Lucy Jane Bledsoe (born February 1, 1957, in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

who often writes about the intersection of family, wilderness and survival. She is a six-time finalist for the

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 ...

and a three-time finalist for the

Ferro-Grumley Award The Ferro-Grumley Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle and the Ferro-Grumley Foundation to a book deemed the year's best work of LGBT fiction. The award is presented in memory of writers Robert Ferro and Michael Gru ...

Biography

Bledsoe was born and raised in a large family in

. Bledsoe has stated in interview that she started writing stories when she was young and had always wanted to become a writer. She was inspired to write professionally by her high school Language Arts teacher, and has cited among her influences

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', ''The Song of the Lark (novel), The Song of the Lark'', a ...

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

, and

Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Ellen Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, essayist, and poet. Her widely known works include '' The Poisonwood Bible'', the tale of a missionary family in the Congo, and '' Animal, Vegetable, Mira ...

. Bledsoe's interest in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

and wilderness survival began when Bledsoe was three years old, with a family visit to Oregon’s Mount Jefferson. She later wrote about this formative experience in her 2006 memoir: ''The Ice Cave: A Woman’s Adventures from the Mojave to the Antarctic.'' Bledsoe began her activism in high school, campaigning for the Portland Public Schools to comply with

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

. From 1975 to 1977, Bledsoe attended

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

. She earned a B.A. at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

in 1979. Bledsoe has written science curriculum for

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

and several other educational organizations, including the George Lucas Educational Foundation and the

SETI Institute The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit research organization incorporated in 1984 whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to use this knowledge to inspire and guide present and futu ...

. From 1997 to 2003, she taught creative writing in the Masters of Creative Writing Graduate Program at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

. Bledsoe has traveled to Antarctica three times; twice as a two-time recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Artists & Writers in Antarctica Fellowship and once as a guest on the Russian ship, the Akademik Sergey Vavilov. She is one of a handful of people who have stayed at all three American stations in

. As a social justice activist, she has most recently been working on voting rights.

Career and honors

In 1985, she received the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. In 1995, Bledsoe published ''Sweat: Stories and a Novella'', which helped her garner her first

finalist title. In 1997, she wrote her first adult novel ''Working Parts'', for which she received the 1998

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbo ...

- the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Award for Literature. In 2002, Bledsoe was awarded a

California Arts Council The California Arts Council functions as a state agency headquartered in Sacramento, California. Its board comprises eight council members who receive appointments from both the Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and ...

fellowship in literature. Bledsoe's 2002 children's book ''Hoop Girlz'', about a ten-year-old girl who loves playing basketball but doesn't make the school team, was selected as one of ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' 's Top 10 Sports Books for Youth of the year and featured among Core Collection: Sports Fiction for Girls.Children's Literature Reviews
. Retrieved on 2008-08-01. Bledsoe has written four books about Antarctica: ''The Big Bang Symphony;'' ''The Ice Cave: A Woman's Adventures from the Mojave to the Antarctic; How to Survive in Antarctica;'' and ''The Antarctic Scoop''. Bledsoe's autobiographical

young adult novel Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

, ''No Stopping Us Now'', which is about love, basketball, and activism, was published in April 2022. Bledsoe's books and stories have been translated into

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Chinese,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and Dutch. She has been given two

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

artist and writers in

fellowships.

Bibliography

Books for adults *''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'' (novel), 2007. *''The Big Bang Symphony'' (novel), 2010. *''A Thin Bright Line'' (novel), 2016. *''The Evolution of Love'' (novel), 2018. *''Lava Falls: Stories'', 2018. *''Tell the Rest'' (novel), 2023. 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. *''Running Wild'', 2019. *''No Stopping Us Now'' (young adult novel), 2022.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bledsoe, Lucy Jane 1957 births Living people 20th-century American novelists American women novelists American science writers American lesbian writers 21st-century American novelists American LGBTQ novelists American women science writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Stonewall Book Award winners