GCLS thoughts

Photo credit: Kerry Kehoe

When I was a newbie in the sapphic publishing world way back in the heady days of pre-Trump 2016, I didn’t know another soul who wrote, read, or published women-loving-women books. I sat alone in my office and typed out words that made me feel seen and heard and loved. I hoped that people would read them and feel the same, but I didn’t know what those people looked like. I didn’t even know what my publisher looked like. It was so strange to have a dream come true, but feel like it might still be a dream. If I never saw anyone else in this community, was there really a community at all?

A year later, I boarded a plane to Las Vegas for my first Golden Crown Literary Society conference feeling that same surreal sense that I was all alone but part of something bigger. The minute I walked into the hotel conference area, I didn’t feel alone anymore. I saw people who were obviously queer. I saw people I recognized from their author photos. I saw names I recognized from Facebook and Twitter and review sites. The wlw writing community was finally real to me and I finally found a place where I truly belonged. It was the most amazing feeling in the world.

When I joined first the Diversity and Inclusion Committee in 2020 and then the Board of Directors in 2021, my goal was to make sure everyone in our wonderful literary community felt the same way I did when I walked into Bally’s. I’ve worked hard to ensure we as an organization speak with intention. We are people of words, and it’s imperative that we use the right ones. Yes, we are lesbians, but we are also bisexual and pansexual and asexual. Yes, we are women, but we are also nonbinary and Two Spirit and intersex. We are varied and beautiful and unique and we all share a love for sharing our stories. We all have a place at GCLS and we always will.

I am so proud of the work I did on the Board and in the D&I Committee. I am so proud of the partners I had in all that work because there is not a single thing I could accomplish alone. It’s time for me to step away from the Board now, but I will never step away from GCLS. It has and will always be my home. The place I can be myself. And that home is all the stronger and better now that more of us can be ourselves there. I’ve enjoyed my time on the Board, but more than anything, I’ve enjoyed the people I’ve met and the friendships I’ve made.

Thanks to everyone who supported me and helped me, and I can’t wait to see you all in Denver next year!