Steve Berman is an American editor,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...

and short story writer. He writes in the field of queer speculative fiction.

Biography

Berman was born on August 28 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and raised in southern New Jersey. Berman realized in junior high school he was gay. He attended

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in English Literature, then later studied History at Rutgers–Camden campus in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

as well as a master's degree in Liberal Studies in 2006. He began his publishing career working in pharmaceutical and medical publishing, then worked as a senior book buyer for wholesaler Bookazine, and served in the marketing department of a small Jewish press. He spent a decade as an employee engagement survey analyst for a

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

consulting firm in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Berman attended the Clarion East 2006 class, the last year that workshop was held in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

. Though raised

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, Berman wavers between Jewish secularism and

Atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. Berman is a former member of

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...

(SFWA) and a lifetime member of the RPGA. His short fiction is mainly dark fantasy, horror, urban fantasy, and weird

autofiction In literary criticism, autofiction is a form of fictionalized autobiography. Autofiction combines two mutually inconsistent narrative forms, namely autobiography and fiction. An author may decide to recount their life in the third person, to mod ...

. He has spoken online and at convention panels on the history of LGBT-inclusive speculative fiction and on LGBT young adult topics. In 2001, Berman founded Lethe Press. The first few titles included his first short story collection, ''Trysts'', and several books in the public domain. In 2004, he met author Toby Johnson and offered to reprint Johnson's book, ''Gay Spirituality''. Lethe Press regularly publishes title of LGBT speculative fiction. Several of his urban fantasy stories are set in the

Fallen Area Fallen may refer to: People * Carl Fredrik Fallén (1764–1830), Swedish botanist and entomologist * Gabriel Toledo (born 1991), known as FalleN, Brazilian ''Counter-Strike'' player Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Fallen ( ...

. In June 2009, he launched the quarterly publication, ''Icarus, the Magazine of Gay Speculative Fiction'', which ended in October 2013. In August 2017, Berman moved to Western Massachusetts.

Awards and honors

Berman has been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award, the Golden Crown Literary Award(1), a seven-time finalist for the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards and five-time finalist (as editor) for the

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 ...

in various categories. He won the latter in 2018 for ''His Seed''. His first novel, ''Vintage: A Ghost Story'' released in 2007 and was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award.

As editor

*''Charmed Lives: Gay Spirit in Storytelling'' (co-edited with Toby Johnson) (2006). The inaugural title in the White Crane Wisdom Series, this anthology of inspirational essays and short fiction for gay men was a finalist for a

. *''So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction'' (2007, Reprinted 2009). This is an anthology of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

short fiction dealing with faeries was a finalist for the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards and the Golden Crown Literary Awards. *''Magic in the Mirrorstone'' (2008). This is an anthology of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

, all stories dealing with magic. *''Best Gay Stories'' (2008–10, 2013-6). An annual anthology reprinting quality short fiction and essays that have gay themes. Canadian author Peter Dube took over editorial duties for the 2011 and 2012 volumes. *''Wilde Stories'' (2008–18). An annual anthology offers reprints of the prior year's best works of speculative and interstitial fiction with gay characters and themes - the 2008 and 2010 editions were finalists for a

. *''Speaking Out'' (2011). A young adult anthology of inspirational short fiction aimed at LGBT teens. *''Boys of Summer'' (2012). A young adult anthology of summer-themed short fiction aimed at gay teens. *''Heiresses of Russ'' (2011–16). An annual anthology of lesbian-themed speculative fiction (each volume is co-edited with a different female editor) named in honor after Joanna Russ. The 2012 volume was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and the Golden Crown Literary Award. *''The Touch of the Sea'' (2012). An anthology of gay-themed fantastical stories involving the sea and maritime folklore. *''Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny'' (2013). A horror anthology of stories about evil children from Prime Books. *''Where Thy Dark Eye Glances: Queering

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

'' (2013). A dark fantasy anthology that remixes the oeuvre of Poe through a queer perspective. A finalist for the

Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented ...

. *''Zombies: Shambling Through the Ages'' (2013). An anthology of historical stories featuring ghouls and zombies from Prime Books. *''Shades of Blue & Gray: Civil War Ghost Stories'' (2013). An anthology of ghost stories set during or based on the consequences of the American Civil War. *''Suffered From the Night: Queering Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (2013). A dark fantasy and horror anthology that offers new gay-themed stories about characters from the most famous vampire novel of all time. *''Handsome Devil: Stories of Sin and Seduction'' (2014). An anthology of incubus-themed horror and dark fantasy tales from Prime Books. *''Daughters of Frankenstein: Lesbian Mad Scientists'' (2015). A science-fiction lesbian-themed anthology, a finalist for the Golden Crown Literary Award. *''His Seed'' (2017). Winner for the Lambda Literary Award. *''Burly Tales'' (2021). An anthology of fairy-tale retellings for hirsute gay men.

References

External links

Steve Berman website20 Questions with Steve Berman (Interview)Norton Award InterviewInterview with Steve Berman on Tor.com
*
Steve Berman
at RPGgeek

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Steve 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American agnostics American fantasy writers American male novelists American male short story writers American short story writers American gay writers Jewish agnostics Jewish American writers Lambda Literary Award winners LGBT Jews American LGBT novelists LGBT people from Pennsylvania Living people Role-playing game designers Rutgers University alumni Tulane University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)