
Shelley Wong, award-winning poet and self-avowed Xennial
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
Renee Roman, community organizer, proofreader, and author at Bold Strokes Books
Meg Elison, speculative fiction writer and feminist essayist whose writings often incorporate the themes of female empowerment, body positivity, and gender flexibility
Jane C. Esther, librarian, speculative fiction writer, self-professed science nerd
Jewelle Gomez, poet, playwright, and author of “The Gilda Stories,” the original Lesbian Vampire book
Peter Gajdics, Vancouver native, conversion therapy survivor, playwright, activist, advocate
Kathleen Knowles, health and safety specialist, novelist with Bold Strokes Books
Andrew Jordan Nance, children’s author, educator, stage director, founder of Mindful Arts San Francisco
Andrew and Wayne discuss Mindfulness, Eastern Thought, Childhood Psychology, and Long-lasting Relationships
Kevin Klehr, Australian radio host, media and communications guru
Adrian Shanker, healthcare activist, advocate, organizer, also founder of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Leaf Seligman, restorative justice practitioner, tree worshipper, educator, pastor
Gr Keer, poet and librarian who prefers long walks on foggy beaches, complicated personalities, and awkward silences
Lev Raphael, educator, editor, award-winning author of over 20 books of prose, memoir, short stories, and non-fiction
Arisa White, poet, Cave Canem fellow, community event organizer, and professor of Creative Writing at Colby College
Michael Tod Edgerton, poet, educator, lecturer
Europa Grace, experiential/experimental poet and Yoga instructor
Chen Chen, educator and Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence at Brandeis University
Tom Ammiano, educator, comedian, activist, public servant, San Francisco landmark
Natasha Dennerstein is an Australian-born trans poet living in the San Francisco Bay area and is an Editorial Assistant at Nomadic Press. In a former life she functioned as a psychiatric nurse.
James Crews, poet, educator, anthology editor, and writing coach
Philip Dean Walker, essayist and short story writer
Amy Hoffman, memoirist, journalist, activist, consultant, former editor of “Women’s Review of Books”
Jim Van Buskirk, book group facilitator, public speaker, exhibit curator, collections manager, essayist, journalist, librarian