Editor, author, journalist and public speaker Linda Villarosa has received distinguished recognition for her work in the African American and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Among the honors bestowed upon Villarosa were awards from The American Medical Writers’ Association, The Arthur Ashe Institute, Lincoln University, the New York Association of Black Journalists, the National Women’s Political Caucus, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists’ Association and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.
Villarosa has contributed her time and talent to national magazines throughout her career including the very popular publications Glamour, Health, Latina, the New York Times Book Review, Essence Magazine, Science Times, O Magazine, Vibe and Woman’s Day. Her column on the lesbian website AfterEllen is called “Outside the Lines” and she is a regular contributor to the daily online magazine for black consumption called The Root.
Born on Jan. 9, 1959, Villarosa always suspected that she was different from the other girls. Although she served on the cheerleading squad during high school, ran on the track team, wore dresses, and dated boys, she felt apart from the other girls in her class.
The University of Colorado graduate released her very first novel to the world in 2008. It was titled, “Passing for Black” and it earned the ambitious journalist a Lambda Literary Award nomination. In an interview with SheWrites, the author shared, “I wanted to write a book about passing, but didn’t want it to be historical fiction. I think of it as a coming-out story with the larger theme of passing. I was inspired by the work of early 20th-century authors Nella Larsen and Charles Chesnutt. Passing is also part of my own history: My mixed-race grandmother “passed for white,” in a town outside of Chicago in the 1950s and ’60s, causing a long and painful rift in our family.”
The above selection is from the forthcoming book Black, Gifted and Gay by LGBT media pioneer Leyla Farah (with assistance from LGBT celebrity reporter Sarah Toce)