Lee Lynch (author)

Lee Lynch (author)

Lee Lynch (born 1945 in Manhattan, NY) is an American author who started writing lesbian fiction and non-fiction in the 1960s when she was a frequent contributor to The Ladder, the only lesbian publication at the time. Since then she has published novels and essays, her stories have appeared in a number of anthologies, and 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. Many younger lesbian writers such as Karin Kallmaker and Rachel Spangler have cited her influence, especially regarding the importance of authenticity in lesbian literature. Her adept way of characterizing butch and femme characters in her writing set the standard for many novelists writing since the 1970s.

In 2009 Lynch moved from the Oregon Coast to Florida where she earned a living as a researcher. Since then she has retired, enabling her to work full-time on writing pursuits. In 2006 she was inducted into the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival's Hall of Fame in New Orleans, and her novel Sweet Creek was a finalist for a Golden Crown Literary Society Award and was named one of the top ten fiction books of the year by the Q Syndicate. In 2009 Lynch was awarded the Golden Crown Literary Society 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 Golden Crown Literary Society issued a new award for classic 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.