25 Most Influential Gay Authors You Should Know About

Tennessee Williams by Orlando Fernandez from Wikimedia Commons

25 Most Influential Gay Authors You Should Know About

Their voices have been heard through arts and literature. They have expressed their perspectives and experiences in novels, plays, poems, memoirs, essays and you name it. Moreover, gay authors have used their craft to challenge societal norms. They have also pointed out the struggles they face as well as fighting for equality.

Their boldness has inspired other writers and activists to stand up for their authentic selves. The likes of Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, and the modern-day gay authors, Emma Donoghue and Sarah Waters. Each of these authors has left a distinct mark on literature and society. Let’s delve into their accomplishments right away.

Here are the 25 Most Influential Gay Authors You Should Know About.

1. Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde by W. & D. Downey from Wikimedia Commons

The Irish poet cum playwright was born on 16 October 1854. His famous works are The Happy Prince and Other Tales published in 1888 and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). Also, A House of Pomegranates (1891) and The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895. He died aged 46 years on 30 November 1900.

2. James Baldwin

James Baldwin by Allan warren from Wikimedia Commons

This novelist is remembered for the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) which was his first book. Giovanni’s Room followed in 1956 and The Fire Next Time in 1963.

Furthermore, his works served as a social critic of complex social and psychological pressures in society with themes like masculinity, sexuality, race, and class.

Baldwin’s narratives affected American political movements toward social change in the mid-20^th century. Subsequently, influenced groups such as the civil rights movement and the gay liberation movement. He was born on August 2, 1924, in New York and died on December 1, 1987, in France. 

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3. Tennessee Williams

The playwright is one of the 20th-century greats in his genre. The play The Glass Menagerie published in 1944 was his rise to fame. He also had the following successes A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955). As well as Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961).

Moreover, Williams was part of a gay social circle in New York City that included fellow writer and close friend Donald Windham. Tennessee received awards like the American Theater Hall of Fame induction in 1979 and more. He was born on March 26th, 1911 and his demise came on February 25, 1983.

4. Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal by David Shankbone from Wikimedia Commons

The American novelist, essayist cum political commentator is renowned for novels like Myra Breckinridge in 1968, Burr in 1973, and Lincoln in 1984. To add on, Vidal was bisexual. Through his novels and essays, he interrogated the social and cultural sexual norms he perceived as driving American life.

His popularity led him to seek political office but he was unsuccessful in both attempts. He vied as the Democratic Party candidate, in 1960 to the U.S. House of Representatives (for New York), and later in 1982 to the U.S. Senate (for California).

His political and cultural essays were published in magazines like The Nation, the New Statesman, the New York Review of Books, and Esquire. Besides writing, he ventured into intellectual topical debates on sex, politics, and religion. Gore was born on October 3, 1925, and died on July 31, 2012, aged 86.

5. Edmund White

White was born in Ohio on 13 January 1940. The author is applauded for A Boy’s Own Story (1982), Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988), and The Farewell Symphony (1997). On top of that, he wrote The Joy of Gay Sex, written with Charles Silverstein in 1977. He has many writings themed on same-sex love.

6. Christopher Isherwood

Christopher Isherwood by Allan warren from Wikimedia Commons

This British-American author Isherwood was born on 26 August 1904 in England. His Notable works include The Berlin Stories in 1945, Mr. Norris Changes Trains in 1935, and Goodbye to Berlin (1939).

Additionally, the novel A Single Man 1964, and Christopher and His Kind (2011) form part of his masterpieces. He died on 4 January 1986 aged 81 in California.

7. Armistead Maupin

Maupin (left) with husband Christopher Turner in May 2013. Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The novelist who doubles as a screenwriter is acknowledged for works like the Tales of the City book series. The nine novels of this series were written between 1978 to 2014. He was born on May 13, 1944, in Washington, D.C. He married writer Christopher Turner in 2007.

8. David Sedaris

Sedaris was born on December 26, 1956, in New York. He is an author, comedian, and radio contributor. His essay Santaland Diaries published in 1999 is one of his most praised works. 

Over and above that, Barrel Fever (1994) and Naked (1997) are both collections of short stories and essays inclusive of David’s famous works. Me Talk Pretty One Day essay collection published in 2000 became a bestseller in the genre.

9. Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette Winterson by Mariusz Kubik from Wikimedia Commons

She was born on 27 August 1959 in England. The writer works as a journalist and professor. She is into science fiction. Her headline novels are Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985), and Written on the Body (1992).

Moreover, she has won awards such as the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, BAFTA Award, and a Whitbread Prize. She was honored with the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) title. She is also a member of the Royal Society of Literature.

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10. Alan Hollinghurst

He was born on 26 May 1954 in England. He is a writer and translator by profession. He majors in novels, poems, and short stories. His noteworthy novels include The Swimming-Pool Library (1988), The Folding Star in 1994, and The Spell (1998).

Additionally, The Line of Beauty published in 2004 won the Man Booker Prize the same year. Hollinghurst’s other successful narratives are The Stranger’s Child published in 2011, and The Sparsholt Affair in 2017.

 11. E. M. Forster

E.M. Forster receives an honorary doctorate from Leiden University in 1954, photo by Joop van Bilsen from Wikimedia Commons

He wrote novels, short stories, and essays. He was born on 1 January 1879 in England. He is remembered for novels such as A Room with a View published in 1908, Howards End (1910), and A Passage to India (1924). His writing depicts modernism, realism, and symbolic themes.

Sexuality is another main theme in Forster’s works. Some critics have argued that a general shift from heterosexual to homosexual love can be observed throughout his writing career.

