Dirk Vanden

Dirk Vanden (born May 7, 1933), born Richard Fullmer, is an American author and illustrator. He is considered the first gay Mormon writer[1] and has been called a "pioneer of gay literature" by the Lambda Literary Review. A graduate of the University of Utah, his work has appeared in ONE Magazine, Vector,[2] and California Scene,[3] as well as in Latter-Gay Saints: An Anthology of Gay Mormon Fiction.[1] His novel I Want It All was the first book to explore San Francisco's leather subculture.[4]

In spite of his success, Vanden, together with Richard Amory, was highly critical of the way editor Earl Kemp and publisher Greenleaf Classics treated his work, citing Greenleaf's non-payment of royalties, employment of editors not familiar with gay literature,[3] and insistence on inserting graphic sex into his books as examples of their heavy-handed approach to LGBT publishing.[1]

Vanden received a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Erotica in 2012 for All Together, a collected edition of three of his early works.[5]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Stack, Peggy Fletcher (August 14, 2013). "Writer sees growing acceptance of LGBT within Mormon faith". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  2. Gunn, Drewey Wayne (August 10, 2011). "Dirk Vanden: Pioneer Of Gay Literature". Lambda Literary Review. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Vanden, Dirk (2012). "It Was Too Soon Before…: The Unlikely Life, Untimely Death, and Unexpected Rebirth of Gay Pioneer, Dirk Vanden". Lethe Press. p. 151-156. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  4. "Sadomasochistic Literature". glbtq.com. 2002. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  5. Grindley, Lucas (June 5, 2012). "The Next Great LGBT Writers: Lambda Announces This Year's Winners". The Advocate. Retrieved 2014-09-24.

See also