Jim Provenzano (born December 6, 1961) is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and currently an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

with the ''

Bay Area Reporter The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly LGBT newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published ne ...

''.

Life and work

Born in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, Provenzano was raised in

Ashland, Ohio Ashland is a city in Ashland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is approximately 66 miles southwest of Cleveland. The population was 19,225 at the 2020 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan statistical area, wh ...

and attended

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

from 1979–80 as a theater major, a summer internship at Porthouse Theatre in

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

, where he performed the title role in a 1980 production of The Who's musical ''Tommy''. After transferring to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1981, he graduated with a bachelor of fine arts in dance in 1985. While a student, he created stage works and video adaptations of dances, performed in works by fellow students and guest teachers Mark Taylor, Stephen Koester, Terry Creach. He received summer scholarships from the Dayton Ballet and Bill Evans Dance Company at

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

. In 1985-1986 he lived in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and worked and toured with the Pittsburgh Dance Alloy. He also directed two

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

plays, ''Cowboy Mouth'' and ''Action'' as well as original performance works, in his rented expansive loft with theater seats. After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1986, he performed with various modern dance choreographers, including Steve Gross and Bill Cratty, touring with Cratty's company for a year, and at The Yard on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

in 1987. Provenzano created his own dance, music and performance works from 1987–92 in New York and performed at

Franklin Furnace Franklin Furnace, also known as the Franklin Mine, is a famous mineral location for rare zinc, iron, and manganese minerals in old mines in Franklin, Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. This locale produced more species of minerals (o ...

, P.S. 122, Dance Theatre Workshop, Highways in Santa Monica, and several other venues. In 1988, he directed a New Jersey production of ''As Is''. With a fellowship in Interdisciplinary Arts, he wrote, composed and set-designed the musical, ''Under the River'', set in the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

's PATH station. It played at the Ohio Theatre in September 1998, produced with Theatre Tweed. In 1989 he began working as the publisher's assistant for ''

OutWeek ''OutWeek'' was a gay and lesbian weekly news magazine published in New York City from 1989 to 1991. During its two-year existence, ''OutWeek'' was widely considered the leading voice of AIDS activism and the initiator of a cool new sensibility ...

'' magazine and also contributed his first news and arts stories for editors

Michelangelo Signorile Michelangelo Signorile (; born December 19, 1960) is an American journalist, author and talk radio host. His radio program is aired each weekday across the United States and Canada on Sirius XM Radio and globally online. Signorile was editor ...

Sarah Pettit Sarah Pettit (6 August 1966 – 22 January 2003) was an American journalist, LGBTQ+ rights activist, and editor. She was known for being the founding editor of ''Out Magazine'' alongside Michael Goff. Early life Pettit was born in Amsterdam, No ...

, and

Gabriel Rotello Douglas Gabriel Rotello (born February 9, 1963) is an American musician, writer and filmmaker. He created New York's ''Downtown Divas'' revues in the 1980s, was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of ''OutWeek'' magazine, became the first openly ga ...

. In 1990, he became the editor of the publication's offshoot ''Hunt'', an entertainment weekly, before both publications folded in July 1991. Many of his former coworkers, including Dale Peck, Troy Masters and

Walter Armstrong Walter Armstrong may refer to: * Sir Walter Armstrong (art historian) (1850–1918), British art historian and writer * Wally Armstrong (born 1945) American professional golfer * Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (born 1955), American philosopher {{hndis, ...

went on to continue publishing journalism and novels. During that time, he was also a member of both

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

and

Queer Nation Queer Nation is an LGBTQ activist organization founded in March 1990 in New York City, by HIV/AIDS Activism, activists from AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, ACT UP. The four founders were outraged at the escalation of Violence against LGBT peopl ...

, participating in protests for both organizations. He also wrote freelance arts features for '' Frontiers'', ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'', '' High Performance'' and ''

San Francisco Sentinel The ''San Francisco Sentinel'' is an online newspaper serving the LGBTQ communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally a weekly print periodical, the ''Sentinel'' covers local San Francisco politics, news and social events, and internatio ...

'', including interviews with

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...

Chita Rivera Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero (January 23, 1933 – January 30, 2024), known professionally as Chita Rivera, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Rivera received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awa ...

, and

Paul Bartel Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy ''Eating Raoul'', which he co-wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel appeared in over 90 movies an ...

. Provenzano moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

after visiting in 1992, when he was offered a position as an assistant editor for the

. He completed a language certificate at Florence's Scuola Leonardo da Vinci in 1995. In 1997, Provenzano completed a master of arts degree in English/creative writing at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

. In 1996 then-''Bay Area Reporter'' editor Mike Salinas asked him to write a sports column to cover the LGBT athletics community. Among the publication's first sports writers was

Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was s ...

cofounder Tom Waddell.

Sports Complex A sports complex is a group of sports facilities. For example, there are track and field stadiums, football stadiums, baseball stadiums, swimming pools, Olympic Parks, and indoor arenas. Asia * Azadi Sport Complex * Cebu City Sports Com ...

was published weekly until 2006. The column was internationally syndicated from 2004–06. Among the topics covered were the controversies of the California AIDSRide, financial controversies and accomplishments of the

and Outgames, as well as interviews with, and articles about

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

athletes, including Esera Tuaolo, Jerry Smith,

Glenn Burke Glenn Lawrence Burke (November 16, 1952 – May 30, 1995) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976 to 1979. He was the first MLB player to come out as gay, announcing it in 1 ...

David Kopay David Marquette Kopay (born June 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies. In 1975, he became one of the fir ...

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943), also known as BJK, is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in w ...

Greg Louganis Gregory Efthimios Louganis (; born January 29, 1960) is an American Olympic Diving (sport), diver who won gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics on the springboard and platform. He is the only man and the second ...

, and several gay and lesbian

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

athletes. Provenzano has frequently been interviewed in print, television, radio and films for his expertise on the LGBT athletics movement. Provenzano is also the author of seven novels, most notably ''PINS'' (1999) about gay high school wrestlers. The book was included in more than a dozen college reading lists, and remained among the top ten bestselling gay fiction titles in 2000. Provenzano often trained, competed and medaled with the Golden Gate Wrestling Club from 1992 to 2006. He also competed and medaled in track and field events with the San Francisco Track & Field Club from 2003-2006. After being commissioned to adapt ''PINS'' to the stage, the work premiered at

New Conservatory Theatre Center The New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) is a not-for-profit theatre company located in the Civic Center neighborhood at 25 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California. NCTC showcases a Pride Season, an In-Concert/Cabaret Series, Family Mati ...

, running from August through September 2002. A Chicago staging took place in 2006. In 2003, Provenzano published ''Monkey Suits'', about gay cater-waiters in 1980s

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and ''Cyclizen'' (2007) about a gay

bicycle messenger Bicycle messengers (also known as bike or cycle couriers) are people who work for courier companies (also known as messenger companies) carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business dist ...

in 1990s

, which both fictionalize his experiences in

AIDS activism Socio-political activism to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS as well as to advance the effective treatment and care of people with AIDS (PWAs) has taken place in multiple locations since the 1980s. The evolution of the disease's progress into w ...

. Nearly two dozen anthologies published from 1998 to 2007 include his short stories and essays. In 2005, Provenzano was asked to guest-curate the world's first gay sports exhibit, Sporting Life: GLBT Athletics and Cultural Change from the 1960s to Today for the

GLBT Historical Society The GLBT Historical Society (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society) (formerly Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California; San Francisco Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Historical Society) maintains an extensive collection ...

in San Francisco. The exhibit displayed hundreds of items from more than 40 teams, and was extended through 2006. Provenzano returned as an Editor with the ''Bay Area Reporter'' in September 2006. In May, 2010, he co-created and became editor of ''BARtab'', the ''Reporter''s (initially monthly, now weekly) LGBT nightlife guide. In March 2020, he was promoted to Arts & Entertainment Editor at the

