Melanie Mitzner, screenwriter, journalist, and self-proclaimed “Fruit Lady” of Provincetown

Emory Easton, memoirist and survivor of much adversity and trauma

Samuel R. Delany (known affectionately to his friends as “Chip”), educator, memoirist, essayist, and critic who has penned dozens of titles

Jules Ohman, co-founder of the non-profit Free Verse and Literary Arts Writers in the Schools program coordinator

Annie Krabbenschmidt, essayist and media project consultant

Nevo Zisin, performer, activist and public speaker based in Melbourne

Shelley Wong, award-winning poet and self-avowed Xennial

Victor Evans, entertainment journalist, educator, documentary filmmaker, and world traveler

Jesse Xander, biological anthropologist who fancies archeology and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth

Chris Pepin-Neff, lobbyist, congressional aide, and political activist, now a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney

Brontez Purnell, dancer, musician, filmmaker, and host of “Cooking with Brontez”

Keely Shinners, essayist, editor of “ArtThrob,” founder of “[in review],” and co-founder of Best Friend Club, who lives in Capetown

Lance Ringel, political activist, playwright, and staff member at Vassar College

Kellian Parker, Latinx poet who has a vision of a world free from victim blaming and shaming

Brian Broome, poet, screenwriter, K. Leroy Irvis Fellow and instructor in The Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh

Casey Hamilton, story-teller, and content creator for the web series “Judys”

John Copenhaver, award-winning author, teacher, and book reviewer

Vi Khi Nao, artist, filmmaker, poet, and former fellow at the Black Mountain Institute

Arisa White, poet, Cave Canem fellow, community event organizer, and professor of Creative Writing at Colby College

Preston Allen, a government licensed professional who likes to travel to foreign countries, explore interesting cuisine, and visit theme parks

Michael Nava, attorney, advocate, activist, award-winning author of the “Henry Rios” series

J.P. Jackson, health-care IT analyst and breeder of African Violets by day, summoner of demons, witches, and shapeshifters by night

Leslie Cohen, former art dealer, night club owner, and political activist

Lillian Faderman, educator and historian

Dennis E. Staples, Red Lake Nation Ojibwe Minnesotan who likes dark, otherworldly fiction

Rem Wigmore, novelist, fantasist, and teller of tall tales

Gwen Paradice, two-spirited Cherokee, weightlifter, and video gamer

Damian Serbu, educator, who writes about vampires and other scary beasties

Anne Shade, avid crafter and future bed & breakfast proprietor

Brontez Purnell, dancer, musician, filmmaker, and host of “Cooking with Brontez”

Christopher Castellani, faculty and board member of the Warren Wilson MFA Program and the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and artistic director of the Grub Street writing center

SA Baz Collins, classically trained singer/actor, graphic artist, and co-host of the “WROTE” podcast

Victoria Sheridan, student of archeology, cultural anthropology, and East-Asian studies (but does nothing with those)

Ben Kline, former farm boy, poet, boy city fella, bourbonite, and fit-fiend

Jude Treswell, devotee of sedimentary geology who writes a blog about asexuality, polyamory, beer, and tattoos

Alexander Watson, who leads a riparian life aboard a vintage mahogany and chrome yacht

Anne Raeff & Lori Ostlund, educators, award-winning authors, and proud parents

Tyler Davis, screenwriter and blogger

Natasha Saje, English Professor, poet, essayist, and food critic

Timothy Jay Smith, world traveler, award-winning stage and screen writer, founder of the Smith Prize for Political Theater

Joelle Circé Laramée, painter, trans advocate, and resident of Quebec

Kergan Edwards-Stout, award-winning director, HIV educator, and proud father of two children

Cliff James, globe trekker, cultural dissident, journalist, and grower of olives

Dayna Ingram, queer genre fiction writer

Monica Nolan, filmmaker, lecturer, and former bookstore clerk

Zack Smedley, chemical engineer who enjoys building furniture, baking, programming, screenwriting, and tinkering with electronic systems

