Lee Lynch (born 1945) is an American author on lesbian themes.
Born in Manhattan, Lynch started writing lesbian fiction and non-fiction in the 1960s when she was a frequent contributor to The Ladder, the only lesbian publication at the time. Since then she has published novels and essays, her stories have appeared in a number of anthologies, and she has written reviews and feature articles for The Lambda Book Report and many other publications. Lynch's syndicated column, "The Amazon Trail," has been running in papers across the country since 1986.
Many younger lesbian writers such as Karin Kallmaker and Rachel Spangler have cited her influence, especially regarding the importance of authenticity in lesbian literature. Her adept way of characterizing butch and femme characters in her writing set the standard for many novelists writing since the 1970s.
In 2009, Lynch moved from the Oregon Coast to Florida where she earned a living as a researcher. She has since retired and returned to Oregon in 2013, enabling her to work full-time on writing pursuits.
Awards and honors
In 2006, she was inducted into the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival's Hall of Fame in New Orleans, and her novel Sweet Creek was a finalist for a Golden Crown Literary Society Award and was named one of the top ten fiction books of the year by the Q Syndicate. In 2009 Lynch was awarded the Golden Crown Literary Society Trail Blazer award for lifetime achievement, in recognition of the contributions she has made to the field of lesbian literature. In addition, her novel Beggar of Love won the 2010 Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. Amusingly enough, she also won the James Duggins Mid-Career Prize in 2010, after more than forty-five years of writing.
In 2012, the Golden Crown Literary Society issued a new award for classic fiction and named it The Lee Lynch Classics Award. The inaugural book awarded with the very first trophy was Lynch's 1985 tour de force, The Swashbuckler.
Toothpick House Naiad edition (1983) - Irrepressible cab driver Annie Heaphy falls for a Yalie and brings the old and new gay cultures together.
Old Dyke Tales (1984) - Short stories of lesbian love and life.
The Swashbuckler (1985) - The famous novel about butch/femme relationships and authentic lesbian life in the 1960s and 70s.
Home In Your Hands (1986) - Short stories about the women Lynch's readers have come to love.
Dusty's Queen of Hearts Diner (1987) - Book 1 of the Morton River Valley Trilogy. Dusty and Elly's brainchild is the beating heart of Morton River Valley as well as the target of its bigotry.
The Amazon Trail (1988) - Lynch's early self-syndicated columns from gay papers across the country.
Sue Slate, Private Eye (1989) - An Alleycat detective and a feline torch singer are San Francisco top cats in this mystery spoof.
That Old Studebaker (1991) - Andy Blaine's two great loves are Regina and the car. A story of love and loss on a cross country ride.
Morton River Valley (1992) - Book 2 of the Morton River Valley Trilogy. Paris Collins turns heads and captures hearts as she gets involved with both an immigrant family and the descendent of an uppercrust family.
Cactus Love (1994) - Short Stories with old and new heroines.
Off the Rag (1996) - edited by Lee Lynch and Akia Woods - An anthology of personal writings by lesbians about menopause.
Rafferty Street (1998) - Book 3 of the Morton River Valley Trilogy - Annie Heaphy of Toothpick House moves to the Valley seeking love and home.
Sweet Creek (2006) - A story of love, community and the changing tides of time in a town where lesbians come in search of a paradise.
The Butch Cook Book (2008) - edited by Lee Lynch, Sue Hardesty and Nel Ward.
Beggar of Love (October 2009)- Never lacking a lover, Jefferson knows little of love; brought up on the right side of the tracks, she's drawn to the wild side. Every lesbian has known Jefferson—or is Jefferson.
Toothpick House ebook edition (1983/2010) - Irrepressible cab driver Annie Heaphy falls for a Yalie and brings the old and new gay cultures together.
The Raid (2012) - A story of lesbian love, life, history, and more.
The Amazon Trail: A Quarter Century of Queer Life in the United States (2014)
Rainbow Gap (2016)
Awards and recognition
2015 An American Queer- Golden Crown Literary Society Awarded for Anthology/Collection (Creative Non-Fiction)
2013 The Raid - Golden Crown Literary Society Awarded for Dramatic General Fiction
2012 The Lee Lynch Classic Book Award - Golden Crown Literary Society for The Swashbuckler
2010 Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize - Saints and Sinners Literary Festival
2010 Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award for Beggar of Love - Golden Crown Literary Society
2009 Beggar of Love - ForeWord (magazine) Reviews GLBT Book of the Year Bronze Prize
2009 Beggar of Love - Lesbian Fiction Reader's Choice Award for General Fiction
2009 Trailblazer Award - Golden Crown Literary Society
2007 Sweet Creek - Golden Crown Literary Society Award Finalist
2007 Received The Alice B Readers Award
2006 Inducted into the Saints and Sinners Hall of Fame
1997 Off the Rag, Women Write About Menopause Lambda Literary Award Finalist with co-editor Akia Woods
1990 Sue Slate, Private Eye - Lambda Literary Award Finalist
