Patricia Nell Warren

Patricia Nell Warren grew up on a Montana ranch and started publishing poetry and short fiction at age 17. Her bestselling gay novels -- notably The Front Runner, Harlan’s Race and Billy’s Boy -- started their print history in 1974 and continue today with groundbreaking choices of themes and characters. Her most recent title is nonfiction -- The Lavender Locker Room: 3000 Years of Great Athletes Whose Sexual Orientation Was Different. Warren blogs about gay sports at Outsports.com.

As an activist, she has been involved in women’s rights and free-speech cases that went to the U.S. Supreme Court. In recent years she turned to provocative editorials, writing about post-9/11 issues, youth, elders, AIDS politics and other crucial themes. She also got active in politics, assisting with Democratic fundraising and serving as one of the commissioners of education in the Los Angeles Unified School District 1996-99. In 2006 she ran (unsuccessfully) for city council in West Hollywood. Warren blogs about LGBT issues at the Bilerico Project www.bilerico.com.

Many prestigious awards have come her way, including the Barry Goldwater Award, the New York City Public Advocate Award, and the Independent Publisher Gold Medal. Wildcat Press is her own independent publishing imprint, with its website at www.wildcatpress.com. Her personal page, with many posted editorials and articles, is www.patricianellwarren.com.