John Copenhaver, award-winning author, teacher, and book reviewer

Rick R. Reed, award-winning author whose passions include food, cooking, running, and traveling to Montreal 

Tanea Lunsford Lynx, instructor, abolitionist, and fourth generation Black San Franciscan on both sides

Gregory L. Norris, screenwriter and full-time professional writer being romanced by his muse

Achy Obejas, former journalist and activist

Robert Jones Jr., creator and curator of the social justice, social media community Son of Baldwin

Additional conversation with Robert Jones Jr. in which we discuss Ma Rainey, Phillis Wheatley, “Kick the Ick,” and a few other topics

Britt East, inspirational speaker and blogger

Maurice Carlos Ruffin, New Orleans native, lawyer, and former restauranteur

Julia Serano, performer, activist, musician, and biologist

Miguel Murphy, award-winning poet, beach bum, rapscallion, and coffee fiend  

D’yan Forest, comedienne, chanteuse, golfer, and swimmer

Liz Faraim, former soldier, bartender, shoe salesperson, assistant museum curator, and driving instructor who writes strong, queer, female leads who don’t back down

Kellie Doherty, Alaska native, publisher, freelance editor, and avid tea drinker

Patrick Earl Ryan, literary journal editor, martial arts philosophy and tai chi chuan instructor, winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction

I recently appeared on Ben Tanzer’s “This Podcast Will Change Your Life”

Jade Winters, London born and educated journalist and filmmaker

Sebastian Stuart, screenwriter, playwright, ghost writer, and manuscript consultant

Brian Broome, poet, screenwriter, K. Leroy Irvis Fellow and instructor in The Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh

Johnson Chong, spiritual guide, founder of the Sage Sapien Soul Academy

Jenn Shapland, essayist, literary detective, and Lammy Award winner

Laury A. Egan, fine arts photographer and former book designer

Julian K. Jarboe, Lammy award winner, resident of Salem, Massachusetts

Emanuel Xavier, Nuyorican poet, homeless advocate, and former wharf rat

Juliana Delgado Lopera, Colombian writer, historian, speaker, storyteller, and former Executive/Artistic Director of RADAR Productions in San Francisco, reads from her Lammy winning “Fiebre Tropical”

K-Ming Chang, Kundiman fellow, editor at “The Offing” magazine, and National Book Foundation “5 under 35” honoree

Barbara Sjoholm, journalist, translator, travel writer, who publishes mysteries and lesbian fiction under the name Barbara Wilson

R.L. Merrill, educator, music critic, food reviewer, and romance writer

Willy Wilkinson, writer, public health consultant, expert in transgender issues, and LGBTQ activist

David Kingston Yeh, Toronto-based counsellor and educator

Anand Vedawala, Indian-born writer, artist, educator, and Executive Director of San Francisco Zine Fest

Jennifer Steil, PhD Candidate/ Researcher at the University of Birmingham, and former journalista who now lives in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

James Crews, poet, educator, anthology editor, and writing coach

Kim Shuck, Seventh Poet Laureate of San Francisco

Chen Chen, educator and Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence at Brandeis University

Charles Jensen, award-winning writer of chapbooks, director of the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, and host of “The Write Process”

Luiza Flynn-Goodlett, poet, reviewer, and editor-in-chief at Foglifter

Jan Steckel, physician, Peace Corps member, reviewer, and award-winning poet

Jasper David Lauter, poet, trans activist, and drag performer

Richard LeMay, award-winning filmmaker

Thea Matthews, San Francisco native, poet, scholar, and activist

Tina Kakadelis, author of the Carly Allen Trilogy, and huge Bruce Springsteen fan

Lannie Stabile, award-winning poet and chapbook creator

Jack Dickson, playwright, filmmaker, and author of the crime fiction Jas Anderson series recently republished by ReQueered Tales

Gillian Cameron, artist, professional storyteller, filmmaker, educator, and self-professed “bookstore lady”

