Since being a writer is mostly a very solitary job, winning a Goldie was a wonderful recognition of a job well done. Knowing judges and readers alike enjoy my work keeps me trying harder to write the best books I possibly can.

I'm proud, grateful and deeply honored to have been recognized with several Goldie Awards over my career. I treasure them all because I treasure the amazing GCLS community that inspired my stories and nurtured me as I wrote.

At a time when our culture is growing increasingly hostile to queer lives and queer stories, I think it’s vital to have organizations like the GCLS that not only promote queer women’s writing, but celebrate its excellence.

When I got my Goldie I was a newly published author who struggled for years to find a publisher without success. A Goldie meant acceptance by my peers. It was a high only a Nobel prize winner can describe. Even the glow in my photograph could light up a city.