News from the Lambda Literary Foundation:
LOS ANGELES, CA, August 6, 2009 – The Board of Trustees of the Lambda Literary Foundation announced today that its current Executive Director, Charles Flowers, will be departing his post in the fall."I'm proud of the work the Board and I have accomplished over the past four years," Flowers said of his departure, "and I look forward to seeing Lambda Literary prosper even more in the future."
A respected publishing industry veteran before coming to Lambda Literary, Charles was an editor at several major publishing houses where his authors included Michelangelo Signorile and the late E. Lynn Harris. From 2001 to 2005 he served as the Associate Director for the Academy of American Poets. “During his time with us, Charles has been an intelligent and compassionate ambassador to the diverse community Lambda Literary serves,” said Board President and New York Times best-selling author Christopher Rice. “He helped shepherd Lambda Literary through a challenging transition period, and did a wonderful job of organizing the first writers retreat in history devoted to emerging LGBT writers. We wish him the best of luck in his endeavors.”
Rice will chair the committee in charge of conducting a national search for Flowers’ successor. “The current uncertainty in the publishing industry has called upon Lambda Literary to do more, not less,” continues Rice. “And Charles helped bring us to a place where we can rise to meet these increased opportunities. This year’s Lambda Literary Awards in New York City saw record attendance. He also helped begin the development process for a dynamic, interactive new website which will connect readers with LGBT writers and is now set to launch later this year.”
Gratitude from the entire LGBT community of writers and readers is owed to Charles for his many contributions to Lambda Literary: his hard work in taking the Foundation from indebtedness to fiscal solvency; the continuation of the Foundation's signature program, the Lambda Literary Awards; restoration from suspended publication of the Lambda Book Report, the only LGBT review periodical of its kind in the country; and the Writers Retreat, programmed and conducted by Charles in 2007 and 2008, for which he assembled an outstanding faculty who worked directly with approximately 40 emerging writers and poets. His well-liked demeanor and accessibility have won him affection and admiration throughout the LGBT community, and he will be missed.
I and the rest of the board will be working hard to make sure LLF continues to support and serve the entire lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender writing community during this transition. If you're a writer, reader, bookseller, publisher, editor, distributor, educator, critic, blogger, pundit or publicist, we're here for you.
More news and thoughts at a later date.