Miah Jeffra, founding editor of Foglifter Press, Santa Clara University staff member, and social/art activist

Valerie Miner, award-winning author, international journalist, reviewer, and Stanford professor

David S. Pederson, mystery writer at Bold Strokes Books

Ian Madison Keller, bisexual trans man who escaped Provo, Utah, and lives near Portland

Linnéa Capps, president of the Furry Writers’ Guild, editor-in-chief at Unsung Games, former circus worker and staff writer at PokeGoldfish

Lance Ringel, political activist, playwright, and staff member at Vassar College

Kathryn Bond Stockton, Director of Gender Studies at The University of Utah, English professor, mountain biker, and skate skier

Michael Alenyikov, former bookstore clerk, clinical psychologist, cab driver, and interactive media writer

Terra Snover, video game designer, comic artist, filmmaker, and political candidate (briefly)

M. D. Neu, award-winning author at Nine Star Press, blogger, founder of Bay Area Queer Writers Association, and avid scuba diver

Wayne Goodman, host of Queer Words Podcast, as a guest on the WROTE Podcast

Eric Andrews-Katz, massage therapist and entertainment reviewer

Leigh Harlen, writer of dark leaning speculative fiction who enjoys petting strangers’ dogs, crocheting, and enthusing about bats

J. Scott Coatsworth, community organizer and member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

J. Marshall Freeman, musician, graphic designer, poet, and bicyclist rights advocate

Jaimie Kelton & Robin Hopkins, co-hosts of the podcast “If These Ovaries Could Talk”

Brent Calderwood, journalist, literary critic, editor, copywriter, and poet

Robert Joseph Greene, reluctant activist and reteller of fairy tales

Lee Patton, educator, playwright, and author with Bold Strokes Books

Mari Naomi, award winning author and illustrator who maintains databases for queer, disabled, and cartoonists of color

Brad Shreve, hospitality industry survivor, beach bum, proud dad, and host of Gay Mystery Podcast

Bob Angell (author name R.R. Angell), techie, activist, former defense contractor, who writes short stories, and has his first novel, “Best Game Ever”

Naomi Wolf, best-selling author, feminist, and political advisor

Bonus material includes discussions of Larry Kramer, the evolution of her new book, “Outrages,” and sexuality in the 19th Century.

Nicole Disney, a lifelong storyteller who loves exploring the hidden corners of life

Hugh Ryan, queer historian, teacher, curator, and speaker in New York City

Anne Laughlin, Chicago native, real estate agent, and fan of writing residencies

Sam Ledel, author with Bold Strokes Books who likes to chase her Jack Russell Terrier around the apartment, watch way too many movies, or stare out a window with a cup of coffee in hand

Barbara Ann Wright, Texas native and speculative fiction author at Bold Strokes Books

Garth Greenwell, author, poet, literary critic, and educator

Erin Pringle, who describes herself as a writer of fictions, tender of small fires, dreamer born out of the Midwest

Jim Provenzano, Lambda Literary award-winning author, playwright, photographer, journalist, editor, and activist

Clifford Mae Henderson, award-winning author, playwright, and improvisation coach, who admits to being baffled by reality

Jonathan Vatner, award-winning journalist who works at the Fashion Institute of Technology

Mickey Brent, globetrotter, freelance artist, lover of languages, teacher, and translator

John R. Gordon, award-winning author and publisher

Ann Aptaker, native New Yorker, art historian and curator, author of the Cantor Gold mystery series

A. J. Fitzwater, who self describes as “1000 tiny dragons flapping furiously inside a meat suit, living between two fault lines in Christchurch, New Zealand”

Richie Jackson, performer, producer, parent

Rob Rosen, multi-award-winning and best-selling author/editor/ anthologist

Hamour Baika, Iranian-American, fan fiction writer

Tara Madison Avery, cartoonist, illustrator, and publisher at Stacked Deck Press

Meg Elison, speculative fiction writer and feminist essayist whose writings often incorporate the themes of female empowerment, body positivity, and gender flexibility