. In 2012, the

issued a new award for classic, "timeless" fiction and named it The Lee Lynch Classics Award. The inaugural book awarded with the very first trophy was Lynch's 1985 ''tour de force'', ''The Swashbuckler''.

Writing career

''Toothpick House Naiad edition''
(1983) - Irrepressible cab driver Annie Heaphy falls for a Yalie and brings the old and new gay cultures together. * ''Old Dyke Tales'' (1984) - Short stories of lesbian love and life. * ''The Swashbuckler'' (1985) - The famous novel about butch/femme relationships and authentic lesbian life in the 1960s and 70s. * ''Home In Your Hands'' (1986) - Short stories about the women Lynch's readers have come to love. * ''Dusty's Queen of Hearts Diner'' (1987) - Book 1 of the Morton River Valley Trilogy. Dusty and Elly's brainchild is the beating heart of Morton River Valley as well as the target of its bigotry. * ''The Amazon Trail'' (1988) - Lynch's early self-syndicated columns from gay papers across the country. * ''Sue Slate, Private Eye'' (1989) - An Alleycat detective and a feline torch singer are San Francisco top cats in this mystery spoof. * ''That Old Studebaker'' (1991) - Andy Blaine's two great loves are Regina and the car. A story of love and loss on a cross country ride. * ''Morton River Valley'' (1992) - Book 2 of the Morton River Valley Trilogy. Paris Collins turns heads and captures hearts as she gets involved with both an immigrant family and the descendant of an uppercrust family. * ''Cactus Love'' (1994) - Short Stories with old and new heroines. * ''Off the Rag'' (1996) - edited by Lee Lynch and Akia Woods - An anthology of personal writings by lesbians about menopause. * ''Rafferty Street'' (1998) - Book 3 of the Morton River Valley Trilogy - Annie Heaphy of Toothpick House moves to the Valley seeking love and home. * ''Sweet Creek'' (2006) - A story of love, community and the changing tides of time in a town where lesbians come in search of a paradise. * ''The Butch Cook Book'' (2008) - edited by Lee Lynch, Sue Hardesty and Nel Ward. * ''Beggar of Love'' (October 2009)- Never lacking a lover, Jefferson knows little of love; brought up on the right side of the tracks, she's drawn to the wild side. Every lesbian has known Jefferson — or is Jefferson.
''Toothpick House'' ebook edition
(1983/2010) - Irrepressible cab driver Annie Heaphy falls for a Yalie and brings the old and new gay cultures together.
''The Raid''
(2012) - A story of lesbian love, life, history, and more. * ''The Amazon Trail: A Quarter Century of Queer Life in the United States'' (2014) * ''Rainbow Gap: Book 1 in the Rainbow Gap Lesbian Family Saga'' (2016) * '' Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices From the Gay Bars (2017) * ''Accidental Desperados: Book 2 in the Rainbow Gap Lesbian Family Saga'' (2021) * ''Defiant Hearts: The Classic Short Stories'' (2022)

Awards and recognition

* 2018 ''Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices From the Gay Bars'' -

Awarded with for Anthology/Collection (Creative Non-Fiction) * 2017 ''Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award for Rainbow Gap'' -

* 2015 ''An American Queer'' -

Awarded for Anthology/Collection (Creative Non-Fiction) * 2013 ''The Raid '' -

Awarded for Dramatic General Fiction * 2012 ''The Lee Lynch Classic Book Award'' -

for ''The Swashbuckler'' * 2010 ''

Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize The Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize is an American literary award, presented to two writers, one male and one female, from the LGBT community to honour their body of work. First presented by the Saints and Sinners Literary Festi ...

'' -

"Lee Lynch and Noel Alumit recipients of James Duggins Mid-Career Author Award"

Lambda Literary Foundation The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

, April 15, 2010. * 2010 ''Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award for Beggar of Love'' -

* 2009 ''Beggar of Love'' - ForeWord Magazine Reviews - GLBT Book of the Year Bronze Prize * 2009 ''Beggar of Love'' - Lesbian Fiction Reader's Choice Award for General Fiction * 2009 ''Trailblazer Award'' -

* 2007 ''Sweet Creek'' -

Award Finalist * 2007 Received

The Alice B Readers Award The Alice B Readers Award is given annually to living writers of lesbian fiction whose careers are distinguished by consistently well-written stories about lesbians. Named for Alice B. Toklas, the award is given once, only, in appreciation of ca ...

* 2006 Inducted into the Saints and Sinners Hall of Fame * 1997 ''Off the Rag, Women Write About Menopause''

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 ...

Finalist with co-editor Akia Woods * 1990 ''Sue Slate, Private Eye'' -

Finalist

References

External links

*
Lee Lynch's page at Bold Strokes Books

Lee Lynch and Lori L. Lake
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Lee 1945 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Living people American women novelists American women short story writers Place of birth missing (living people) American lesbian writers American LGBT novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers