
Fred Karger, political consultant, activist, and first openly-gay presidential candidate in a major party
Fred Karger, political consultant, activist, and first openly-gay presidential candidate in a major party
Meliza Bañales, slam poet, advocate, and adventurer, also known as Missy Fuego
Kyle Turner, essayist, and film critic whose work has appeared in Playboy, The Village Voice, Slate, and The New York Times
Karen Poppy, poet, librettist, attorney, and equestrian
Gus Klein, screenwriter, voice actor, and former interior decorator
Len M. Ruth, self-professed nerd who enjoys inventing musical instruments and telling stories
Aaron Shurin, poet, essayist, and retired educator
Frank Arthur Smith, screenwriter and actor who has tidied up with Mary Kondo
Shannon T.L. Kearns, playwright, speaker, storyteller, and ordained priest
Felice Cohen, journalist, memoirist, and former occupant of a tiny apartment in New York
David Eugene Perry, journalist, co-founder of the San Francisco Rainbow Honor Walk, creator of “10 Percent,” and host of the video interview show “Ahoy!”
Redfern Jon Barrett, British-born essayist and advocate for LGBTQ+ and Polyamory rights who now lives in Berlin
Michele Kirichanskaya, journalist, daydreamer, cartoon geek, and asexual writer
Christopher Rice, co-host of The Dinner Party Show with Christopher Rice & Eric Shaw Quinn
Elinora Westfall, poet, playwright, and screenwriter
David Santos Donaldson, Bahamian-born playwright and thespian who attended The Julliard School
Kate Greene, technology journalist, essayist, former laser physicist, and poet who, once upon a time, lived on Mars
Andrew Gurza, Disability Awareness Consultant and host of the podcast Disability After Dark
Kathryn Lund, award-winning author and environmentalist with degrees in archeology and creative writing
Michael R. Collins, musician, activist, and co-host of the Bi+Plus Podcast
Tonya Todd, screenwriter, actress, and coordinator of the Henderson Writers Group Dime Grinds program
Mike Albo, journalist, presenter, and performer
Gayleen Froese, singer-songwriter who lives in Edmonton, Alberta
Matthew R. Corr, stage and screen performer
Elliott DeLine, award-winning transgender author, activist, and public speaker
Valerie J. Runyan, blogger, podcaster, and writing life coach
Radclyffe, publisher at Bold Strokes Books and former physician
Alden M. Hayashi, technology journalist, editor, and third-generation Japanese-American
Chris Stark, Anishinaabe & Cherokee writer, instructor, and consultant
Ken Harvey, creative writing instructor and literary critic
Toni Mirosevich, award-winning poet and retired creative writing instructor
Adam Arbiter, creative writing facilitator and proud parent
B. Danielle Watkins, filmmaker, screenwriter, and director
Lisa Dordal, poet and teacher
Gerard Cabrera, journalist, public health educator, and attorney
Patricia Grayhall, former medical doctor
David Ellison, former educator and columnist
Suzanne Feldman, award-winning author and former educator
Zeyn Joukhadar, award-winning author, world traveler, guest editor and mentor
Louis Flint Ceci, former educator, tech worker, and competitive swimmer
Cary Alan Johnson, activist in international queer politics and culture, he helped to found several groundbreaking community organizations
Maria Konner, former engineer and consultant, turned performer, organizer, and cybersecurity architect
Gary Pedler, world traveler, musician, and memoirist
Peter M. Krask, art photographer, journalist, librettist, essayist, floral artist, and creativity guide
Vincent Scott, world traveler and future astronaut
Mike Keren, clinical psychologist, bowler, and former stand-up comic
Claudia Rodriguez, poet, playwright, performance artist, and human rights advocate
Lewis DeSimone, editor and former medical systems manager
Mimi Tempestt, multidisciplinary artist and poet
Daniel W.K. Lee, New Orleans-based poet, former freelance market editor, infrequent fashion stylist, product manager, and creative director
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)