Sassafras Lowrey
Sassafras Lowrey | |
---|---|
Occupation |
|
Nationality | American |
Education | Goddard College (MFA) |
Notable awards | Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award (2013) |
Website | |
sassafraslowrey |
Sassafras Lowrey (born 1983 or 1984) is an American author and dog trainer. In 2013, the Lambda Literary Foundation awarded them[nb 1] the Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award.[1][2]
Lowrey identifies as non-binary and uses ze/hir[nb 1] pronouns.[3]
Personal life
In the early 2000s, at age 17, Lowrey came out as genderqueer.[3]
Lowrey was homeless as a teenager and no longer has a relationship "with the family that raised [them]."[4]
Education
Lowrey received a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from Goddard College.[5][6]
Career
Dog trainer
Lowrey is an All Star Trainer of the Year-certified trick dog instructor, and American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen and Tricks evaluator.[5] They "[have] trained and competed in canine sports from dog agility and rally obedience to canine parkour and tricks and has appeared on AKC TV and BBC radio."[5]
Writer
Lowrey's writing includes characters of varied genders who use a variety of pronouns. They said, "I'm equally committed to normalizing the presence of non-binary characters as I am to non-binary language in literature."[3]
Their writing has been published through traditional and self-publishing means. Discussing the reason why they sometimes opts for self-publishing, they noted, "Although traditional publishing has made a lot of progress in prioritizing and uplifting
Aside from full-length books and anthology contributions, Lowrey has written for HuffPost, The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Wired, the American Kennel Club,[8] Narratively, Dogster, Modern Dog, Whole Dog Journal, Bark, Catapult, Catster, Lambda Literary, and others.
Lowrey has taught creative writing at LitReactor and the New York City Center for Fiction,[5] as well as led the Queer Shelter Project Stories Workshop as part of the arts programming for Queers for Economic Justice.[9][10] They has also mentored for Association of Writers & Writing Programs twice[11] and provides writing coaching to private clients."[5]
Selected awards and honors
Year | Work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | A Little Queermas Carol | Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
|
Finalist | [12] |
2016 | Lost Boi | American Library Association's Over the Rainbow Project List | Selection | [13] |
Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction
|
Finalist | [14] | ||
2013 | Self | Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award | Recipient | [1][2] |
2011 | Kicked Out | Lambda Literary Award for Anthology | Finalist | [15] |
American Library Association Rainbow Project Book List | Top 10 | [16][17] | ||
American Library Association's Over the Rainbow Project List | Top 11 | [18][19][20] |
Publications
Anthology contributions
- Visible: A Femmethology, Volume One, edited by Jennifer Clare Burke (2009)
- Trans/Love: Radical Sex, Love & Relationships Beyond the Gender Binary, edited by Morty Diamond (2011)
- No Safewords: A Marketplace Fan Anthology, edited by Laura Antoniou (2013)
- The Complete Guide to Writing for Young Adults, edited by Gabrielle Harbowy (2014)
- The Queer South: LGBTQ Writers on the American South, edited by Douglas Ray (2014)
- Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World, edited by Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman (2020)
- Between Certain Death and a Possible Future: Queer Writing on Growing Up with the AIDS Crisis, edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore (2021)
Anthologies edited
- Kicked Out (2010)
- Leather Ever After: An Anthology of Kinky Fairy Tales (2013)
Select articles
- "A Guide To Non-binary Pronouns And Why They Matter," in HuffPost (2017)
- "'I Was A Homeless Teen; My Dog, Mercury, Helped Me Through It'," in HuffPost (2017)
- "Lost Cause: On Estrangement and Chosen Family," in Catapult (2018)
- "4 Things Pet Owners Regret Doing When Buying a Home," in Apartment Therapy (2019)
- "Confessions of a Misfit on the Dog Show Circuit," in Narratively (2019)
- "5 New Year’s Resolutions You Can Make for Your Dog," in Apartment Therapy (2020)
- "Before You Adopt: Planning a Lifelong Commitment to Your Pet’s Health," in The New York Times (2020)
- "The Dog Park is Bad, Actually," in The New York Times (2020)
- "Helping Your Dog Survive During a Quarantine," in The New York Times (2020)
- "I Shopped Around for a House That Was Perfect for My Dogs. Yes, Really," in Apartment Therapy (2020)
- "Robot Dogs Can Help Seniors Cope—Especially During Covid," in Wired (2020)
- "The Tech That Can Help Keep Your Dogs Happy and Healthy," in Wired (2020)
- "What We Can Learn From European Dog Culture," in The New York Times (2020)
- "How to Throw Your Dog a Birthday Party, According to a Professional Trainer," in Apartment Therapy (2021)
- "I Turned a Spare Bedroom into a Dog Gymnasium Using Everyday Household Items," in Apartment Therapy (2021)
- "In Praise of Positive Reinforcement for Your Pets," in Wired (2021)
Standalone books
- Roving Pack (2012)
- Lost Boi (2015)
- A Little Queermas Carol (2016)
- Healing/Heeling (2019)
- Tricks in the City: For Daring Dogs and the Humans that Love Them (2019)
- William To The Rescue (2019)
- Chew This Journal: An Activity Book for You and Your Dog (2020)
- Pandemic Pets (2020)
- Dog Training Planner (2021)
- With Me (2021)
Notes
References
- ^ a b "25th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced!". Lambda Literary. 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ a b Rutherford, Ethan (2013-04-25). "Awards: Lambda Literary Foundation Honors". www.shelf-awareness.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ a b c Lowrey, Sassafras (2017-11-08). "A Guide To Non-binary Pronouns And Why They Matter". HuffPost. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Lowrey, Sassafras (2021-07-09). "Putting the Self in Self-Publishing". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ a b c d e "Sassafras Lowrey | author of fiction and nonfiction books about dogs and LGBTQ people but now mostly dogs". Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Lowrey, Sassafras (2018-03-08). "Queering The MFA: Author Sassafras Lowrey Discusses How to Pick a Program". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ a b Lowrey, Sassafras (2020-10-09). "The Best First Option". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Sassafras Lowrey, CTDI, Author at American Kennel Club". American Kennel Club. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Dunham, Kelli (2011-10-14). "QUEER TEXT SERIES: THE QUEER SHELTER PROJECT STORIES WORKSHOP AT DIXON PLACE". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Lowrey, Sassafras (2011-08-14). "Shelter Stories at Queers For Economic Justice". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Catherine, Chelsea (2017-12-19). "So, You Want to be a Mentee? A Look at AWP's Mentorship Program". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "29th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced". Lambda Literary. 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Lost boi | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Lambda Literary Awards Finalists Revealed: Carrie Brownstein, Hasan Namir, 'Fun Home' and Truman Capote Shortlisted". Out Magazine. 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Johnson, William (2011-06-27). "23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "2011 rainbow project booklist | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "2011 Rainbow Book List". Rainbow Book List. 2011-01-15. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Kicked Out | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "2011 Over the Rainbow Books". Over the Rainbow Books. 2011-01-09. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (2011-01-11). "Over the Rainbow's Top 11 Books". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.