Lucy
Jane Bledsoe (born February 1, 1957 in Portland, Oregon, USA) is a
novelist and science writer,who writes both fiction and non-fiction
books for children and adults. She focuses on LGBT literature and has
received several awards for her fictional and non-fictional writings,
establishing herself as a Stonewall Book Award winner and four-time
Lambda Literary Award finalist.

        


This is the
thirty-second  post in a series highlighting the best gay and lesbian authors
from the 20th century (with a few before and after that period) who have
recorded in fiction, and nonfiction, the history of gay people telling what
life is, and was, during an important time of
history.

     





Biography
Bledsoe
was born into a family of many members in Portland, Oregon, USA, where
she grew up. Bledsoe stated in an interview that she started writing
stories when she was young and had always wanted to become a writer.She
was inspired to write by her high school teacher. From 1975 to 1977,
Bledsoe attended Williams College. She earned a B.A. at University of
California at Berkeley in 1979.Bledsoe is openly lesbian.

   





Career and honors
Bledsoe
writes both fiction and non-fiction books, though to her contemporary
fiction is most interesting to write, as she loves "exploring [her]
imagination".While her writings primarily focus LGBT literature, Bledsoe
also writes about family relationships and adventures in the wild.

In
1985, she received the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. In 1995, Bledsoe
published Sweat: Stories and a Novella, which helped her garner her
first Lambda Literary Award finalist title for Lesbian Fiction.[ In
1997, she wrote her first adult novel Working Parts, for which she
received the 1998 Stonewall Book Award - the American Library
Association Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Award for Literature.
In 1998,
Lesbian Travels: A Literary Companion, Whereabout Books, which she
worked on as the editor, garnered her a second Lambda Literary Award
finalist title, this time for Anthologies/Non-Fiction.[ In 2002, Bledsoe
was awarded a California Arts Council fellowship in literature.

Bledsoe's
2002 children book Hoop Girlz, which is about a ten-year-old girl who
loves playing basketball but, due to being rejected to play in a
basketball camp tournament, she decides to form her own team. Hoop Girlz
was selected as one of Booklist 's Top 10 Sports Books for Youth of the
year and featured among Core Collection: Sports Fiction for
Girls.[3][13] Her second Lambda Literary Award finalist title for
Lesbian Fiction (third Lambda Literary Award finalist title when
counting all categories) came in 2003 with the publication of her second
adult novel This Wild Silence.

Bledsoe has travelled to
Antarctica three times and written two books about Antarctica, How to
Survive in Antarctica and The Ice Cave: A Woman's Adventures from the
Mojave to the Antarctic.Her newest novel Biting the Apple was published
in 2007 and is currently a finalist for the 20th Annual Lambda Literary
Awards in the category Women's fiction.

Besides writing,
Bledsoe is a CD-ROM script writer for National Geographic and several
other educational organizations, e.g. George Lucas Educational
Foundation From 1997 to 2003, she taught scriptwriting in the Masters of
Creative Writing Graduate Program at the University of San Francisco.
Bledsoe contributes to several magazines, including Newsday, Conditions,
Ms., Fiction International, and Frontiers.

Bledsoe is a
member of Media Alliance and National Writers Union.[1] Her books have
been translated into Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, German, and Dutch.[16]
Bledsoe has been given two National Science Foundation artist and
writers in Antarctica fellowships

Writings

Books for adults
As editor
Goddesses We Ain't: Tenderloin Women Writers, Freedom Voices Publications 1992.
Let the Spirit Flow: Writings on Communications and Freedom 1994.
Heatwave: Women in Love and Lust (anthology) 1995.
Leaping Fifty Stories High 1995.
Lesbian Travels: A Literary Companion, Whereabout Books 1998.
Gay Travels: A Literary Companion, Whereabouts Press 1998.

As author
Sweat: Stories and a Novella 1995.
Working Parts (novel) 1997.
This Wild Silence (novel) 2003.
The Ice Cave: A Woman's Adventures from the Mojave to the Antarctic (nonfiction) 2006.
Biting the Apple (Anthologies) 2007.   
Books for children

The Big Bike Race 1995.
Tracks in the Snow 1997.
Cougar Canyon 2001.
Hoop Girlz, 2002.
The Antarctic Scoop 2003.
How to Survive in Antarctica (nonfiction) 2005.