A Letter to Harvey Milk: Short Stories »

Lesléa Newman is the author of fifty books including the pioneering work Heather Has Two Mommies. Many of her books concern themselves with lesbian identity and Jewish identity, as well as current topics such as AIDS, eating disorders, and sexual abuse. Her literary awards include Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, and three Pushcart Prize nominations. Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists.

This poignant and humorous collection of stories offers a fresh perspective on current issues of homosexuality and anti-Semitism and lends a voice to those experiencing growing pains and self-discovery. Newman's quirky Jewish characters go through all kinds of experiences, from an initial lesbian sexual encounter to being sequestered in a college apartment after paranoid Holocaust flashbacks. Her characters anxiously discover their lesbian identities while beginning to understand, and finally to embrace, their Jewish heritage. The title story, "A Letter to Harvey Milk," was the second-place finalist in the Raymond Carver Short Story Competition.