Subsequently, the foreword to Maurice describes his struggle with his homosexuality. He also explored similar issues in several volumes of his short stories. Forster’s explicitly homosexual writing, Maurice and the Short Stories was published posthumously in 1971. He died on 7 June 1970.

12. Rita Mae Brown

She was born on November 28, 1944, in Pennsylvania. She is a novelist, poet, screenwriter, cum activist. She is recognized for her autobiographical novel, Rubyfruit Jungle published in 1973.

Brown is an activist and has taken part in civil rights campaigns and criticized the marginalization of lesbians. She was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Lambda Literary Awards in 2015.

13. Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters by Annie from Wikimedia Commons

The Welsh writer has established a voice, writing in the Victorian society setting and featuring lesbian protagonists. For instance, Tipping the Velvet was published in 1998 and Fingersmith was published in 2002. She was born on 21 July 1966 in Wales and came out as a lesbian in the late 1980s.

14. Truman Capote

Besides being a novelist, Capote was a playwright, actor, and screenwriter. His prominent writings are Breakfast at Tiffany’s novella published in 1958, Miriam (1945), and In Cold Blood (1966). He was born on September 30, 1924, and died on August 25, 1984.

15. Michael Cunningham

He was born on November 6, 1952, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This author is also a screenwriter and a lecturer. His noticeable works include Golden States (1984), and A Home at the End of the World (1990).

Moreover, Flesh and Blood (1995), The Hours (1998), Specimen Days (2005), By Nightfall (2010), and The Snow Queen (2014) are part of his famous works.

16. Larry Kramer

David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright was born on June 25, 1935, in Connecticut. He is famed for works such as the 1978 novel Faggots, The Destiny of Me (1992) play, and the 1985 play The Normal Heart. He is credited with writing the screenplay for the 1969 film Women in Love.

Larry Kramer was among the founders of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) in 1982. The organization is committed to ending the AIDS epidemic and uplifting the lives of all affected worldwide. He died on May 27, 2020, in New York City.

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17. Radclyffe Hall

She was a novelist, poet, and short story writer born on 12 August 1880 in England. Her prominent works include The Well of Loneliness (1928) and The Girls of Radcliff Hall in 1930.

Additionally, The Forge (1924), Adam’s Breed (1926), and The Master of the House (1932) form part of her celebrated creations. She died on 7 October 1943 in England.

18. Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde by Schultz, Dagmar from Wikimedia Commons

Lorde was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described black lesbian, and feminist. She dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.

Her masterpieces are Zami: A New Spelling of My Name in 1982, and The Cancer Journals in 1980. She was born on February 18, 1934, in New York City and died on November 17, 1992.

19. Walt Whitman

The American poet, essayist, and journalist penned his only novel Franklin Evans: or The Inebriate: A Tale of the Times (1842). His acclaimed poetry includes Leaves of Grass, Manly Health and Training (1858), Democratic Vistas (1871), and Specimen Days (1882). He was born on May 31, 1819, and died on March 26, 1892.

20. Alice Walker

This novelist, short story writer, poet, and political activist was born on February 9, 1944, in Georgia. The Color Purple published in 1982 is one of her highest sources of acclaim. Furthermore, To Hell With Dying (1988), and The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart (2000) are extra famed works by the author.

21. Dorothy Allison

Dorothy Allison at the Miami Book Fair International in 2011 by Rodrigo Fernández from Wikimedia Commons

She was born on April 11, 1949, in South Carolina. The American poet who also serves as a novelist has created noteworthy content such as Bastard Out of Carolina (1992).

Other popular works by Allison are Skin: Talking About Sex, Class & Literature in 1994 and Jason Who Will be Famous (2009). Allison is reported to be living with her partner of more than 18 years, Alix Layman, and her son, Wolf Michael.

22. Leslie Feinberg

Feinberg’s famous works are Stone Butch Blues in 1993 and the book Transgender Warriors published in 1996. She was born on September 1, 1949, in Missouri. To boot, she described herself as a  secular Jewish, transgender, lesbian, and revolutionary communist. She died on November 15, 2014.

23. Emma Donoghue

The novelist, short story writer, playwright, and literary historian was born on 24 October 1969 in Ireland. Her best works are the 2010 novel Room and the 1995 novel Hood which won a Stonewall Book Award.

To add on, Slammerkin (2000) won the Ferro-Grumley Award for Lesbian Fiction. Other significant works by the author are Stir Fry (1994), Life Mask (2004), Landing (2007), and The Sealed Letter (2008). She moved to Canada in 1998 when she met her Canadian partner, Christine Roulston.

24. Alison Bechdel

Alison Bechdel by Chase Elliott Clark from Wikimedia Commons

This author doubles as a cartoonist and was born on September 10, 1960, in Pennsylvania. The author’s praised works are the graphic memoirs Fun Home (2006) and Are You My Mother? (2012).

She came out as a lesbian at the age of 19 years. Her sexuality and gender non-conformity are a large part of the core message of her work.

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25. Tony Kushner

Commonwealth Club from San Francisco, San Jose, United States (photo by Ed Ritger), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This author also serves as a playwright and screenwriter. The play, Angels in America is one of his acclaims. He received a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for this work.

Kushner prides himself in many accolades including a National Medal of Arts issued by former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2013. He was born on July 16, 1956, in New York City.

Tony and his partner, Mark Harris, held a commitment ceremony in April 2003. It was the first same-sex commitment ceremony to be featured in the Vows column of The New York Times.

That is our round-up of the 25 Most Influential Gay Authors You Should Know About. Who else did we miss on the list?