Alannah
Ali: I'm a scientist who reads far too many books, be they romance, crime thrillers or epic fantasies. If I'm not reading a research paper or some industry news, chances are I'll be reading a book of some sorts. I like non-traditional, non-perfect characters, rather than the perfect and flawless sort, and would love to see more in the genre.
Alisha
Anke: I'm a married mother of - finally grown up - three kids living in Southern Germany. I love to travel and of course to read. After getting my kindle, I discovered M/M romance and that was that. I think, E-books were the best invention ever. I'm always a 'bit' behind on my TBR, therefore I prefer calling myself collector of books - sounds much better!
Anna: I'm Anna, originally from the UK, but living in the USA right now. I'm in my 30s and married with a young daughter. I discovered m/m fiction in late 2007 and haven't looked back since, especially after getting an eReader... I've read more m/m books that I care to admit to and there are still many many more to go. I'm currently writing a screenplay based on one of my all time favourite m/m stories (with the very generous permission of the author). My dream is to write for the movies one day, so watch this space!
Annabeth: Pacific Northwest Book blogger at Cloudy with a Chance of Books http://www.chanceofbooks.com Contemporary romance writer, RWA member, Rainbow Romance Writers member. Frequent tweeter @AnnabethAlbert & harried adjunct professor and chief toddler wrangler.
Antonella: I'm Italian, but I live in a German-speaking country. I'm a professional translator. I love my job because it's interesting (translations vary from love letters to divorce sentences) and I'm my own boss. I do believe we should leave behind us a better world, that's why I'm engaged in political and environmental battles and I volunteer in a Centre Against Racism. I started to read LGTB books especially after ''Brokeback Mountain'', which had a deep impact on me. I've been reading a lot since then and I'm honoured to be in the same jury with some of the authors I love.
April C.
April O.: I'm a mom and teacher who has been addicted to LGBT Novels for years now.
Arch: I´m Arch, from a small town an hour from Venice, Italy. Divided between my scientific studies and work - in a completely different field, of course "sigh" -, a lot of my free time is spent reading, there are so much books in the world... One day I will have a huge room turned into a library, for now I simply have piles and piles of books around and thanks God for ebooks! My passion for the GLBT genre goes back many years ago. However in Italy, the field is limited, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, improve my English with pleasant readings. Well, from then on I am like a kid in a candy store.
Austin: Austin Wallace is a 24 year veteran of the book industry having worked for Lambda Rising Bookstore, Obelisk Books, White Rabbit Books, Chronicle Books Publishing and Cleis Press. He currently toils away his time at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. An avid reader and photographer who loves the feel of an actual book in his hand, he continues to haunt local independent bookstores and resist the urge to buy a Kindle or an ipad though knows he may have to succumb one day. You can follow him online at justtoday45.blogspot.com , placesiveeaten.blogspot.com and http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzytraveler/sets/
Aya
Barbara: A girl in her mid-twenties who lives in Poland and studies Information Science and Library. I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember. Although, I’ve discovered m/m romance just few years ago, still I was able to read lots of both amazing and poorly-written books. Discovering new themes and plots is what tigers like the best and I’m all for it.
Bobby D. Whitney: I live in Washington State, work in downtown Seattle, and live way out in the rural `burbs. I use that long daily commute to read -- lucky me with at least two full hours of relative quiet to read daily! What else? I´m a motorcycle rider, avid if bumbling crafter, mother to a college-aged son, and wife to an incredibly patient and supportive man. My degree is in English, which qualifies me to read and write and make embarrassing typos. I'm amazed at the writing talent out there and want to encourage these wonderful authors as much as possible. Without them, I would have nothing to read! This is my fourth year to act as Jury for the Rainbow Awards, and I´m honored to participate.
Boxtersushi: I'm an avid reader and lover of fiction, and in the last few years I've become one of the legion of fans of LGBT fiction. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area w/my husband and 11 yr daughter - am a licensed insurance agent specializing in coverage for physicians and medical groups.My daughter is of the age where we're starting to explore some of the themes of social justice found in many GLBT novels and I've found the genre to have made an impact on how I view what's going on in our world today. I just love a good read.