. In December 2011, he published his fourth novel, ''Every Time I Think of You,'' about two gay teenage athletes in the 1970s, one of whom becomes paraplegic. The novel won a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

in 2012. March 20, 2014, he published ''Message of Love'', the sequel to ''Every Time I Think of You,'' where in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the lead characters Reid and Everett go through their early 1980s college years at both

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

and

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

as the

AIDS epidemic The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS ...

approaches. The novel was selected as a Lambda Literary Award finalist in 2015. In May, 2016, he published ''Forty Wild Crushes; stories.'' In 2018, he contracted with Beautiful Dreamer Press to publish his sixth novel, ''Now I'm Here,'' with a September 2018 publication. Set mostly in rural Ohio in the 1970s and 1980s, it focuses on the lives of Joshua, a gay piano prodigy who gains fame for his piano solo version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," and his relationship with David, the son of a pumpkin farmer. In June 2020, he published audiobook adaptations of his novels ''Every Time I Think of You'' and ''Message of Love'' with narrato
Michael Wetherbee
In September 2020, his seventh novel, ''Finding Tulsa,'' was released wit

The expansive novel is the faux-memoir of gay film director Stan Grozniak, who reconnects with Lance, his teenage crush from a 1970s summer theatre production of the musical ''Gypsy.'' Through 2021, as part of the ''Bay Area Reporter''s 50th anniversary celebrations, he produced and hosted twelve monthly panels about the history of the newspaper, with dozens of current and former writers, editors, photographers and special guests. The panels are archived on the B.A.R.'
YouTube channel
In May 2022, he edited and self-published ''The Lost of New York,'' a novel written more than 50 years ago by his late uncle, John "Butch" Rigney, Jr. In May 2024, he self-published ''Lessons in Teenage Biology,'' a novella expanded from an unpublished short story he wrote in 1986. Provenzano is openly gay. He currently lives in

Works

Fiction

* ''PINS'' (1999) * ''Wrestling Team'' (German translation of ''PINS'', 2003) * ''Monkey Suits'' (2003) * ''Cyclizen'' (2007) * ''Every Time I Think of You'' (2011) * ''PINS; audiobook adaptation'' (2013) * ''Message of Love'' (2014) * ''Forty Wild Crushes: stories'' (2016) * ''Now I'm Here'' (2018) * ''Every Time I Think of You; audiobook adaptation'' (2020) * ''Message of Love; audiobook adaptation'' (2020) * ''Finding Tulsa'' (2020) * ''The Lost of New York'' by John Rigney, Jr. (Editor/Publisher) (2022) * ''Lessons in Teenage Biology, a novella'' (2024)

Plays

* ''PINS'' (2002, adapted from his novel) * ''Bootless Cries'' (1998) * ''Under the River'' (1988)

Honors

* San Francisco Press Club Awards, second place, entertainment feature (2022) * Lambda Literary Award finalist (Gay Romance) 2015, for the novel ''Message of Love'' * Lambda Literary Award (Gay Romance) 2012, for the novel ''Every Time I Think of You'' * Legacy Award in Journalism
Federation of Gay Games
(2006) * 100 Champions Award, Gay Games Chicago], (2006)
Bay Area Theatre Critics Award
''PINS'' (2002) * Fellowship, Interdisciplinary Arts, New Jersey Arts Council (1988)

References

Amazon.com listing

summary of reviews of the ''PINS'' stage adaptation produced in Chicago
June 2006, various publications] *
Internet Book Database listing

External links

www.jimprovenzano.com, Official Site

Author Blog

Facebook Author Page

Cyclizen blog; archive

SportsComplex.org; archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Provenzano, Jim 1961 births Living people American gay writers American gay artists Journalists from San Francisco American LGBTQ journalists American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights American LGBTQ photographers Gay journalists Gay dramatists and playwrights Gay photographers Lambda Literary Award winners Journalists from New York City