Marilyn Jaye Lewis (born July 22, 1960 in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

) is an American writer and editor of

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s, short stories,

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

screenplays ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fea ...

and teleplays. Lewis grew up in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

in the 1960s. Lewis began writing during her preteen years. She spent her high school years in Columbus before moving to New York City in 1980. She initially focused her creative energies mainly on singing and songwriting, before beginning to write more fiction in the 1980s. Lewis studied recording and

audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

in New York. She worked there as a singer-songwriter under the name Marilyn Jaye, and later under her married name, Marilyn Jaye Lewis, until 1994. During those years, Lewis performed at such iconic New York clubs as SpeakEasy, Folk City and CBGB. Lewis was included twice in Fast Folk Musical Magazine, Jack Hardy's music magazine, recorded on vinyl. Those recordings are now in the Smithsonian Collection and available on Smithsonian Folkways. Lewis appeared on Volume 1, No. 6 with her song "Breaking Glass." Her song "One Thing Leads to Another" was included in Volume 1, No. 10. Marilyn Jaye Lewis, 1984

By the mid-1990s her work consisted of writing fiction exclusively. A hallmark of Lewis's work has been her willingness to confront the issues of racism, prejudice and bigotry. This theme can be seen throughout her career, from the young interracial couple in ''Neptune and Surf'', to the Puerto Rican characters in ''Freak Parade'', the gay men and lesbians in 1920s Hollywood in ''Twilight of the Immortal'', and right through to the incredibly talented African American artist

Helen LaFrance Helen LaFrance (November 2, 1919 – November 20, 2020) was a self-taught Black American artist born in Graves County, Kentucky, the second of four daughters to James Franklin Orr and Lillie May Ligon Orr. Though the terms are confining, Helen wa ...

who is so lovingly documented in ''Tell My Bones''. Always growing as a writer, Lewis expanded her repertoire to screenplays and teleplays in 2012 with ''Tell My Bones''. After making it to the second round of the Austin Film Festival in 2012, ''Tell My Bones'' won the Ohio Independent Screenplay Award in the Best Voice of Color category in 2013. Also in 2013, Lewis wrote a TV pilot called ''Cleveland's Burning'' which was a semi-finalist in the Industry Insider Television Writing Contest. The program is a family drama following an African American family in Cleveland as they react to the turmoil of the 1960s. Marilyn Jaye Lewis, 2002

Awards

* Semifinalist, 2013 Industry Insider Television Writing Contest for ''Cleveland's Burning'' * Best Voice of Color Screenplay, 2013 Ohio Independent Screenplay Award for ''Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story'' * Silver Medal, 2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards for ''Freak Parade'' * Finalist, 2000 William Faulkner Creative Writing Competition for ''The Curse of Our Profound Disorder'' * Award winner, 2000 New Century Writer Awards for ''The Curse of Our Profound Disorder''

Works

Screenplays

* ''Cleveland's Burning'', 2012 * ''Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story''

Historical novels

* ''Twilight of the Immortal'', Anaphora Literary Press, CreateSpace, 2011, ,

Novels

*''Freak Parade'',

Amazon Digital Services, Inc. Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology co ...

, 2010, * ''When the Night Stood Still: An Erotic Romance'', Magic Carpet Books, 2004, * ''When Hearts Collide: An Erotic Romance'', Magic Carpet Books, 2003, * ''In the Secret Hours'', Magic Carpet Books, 2003,

Short stories

* ''Neptune and Surf'',

Masquerade Books Masquerade or Masquerader may refer to: Events * Masquerade ball, a costumed dance event * Masquerade ceremony, a rite or cultural event in many parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and Africa * Masqueraders, the performers in the West ...

, 1999,

References

External links

website

interview, Clean Sheets Erotica Magazine

interview

Smith Magazine ''Smith Magazine'' is a U.S.-based online magazine devoted to storytelling in all its forms. ''Smiths content is participatory in nature, and the magazine welcomes contributions from all its readers. The magazine has made a name for itself with it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Marilyn Jaye 1960 births Living people American bloggers American book editors American women writers Writers from Columbus, Ohio American women bloggers 21st-century American women