Calathea: My preferred genre changed quite a bit over the time. In my teens I read lots and lots of Science Fiction and Fantasy. It was then that I came across the novels of Marion Zimmer-Bradley, which had some m/m and f/f couples in them. Later I read more and more historical fiction and then added romance into the mix. I've been reading m/m romance for 2 years now and I'm glad I took the leap from reading slash fan fiction to "real" m/m books. :-)
Carol: "My name is Carol and I live in North Carolina. I have been reading forever it seems. Even sneaking my mom´s romances that "I was too young" to read (yea right!). She finally learned just to let me read whatever I wanted as I would go through 5-6 books a day. Today I still read books daily. Number vary depending if I read an excellent book and need to savor it a while, I may only read 3 that day. I never leave the house without a book."
Caroline: I'm an English teacher and "wannabe" translator from Poland. My hobby is - no surprise here - literature. It started when I was six and read my first book. (some nursery story about two bears;)) I've always felt my favourite genre would be LGBT stories but I also discovered I should have learnt English to have full access to them and enjoy them properly. My dream is to introduce the best stories to Polish readers (since we have but a few LGBT stories on the market here) and that's why I studied to be a translator. Who knows what will the future bring?
Cathy
Chris: I'm a blogger and voracious reader who lives in Uptown Minneapolis, Minnesota. I've been reading m/m for several years now and blogging for nearly seven years at http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/
CiraArana
Dahlia Adler: Dahlia Adler is a freelance copy editor, blogger, and aspiring author. Her life's aspiration is to make the perfect French macaron.
Dan
Danielle: I'm an avid reader and love reading most genres of books. This is my second year as a judge for last year's Rainbow Awards and I'm most definitely looking forward to another year as a judge. :)
DarienMoya: I am a lover of books and all people. I write reviews over on my blog Pants Off Reviews, and most of the time I have no freaking clue what I am talking about.
Dawn: I’m not a writer, but I love to read. The internet is probably the best thing to happen to the world of the written word. I am always amazed by the talent out there. So many of these writers, whether they do it for pleasure or profit would not be published in the mainstream publishing world of 20 years ago. Online publishers have allowed us as readers to be exposed to so many fantastic writers in traditional and non-traditional genres. I’m honored to participate as a reader in these awards.
Debbie: I live in Ohio USA. I have 3 kids at home. In high school, many, many years ago, I discovered Robert Heinlein and an instant love for scifi. Of course Star Trek (the original) was doing its first run at the time thus reinforcing my scifi love. Now my all time favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory! If you haven't seen it you've got to take a look! I enjoyed many different types of books. I attended over 20 years of school becoming an attorney, of all things. The kids kind of destroyed my enjoyable reading time until I discovered PDAs, and downloadable fanfiction. Now I can read in bed and not annoy anyone. Lesbian authors and fiction that include mystery, action/adventure, historical fiction, romance all kicked up my interest. Lesbian fiction is the only thing that I want to read now I enjoy it so much. It's like being a kid in a candy store as Arch said last year!
Ellen
Emanuela: I am a 38-year-old (going on 39 ahem) accountant, living in Italy. I have been reading m/m romance for a couple of years, following a few recommendations from Amazon and then finding a few gems that prompted me to discover this side of romance. I haven’t read much except m/m in the GLBT world, but I like to broaden my horizons, and I am usually able to enjoy many different books. Even if I mainly read romance, I won’t complain if there’s no HEA in a book, or if there’s not a prominent romantic relationship, I am especially looking for unforgettable characters and authors with an original voice. I have a slight preference for crime/mystery novels and dystopian books. My favourite authors are Josh Lanyon, Jordan Castillo Price, Ginn Hale, Aleksander Voinov. I am not a blogger. I interact with fellow readers on Goodreads, where I try to post a review for every book I read and to pimp the books I love like crazy, and I also post my reviews on Amazon. Even if I have a degree in economics, my first love was for literature and languages. I like art, especially the Italian Renaissance artists. Goodreads profile: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4268461-emanuela-plastic-duck. Amazon profile: https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1RXR105ND8OSH?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_tr_tbl_3595_name
Erotic Horizon: I read extensively and like to keep an open mind about any book I read. I love romance and tend to go through various phases in a year of how I read the books I read. I am a big lover of paranormal and M/M romances, but am known to rush out and buy the latest Mills & Boon or sci-fi annuals as soon as they hit the shelves. I like my crime fiction just as much as the most avid reader and tend to stick to the bread and butter authors - you know the ones you swear it's the last time you're going to buy their book, but end up a faithfull servant to their artistry with the pen. I appreciate books that gives you pause to think and look at the other side of the coin, but I also love the books that are heavy on the erotic and big on alpha males and feisty heroine. My days are currently filled with plots to find the perfect spot to hide from my overachieving kids and my nights are overrun with men in loin clothes chasing the hero or heroine of their choice. There are times I wish all my days were nights.
