John Preston (American author)

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John Preston (December 11, 1945 in

anthologies
.

Life and works

He grew up in

The Advocate in 1975.[1]

He was the author or editor of nearly fifty books, including such erotic landmarks as Mr. Benson[2] and I Once Had a Master and Other Tales of Erotic Love.[3] Other works include Franny, the Queen of Provincetown (first a novel, then adapted for stage),[4] The Big Gay Book: A Man's Survival Guide for the Nineties,[5] Personal Dispatches: Writers Confront AIDS,[6] and Hometowns: Gay Men Write About Where They Belong.[7]

Preston's writing (which he described as

press.[11]

Preston served as a

Lambda Literary Award.[13] and the American Library Association's Stonewall Book Award.[14] He was especially noted for his writings on New England
.

Although primarily known as a gay fiction writer, Preston was also hired by a local newspaper, The Portland Chronicle, to write news articles and features about his adopted hometown of Portland. He wrote a long feature about the local monopoly newspaper, the Portland Press Herald, as well as many food articles, movie reviews, and other writing.[15]

In addition, Preston wrote

pen names that he shared with other authors). Taking what he had learned from authoring those books, he wrote the "Alex Kane" adventure novels about gay characters. These books, which included "Sweet Dreams," "Golden Years," and "Deadly Lies," combined action-story plots with an exploration of issues such as the problems facing gay youth.[16]

Preston was among the first writers to popularize the genre of

HIV positive.[17]

Some of his last essays, found in his nonfiction anthologies and in his posthumous collection Winter's Light, describe his struggle to come emotionally to terms with a disease that had already killed many of his friends and fellow writers.[18]

He died of AIDS complications on April 28, 1994, aged 48, at his home in Portland.

Legacy

His papers are held in the Preston Archive at Brown University.[19]

In 1994, Preston received the Steve Maidhof Award for National or International Work from the National Leather Association International.[20]

In 2007 the National Leather Association International inaugurated awards for excellence in SM/fetish/leather writing. The categories include the John Preston award for short fiction.[21]

References

  1. ^ Philip Gambone, Something Inside: Conversations with Gay Fiction Writers (University of Wisconsin Press, 1999), p. 155
  2. ISBN 9781573441940
    .
  3. ISBN 9780932870513
    .
  4. ISBN 9781551521909
    .
  5. OCLC 23215040.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  6. OCLC 19975837.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  7. ISBN 9780525933533
    .
  8. OCLC 30416606.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  9. ^ "Book Censorship in British Columbia: A History. 1990-1999". 2003-06-20. Archived from the original on 2003-06-20. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  10. ^ "The Newsletter on Civil Liberties". www3.sympatico.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  11. OCLC 24377513.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  12. ^ "Topman | Topman's Timeline: A Documentary Biography of John Preston". www.duskpeterson.com. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  13. ^ Cerna, Antonio Gonzalez (1995-07-15). "7th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  14. ^ "Stonewall Book Awards List". Round Tables. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  15. ^ "Topman | Topman's Timeline: A Documentary Biography of John Preston". www.duskpeterson.com. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  16. ^ Preston, John. "Sweet Dreams", Alyson Publications, Boston, 1984.
  17. ^ "Today in LGBT History – December 11 | Ronni Sanlo". 11 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  18. OCLC 31776952.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  19. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  20. ^ "List of winners". NLA International. 2019-03-14. Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  21. ^ "NLA-I Accepting Nominations for Writing Awards". Chicago Den - The Midwest's Fetish Newspaper. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2018.

External links

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