Samantha Leigh Allen is an American journalist and author. Allen worked as a senior reporter for The Daily Beast and now works as Senior Culture Editor at Them. In 2019 she published the nonfiction book Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States.
Samantha Leigh Allen | |
|---|---|
| Born | California, U.S. |
| Occupation |
|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Brigham Young University Rutgers University Emory University (PhD) |
| Notable works | Real Queer America (2019) |
| Notable awards | GLAAD Media Award (2018) |
| Website | |
| samanthaleighallen.com | |
Early life and education
editAllen was born in California and grew up in New Jersey.[1] She was raised in a conservative, Mormon household.[2][3] As a young adult she served as a Mormon missionary.[4] She officially left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2008 and transferred from Brigham Young University to Rutgers University later that year.[2][5] She came out as a transgender woman in 2012.[6][7]
She has a Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a certificate in Psychoanalytic Studies from Emory University.[8][9] She was a recipient of a George W. Woodruff Fellowship while at Emory.[10] In 2013 she received the John Money Fellowship for Scholars of Sexology from the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University Bloomington.[11] In 2014 she was a recipient of the Unsung Heroine Award from the Center for Women at Emory as well as a Transgender Advocate of the Year Award from Emory's Office of LGBT Life.[12]
Career
editAllen covered LGBTQ stories as a senior reporter for The Daily Beast and worked as a staff writer for Fusion TV's Sex + Life vertical.[11][13] She later became a Senior Culture Editor at Them.[14] She has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Out, CNN, and Crosscut.com.[12] Allen has also written for LGBTQ media outlets including Them[15] and Logo TV's NewNowNext as a freelance writer.[16] She also writes a travel newsletter called Get Lost on Substack and co-hosts a podcast about the WNBA called Double W with Laurel Powell.[16]
In 2018 she received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article for her article on the cultural erasure of bisexual men. In 2019 she was nominated for a GLAAD Award her piece on non-binary inclusion in the workplace.[12] In 2018 Allen published Love & Estrogen with Amazon Original Stories, which is a biographical queer romantic comedy about meeting her wife at the Kinsey Institute.[12]
In 2019 she published the biography Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States, which won the Judy Turner Prize for Community Service at the Decatur Books Festival.[12][17] Her book focuses on LGBTQ communities in Utah, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi.[16][18][19][20]
Allen's first novel, Patricia Wants to Cuddle, was published June 28, 2022 by Zando. It follows the final four contestants on a reality dating show as they encounter a creature named Patricia in the woods on a remote island.[21][22] Her next novel, Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet, was also published by Zando on September 10, 2024. The novel revolves around a ghostwriter who is appointed by a closeted actor to write his memoir, only to discover that said actor is dead by the time they are scheduled to meet.[23]
Bibliography
edit- Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States. Little, Brown and Company. 2019. ISBN 978-0-316-51603-7.
- Patricia Wants to Cuddle. Zando. 2022. ISBN 978-1-63893-004-4.
- Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet. Zando. 2024. ISBN 9781638931539.
References
edit- ^ "Real Queer America author Samantha Allen on why Atlanta is the best city in the country for the LGBTQ community". Atlanta Magazine. 12 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ a b "Samantha Allen- Real Queer America — Love Les". Loveles.co. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "Crowdfunding just bought Samantha Allen a vagina | the Daily Dot". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "The Seattle Public Library - Author Readings and Library Events: Samantha Allen discusses Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States on Apple Podcasts". Podcasts.apple.com. Retrieved 2020-02-28.[dead link]
- ^ "Former BYU Student Samatha Allen Shares Stories of LGBTQ Americans in Conservative States". Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "Samantha Allen: On Exploring LGBTQ Culture in America's Red States – Profiles in Pride". Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ Darling, Wendy (Fall 2018). "Seen & Heard". Emory Medicine Magazine. News.emory.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "Samantha Allen". Mic.com. 1994-09-22. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "Taking the Leap: A Conversation with Samantha Leigh Allen". Popqt.com. Retrieved 2020-02-28.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Samantha Allen - LA Times Festival of Books 2019". Latimesfestivalofbooks2019.sched.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ a b "Samantha Allen | Fusion". Fusion.tv. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ a b c d e "Samantha Leigh Allen". Samantha Leigh Allen. Archived from the original on 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ Samantha Allen@SLAwrites (14 August 2019). "Samantha Allen". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "Samantha Allen". Them. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ "Samantha Allen Latest Articles". Them.us. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ a b c Daniel Bogan (2019-12-26). "Uses This / Samantha Allen". Usesthis.com. Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ McIlvain, Ryan (2019-06-20). ""Progress Is Happening and It's Happening Everywhere": A Conversation with Samantha Allen – BLARB". Blog.lareviewofbooks.org. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "Writer finds LGBT support, inclusion in red states". Msnbc.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "The journalist telling the complicated, hopeful truth about LGBTQ life in red states - Columbia Journalism Review". Cjr.org. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ "Review: 'Real Queer America' shines light on LGBT folks living in red states - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ^ PATRICIA WANTS TO CUDDLE | Kirkus Reviews. 2022-06-28.
- ^ "Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ "Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet". Kirkus Reviews. August 3, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.