Eve: I started reading gay fictions when I was about 19 years old - discovered a new GLBT section in the local bookstore. I loved to read both "serious" gay fiction and what in the old days called "gay porn", so I'd be reading Edmund White, David Leavitt one day and Alex Kane by John Preston the next day. These days, however, 80% of my reading are m/m romance and fiction - thanks to the convenience of ebooks. I have pop culture journalism experience, however, I have long resigned to the fact that, despite being an avid reader, I am hopeless when it comes to writing original characters.
Gillian: Gillian Rodgerson is a freelance editor living in Toronto, Canada. As a journalist, she was a member of The Body Politic Collective, wrote international news for Gay Times magazine, and edited Capital Gay newspaper and Diva magazine in London, England. With Elizabeth Wilson she co-edited Pornography and Feminism: the case against Censorship (Lawrence & Wishart, 1991). Her hobbies include cooking, needlepoint, and writing pornography
Visit Heidi's web site at http://www.heidicullinan.com/ and her blog at http://amazoniowan.livejournal.com/."
Heidi F.: Heidi French lives in a small town nestled between the bustle of Vancouver and the renown ski resort of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada -- both of which recently played host to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Her home is sandwiched between the best of both worlds, with all the excitement and diversity of one of Canada's fastest-growing cities at her doorstep and some of the best outdoor recreation in the world at her backdoor. Her grade three teacher described her a voracious reader, a label that still fits to this day as she continues to read several books a week. Reading isn't just a pass time for Heidi, it is a way of life, one she that shares with her husband and was fortunate enough to have passed on to her two young children. In 2005 she discovered LGBT novels, which fast became one of her favourite genre's and she hasn't looked back.
Helen Beattie: Long time reader and new author. My first story, Love Led Them, was published by MLR Press this year.
James Rasmussen: Publisher and Editor at QueeredFiction Press
Janet S.: I am an avid reader. I know where every bookstore is located within a 50 mile radius of my home. I'm pretty eclectic in terms of what I enjoy reading, but I am open to anything provided it is written well. I live in NorCal near San Francisco and love the beauty of the SF Bay Area. I work as a paralegal during the day, but if I could figure out a way to get paid to just read all day -- well, I would be in heaven.
Janet T.
Jason: An Asst Editor in Chief for a prominent online publishing house, my partner and I live in Fort Worth and help raise his daughter from a previous relationship. As one of the moderators for the goodreads M/M Romance group, I post a daily author and publisher report for our members. I enjoy writing, reading, cooking, kink, and long walks on the beach. :)
Jem: An avid reader as well as book collector, Jem accidentally started reading M/M over twenty years ago with Mercedes Lackey's "Last Herald Mage" trilogy (still one of her all-time favorite fantasies). In the last few years she discovered yaoi, and the growing gay romance genre. She has hundreds of reviews on Amazon, and has written reviews for GottaWriteNetwork.com. Jem has also done beta reading, as well as reviews, directly for authors. She lives on the East Coast of the United States with her husband of fourteen years, and one old, cranky cat. http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jshillingford, http://jshillingford.livejournal.com/, http://twitter.com/jshillingford
Jenna W.: I am a prior military veteran who has worked in the medical field for almost 20 yrs. I am currently a stay at home mom of an energetic 2 year old. A self confessed bibliophile, I hope to one day stop investing so much in other peoples works and produce something of my own.
Jenre: I'm a British woman who writes a review and commentary blog which covers m/m romance. I've been reading m/m for about four years and blogging for three years. http://jenre-wellread.blogspot.com/
Jentay
Jessica: Jessica is the author of a handful of short stories, as well as the translator of four books by renowned healer and Olympic coach Semjon Bek. She is also the designer of Faraday Bags, a line of data-shielding wallets, purses, and clothing. An outdoors enthusiast, she enjoys hiking, camping, and cycling.
Jillian Bell: Editor at Ellora's Cave
Jodie: I always say a book a day keeps the doctor away. Or is that a book in the hand is worth two on the shelf? All I know is that I love to read, either paper or ebook, although my groaning bookshelves are probably sighing in relief that I mostly read ebooks now. Ebooks also allow me to indulge my need for instant gratification instead of waiting the weeks it used to take for books to reach Australia.
