Katherine V. Forrest Explained

Katherine V. Forrest
Birth Place:Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Occupation:Novelist, editor
Period:20th century
Genre:Mystery
Subject:Lesbian literature
Spouse:Jo Hercus

Katherine V. Forrest (born 1939) is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. She has been referred to by some "a founding mother of lesbian fiction writing."[1]

Personal life

Forrest was born in 1939 in Windsor, Ontario.

She currently lives with her wife, Jo Hercus, in Palm Springs, California.

Career

Forrest is best known for her nine novels about Kate Delafield, the first lesbian police detective in the American lesbian mystery genre[2] and is described as "Miss Marple with k.d. lang, Sherlock Holmes with Candace Gingrich, and you've got Kate Delafield: ex-Marine, homicide detective for the LAPD, queer-as-the-day-is-long heroine."[3] The second novel in the series, Murder at the Nightwood Bar, was optioned for film by director Tim Hunter.[4] The screenplay had been written and roles cast with Mary-Louise Parker as Delafield and Tom Arnold as her police partner,[5] but the project was ultimately shelved.

Her romance Curious Wine is considered[2] a classic of American lesbian literature.[6] In discussion of the "light" element of the lesbian romance Forrest said, "I think it's political as hell... Here were two women who had a lot of choices in life, a lot of options, and out of all of those options they chose the hardest one, which was to love each other."[2] The novel is credited as one that "broke through many misconceptions about lesbians and lesbian relationships."[3]

Of her personal political sensibilities, Forrest said, "We are the only subculture that incorporates both genders, all races, all colors, all creeds... Being visible can make us free...and give us a power we have never known."[5] After relocating from Los Angeles to San Francisco, near The Castro district, she said, "It would be impossible to live here and not be political."[5] This was a marked departure from her early life, of which she wrote, "Even after I committed the Big Sin and made that irrevocable passage, and even though I thereafter found women who loved me, and even though I had loving relationships, I remained essentially in the grip of all the early shame and my own powerful homophobia."[7]

Her work is also noted for unprecedented eroticism and display of lesbian sexuality. Forrest noted that classic mysteries such as Agatha Christie might not even contain a hug. "Sexuality is a part of life and it's something that readers are interested in as far as characters... Love scenes are unparalleled opportunities to characterize a major character and bring out aspects of them that you can't in normal everyday scenes."[8]

Forrest had a ten-year tenure as fiction editor at Naiad Press. She founded and currently serves as Supervising Editor at Spinsters Ink, as well as serving as the editor at large at Bella Books.[9] She has also written science fiction novels and edited numerous anthologies of gay and lesbian interest. As an editor, she worked with hundreds of writers, including Jane Rule and Lee Lynch, who wrote of Forrest's fiction, "Her stories embrace and strengthen us, and give us permission to live our lives fully just as we are."[10]

Also known for her reviews and articles about lesbian and gay publishing, Forrest authored book reviews appearing in the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle. Articles have appeared in Brother and Sister, The Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review and The Lambda Book Report.

Awards and honors

Forrest was a recipient of the Lambda Literary Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1999[11] and currently serves on their board of trustees. She received the Alice B Readers Award in 2005[12] and in 2008, received the Golden Crown Literary Society's Trailblazer Award,[13] as well as the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement from Publishing Triangle.[14]

Awards and honors for Forrest's writing!Year!Title!Award/Honor!Result!Ref.
1990The Beverly Malibu Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian MysteryWinner[15]
1992Murder by Tradition Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian MysteryWinner[16]
1993Erotic Naiad Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian AnthologyFinalist[17]
1997Liberty Square Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian MysteryFinalist[18]
1998Apparition Alley Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian MysteryFinalist[19]
2000Sleeping Bones Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian MysteryFinalist[20]
2003Daughters of an Amber Noon Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy and HorrorFinalist[21]
2005Hancock Park Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian MysteryWinner[22]
2006Daughters of an Emerald Dusk Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy and HorrorWinner[23]
2006Women of Mystery Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian MysteryFinalist
2006Lesbian Pulp Fiction Lambda Literary Award for AnthologyFinalist
2008Love, Castro StreetGoldie Award for Anthology (Non-Erotica)Winner
2014High Desert Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian MysteryWinner[24]
2018Lethal CareGoldie Award for Mystery / ThrillerWinner[25]

Publications

Coral Dawn trilogy

Kate Delafield Mysteries

Other novels

Short story collections

Anthology contributions

Anthologies edited

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Katherine V. Forrest. 2022-02-25. Golden Crown Literary Society.
  2. Forrest, Katherine V., Interviewed by Malinda Lo, AfterEllen.com "Interview with Katherine V. Forrest," August 2004.
  3. First, Debra, Boston Phoenix, "Sister in Crime," November 1999
  4. Hunter, Tim, interviewed by Gregg Rickman. Film Quarterly, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Autumn 1993); University of California Press, via jstor.org.
  5. Victoria Brownworth, The Advocate; May 17, 1994, p50-52
  6. Lehman, J. Lee, Advocate; 9/29/83, Issue 377, p57-58, 2p
  7. Forrest, Katherine V., Lodestar Quarterly, "The Politics of Pride"; Issue 2, Summer 2002.
  8. Asche, Jennifer, San Francisco Chronicle; October 10, 1997. SFGate.com "She Got the Beat on Lesbian Cops"
  9. Web site: Katherine V. Forrest. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  10. Lynch, Lee, The Amazon Trail, September 1, 2008.
  11. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 1999-07-15. 11th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  12. Web site: Past Alice B Medal Winners. 2022-02-26. The Alice B Awards.
  13. Web site: 2008 Award Winners. 2022-02-25. Golden Crown Literary Society.
  14. Web site: The Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement. 2022-02-26. The Publishing Triangle. en-US.
  15. Web site: 1990-07-13. 2nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  16. Web site: 1992-07-14. 4th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  17. Web site: 1993-07-14. 5th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  18. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 1997-07-15. 9th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  19. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 1998-07-15. 10th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  20. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 2000-07-15. 12th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  21. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 2003-07-10. 15th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  22. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 2005-07-09. 17th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  23. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 2005-04-09. 18th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. https://web.archive.org/web/20131211105334/http://www.lambdaliterary.org/winners-finalists/04/09/lambda-literary-awards-2005/. 2013-12-11. 2022-02-25. Lambda Literary.
  24. Web site: 2014-06-03. Winners of the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced. 2022-02-26. Lambda Literary. en.
  25. Web site: Mystery/Thriller Winners. 2022-02-25. Golden Crown Literary Society.

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