Remembering pioneering editor Michael Denneny

Magazine founder paved the way for many queer authors

I love reading — especially LGBTQ writers.

Like many book lovers, I’m remembering Michael Denneny, the openly gay, trailblazing editor, who paved the way for numerous gay authors and queer literature.

Denneny, 80, a co-founder of “Christopher Street,” the queer literary magazine often dubbed the gay “New Yorker,” died on April 15 at his Manhattan home.

If Denneny hadn’t put his heart and soul into fostering queer literature and LGBTQ authors, queer literature might well not be as vibrant as it is now. Without Denneny’s courage and groundbreaking work, LGBTQ creators would find it far more difficult to flourish today.

I don’t want to be a Pollyanna. It’s still difficult for many queer writers to get published – especially for authors who are trans or nonbinary. Often, LGBTQ teens and kids don’t see people like themselves in books. In some countries, and, sometimes, in the United States, queer writers, to protect themselves and/ or their loved ones, have to be closeted. Some LGBTQ authors self-publish their work because they can’t get published. Forty-one percent of the more than 1,600 books banned during the 2021-2022 school year were challenged because of their queer content, according to a Pen America report.

And yet, scrolling on my iPad, I see work by two highly talented openly queer authors in a list from The New York Times of 13 new books out this month: “Quietly Hostile: Essays” by queer writer Samantha Irby” and “The Late Americans,” a novel by queer author Brandon Taylor.

That’s with just two taps on my screen.

In recent years, I’ve had the pleasure of reading and reviewing a variety of books by queer authors for the Blade: from “Fairest: A Memoir” by Meredith Talusan (Viking) to “Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell” by Tim Miller (Harper) to “Afterparties: Stories” by Anthony Veasna So (Ecco). These books, along with much that I read by queer authors today, is released by mainstream publishers. On June 9, the 35th anniversary of the Lammy Awards, this year’s Lam- mys will be presented. This prestigious prize receives queer and mainstream press coverage.

This is a far cry from what the literary scene was like when Denneny entered publishing. Then, he was one of only a few out queer editors in mainstream publishing.

In 1977, Macmillan fired Denneny because he had acquired “The Homosexual,” a book by Alan Ebert that contained interviews with 17 gay men. He was rehired, The New York Times reported, because no other editor would present “The Homosexual” at a sales meeting.

His reconnection with Macmillian was brief. The publishing house fired him again because they were not happy to learn that Denneny was connected with “Christopher Street.”

In 1976, Denneny and Chuck Orleb founded “Christopher Street,” a monthly magazine. For 19 years, the magazine published Edmund White, Gore Vidal, Felice Picano, Matthew Stadler and other well-known and emerging gay writers.

Starting “Christopher Street” at a moment when most literary queers were closeted took guts. Some high-level gay (closeted) publishing executives, “took me out for lunch and subtly threatened to end my career if my name appeared in the magazine,” Denneny told the Gay City News in 2004.

Denneny was frank about his sexuality when he interviewed for publishing jobs. If his being gay was problematic, he’d say “we should just forget about the job and enjoy lunch,” he told Lambda Literary in 2014.

St. Martin’s Press hired him. There, Denneny started Stonewall Inn Editions, the first-of-its-kind in mainstream publishing, LGBTQ imprint. The memorable books published by Stonewall Editions include: “Reports From the Holocaust: The Story of an AIDS Activist” by Larry Kramer and “The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk” by Randy Shilts.

Michael, we’ll think of you when we’re laughing out loud or moved to tears while reading our fave queer writers. R.I.P., Michael Denneny!

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Turinawe Samson

is executive director of Universal Love Alliance.