Jorgi-Anne: I'm an American living abroad, most currently in the Italy. I'm a voracious reader and have been ever since I learned to read at the age of 3 (thank you Sesame Street!) My love of GLBT fiction has only grown exponentially with the advent of e-books. I've drabbled the odd story or two, but find that I'm more enthusiastic about reading than writing at this point in my life. Maybe I'll write once I retire :)
Júlia
Juli-Anna
Julie A.
Julie W.: I love to read and enjoy discovering new writers. I am in constant search for a book I can escape into, where the characters live in me for days, giving my mind a much needed vacation. These books end up on my bookshelf to be read again and again. Though, my love will always remain with sci-fi and fantasy, mysteries and romance occupy just about as much space on my bookshelf. Thanks to my Kindle, not only can I read as often as I like, I have a another bookshelf (albeit a much lighter one) to store my favorites. I look forward to the next book that I want to read over and over.
Juni
Kari
Karla Ruksys: I am Karla Ruksys. I live in NJ, near Philadelphia. I am a woman in my 50's. I read a great deal, averaging a new book every 2-3 days.
Kate
Kathy: Like so many other members of the Jury, I'm an avid reader with a voracious appetite for anything that tells a good story, brings emotions to the fore and always leaves me feeling good at the end. In the past I was adamant about not being a fan of books where the bad guy wins, where love is lost or where I'm going to be scared to death... although I've noticed over the last while that my 'definitely don't reads' are now becoming part of my diet. I've been a fan of m/m romance--and any sub-genre out there--for five years now and it's a big part of my library, but I've also enjoyed f/f romance, m/f and ménages... gotta love a lot of lovin'. :) My four children, now all gone from home, are also readers and I like to think that I had something to do with that. They, and my wonderfully supportive husband, may not understand my steady diet of GLBT or romance books, but as readers themselves they understand that good stories can be found anywhere. I'm a reviewer for two sites--nothing like being able to read a book and tell people what it is about it that appeals to me--and I'm now also working as Editor-in-Chief for Silver Publishing. I always knew that books were important to me, now they're a part of everything I do. How wonderful is that!
Kimberly Lynn Workman: Kimberly has long been involved in media discussion, engaging others in conversations about the implications of television, film, and other artistic creations on society. In 2010, she took on a more official role in these discussions by becoming a staff writer on a number of media review blogs. She has long been drawn to LGBT fiction and most of her writing/reading projects are focused in this genre.
Kirsten
Kris Jacen: Kris Jacen is the Executive Editor and Formatting Director for ManLoveRomance Press and its imprints. She was invited to join the MLR staff in 2008 and has never looked back. Working with over thirty-five phenomenal authors such as Rick R. Reed, JP Bowie, James Buchanan, Kimberly Gardner, Ally Blue, Jet Mykles, and S.J. Frost has allowed her to both hone her editorial skills and indulge her inner fangirl. Kris also acts as editor, mentor and sounding-board for newcomers including Z. Allora and K-lee Klein. With this stable of talent under her guidance, Kris is quick to tell anyone who will listen that she loves her job. And her authors are just as quick to say that they love their editor.
Lasha: Avid reader and reviewer, who works for Reviews by Jessewave and Dark Divas Reviews.
http://www.lee-rowan.net/
Lia: I love reading, I don´t leave home without at least one book in my bag, ever. That's all that´s relevant, really. If it isn´t: I am German, married to a Brit, 2 bilingual kids. I´m currently living in Germany, but I lived in England and the USA for several years. Other than reading I love classical music and sing in 2+ choirs.
Lidya
Lily: I've been addicted to reading pretty much since I picked up my first book. After many years of reading m/f books, of which I was getting increasingly bored with, I discovered m/m ebooks. I'm totally hooked now and 99% of what I've read in the past three years has been m/m. My Sony eReader is never far from my side and I enjoy writing reviews as well as reading other people's thoughts on the books I've read. I live in North Florida and enjoy the mostly sunny days with my family.
Luce
Lyne: My name is Lyne and thanks to my mother's pushing when I was younger, I am now an avid reader. In my spare time I review M/M stories for a couple of different sites. If you had told me a few years ago that this would me my genre of choice I would have looked at you like you were crazy. Thanks to authors like Jeff Erno, JL Langley, TA Chase, and Sui Lynn I can't get enough.