Samantha Leigh Allen
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Samantha Leigh Allen is an American journalist and author. Allen worked as a senior reporter for ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' and now works as Senior Culture Editor at ''Them''. In 2019 she published the nonfiction book '' Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States''.


Early life and education

Allen was born in California and grew up in New Jersey. She was raised in a conservative,
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
household. As a young adult she served as a Mormon missionary. She officially left
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
in 2008 and transferred from
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
to
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
later that year. She came out as a transgender woman in 2012. She has a Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a certificate in Psychoanalytic Studies from
Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
. She was a recipient of a George W. Woodruff Fellowship while at Emory. In 2013 she received the John Money Fellowship for Scholars of Sexology from the
Kinsey Institute The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with In ...
at
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...
. In 2014 she was a recipient of the Unsung Heroine Award from the Center for Women at Emory as well as a Transgender Advocate of the Year Award from Emory's Office of LGBT Life.


Career

Allen covered
LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
stories as a senior reporter for ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' and worked as a staff writer for
Fusion TV Fusion TV was an American pay channel owned by Fusion Media Group, a multi-platform media company subsidiary of Univision Communications, which relied in part on the resources of its parent company's news division, Noticias Univision. In additi ...
's ''Sex + Life'' vertical. She later became a Senior Culture Editor at ''Them''. She has written for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', ''
Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...
'',
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, and ''
Crosscut.com The ''Cascade PBS'' newsroom, formerly ''Crosscut.com'', is an American nonprofit news website based in Seattle. In contrast to traditional news organizations, the website mainly engages in analytic journalism. It merged with local PBS member s ...
''. Allen has also written for LGBTQ media outlets including ''Them'' and
Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...
's ''
NewNowNext Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...
'' as a freelance writer. She also writes a travel newsletter called ''Get Lost'' and co-hosts a podcast about the WNBA called ''Double W'' with Laurel Powell. In 2018 she received the
GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...
for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article for her article on the cultural erasure of bisexual men. In 2019 she was nominated for a GLAAD Award her piece on non-binary inclusion in the workplace. In 2018 Allen published ''Love & Estrogen'' with
Amazon Original Stories Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mytho ...
, which is a biographical queer romantic comedy about meeting her wife at the
Kinsey Institute The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with In ...
. In 2019 she published the biography '' Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States'', which won the Judy Turner Prize for Community Service at the Decatur Books Festival. Her book focuses on LGBTQ communities in Utah, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi. Allen's first novel, ''Patricia Wants to Cuddle'', was published June 28, 2022 by
Zando Zando is an American independent publisher based in New York City. Zando publishes literary fiction, non-fiction and young adult books. The company consists of imprints Zando, Zando Young Readers, SJP Lit, Gillian Flynn Books, Crooked Media Reads, ...
. It follows the final four contestants on a reality dating show as they encounter a creature named Patricia in the woods on a remote island. Her next novel, ''Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet'', was also published by Zando on September 10, 2024. The novel revolves around a
ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
who is appointed by a
closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...
actor to write his memoir, only to discover that said actor is dead by the time they are scheduled to meet.


Bibliography

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References


External links


''Them'' contributor page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Samantha Leigh Living people 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American LGBTQ people Brigham Young University alumni Emory University alumni Indiana University Bloomington alumni Rutgers University alumni Former Latter Day Saints American magazine staff writers American freelance journalists American newspaper journalists American online journalists American women novelists American women non-fiction writers Journalists from California American transgender women American transgender writers American LGBTQ journalists American LGBTQ novelists LGBTQ people from California Transgender women writers Year of birth missing (living people) Female Mormon missionaries 21st-century Mormon missionaries Transgender journalists Transgender novelists