Marilyn: Marilyn B is an Ohio native who now spends her time soaking up the sun in Florida. When she's not watching Ghost Hunters or reading on her Nook, she divides her time playing Monopoly on Pogo and fantasizing about Elvis Cole and Joe Pike falling in love with each other.
Merith
Miriad: Miriad is a writer of intricate stories involving history, the paranormal, adventure, magic, mystery, murder, fantasy, steampunk, creatures that may (or may not) be real and any combination thereof. Also, dragons. She admires the work of many and has learned much from every book she’s ever read, even the really, really bad ones. Especially the really, really bad ones. She does not like Twilight. At all. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Bear, and her kitty Harvey. She is also very, very tall. You know, for a girl.
Mitzie:
Mountie
Myranda: All Purpose Office Peon by Day, professional roleplaying game writer/general Writer of Fortune by night.
Natalie
Norma Nielsen: NJ needs to write like she needs to breathe… It is an addiction that she never intends to find a cure for. NJ is quite often found snuggled up in her comfy chair in her little part of QLD, Australia - usually with her laptop on her legs as she writes about the wonderful and often somewhat crazy men in her stories. Her family encourages her writing, even if more often than not she calls them by her character’s names. She loves nothing better than putting together the profiles on each of her characters giving them all their mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. When not write you will find her distracted by reading someone else’s work. NJ also has a young gay Gothic Russian ghost who has taken up residence in her head as her muse. NJ thinks that anyone taking the time to read her stuff is totally awesome.
Oddmonster: Oddmonster lives in a cottage in the forests of Vermont, with six dogs, a back-talking rabbit and a superhero. A wrangler of wild coffees, a bike healer and an all-around miscreant, Oddmonster reads too much because it keeps her out of trouble. Mostly.
Pamela Turner: Author of the urban fantasy/paranormal Death Sword and the short story “It’s in Your Blood,” published in the digital anthology, Bites – Ten Tales of Vampires. Her short screenplay “Cemetery” placed second in The Writers Place short/teleplay competition in 2004. Pamela is a member of the RWA, Sisters in Crime, EPIC, and a supporting member of the HWA.
Pea: I am a former lawyer and current stay at home mom who loves the m/m genre.
Perpetua
Rachel Mc.: My name is Rachel and I currently live in the Southeast. I recently retired from the workforce but decided I wanted to fulfill one of my dreams and that is go back to college and complete my degree. So now I am a full-time student by day and a full-time reader by night. I have been reading books since forever and it is absolutely my favorite thing to do. The first books I remember reading were the Bobbsey Twins ,Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I have always liked to read romance and mystery but in the last year I somehow stumbled upon m/m, shapeshifters, and vampires and I realized I have been missing out on so many damn good books!. At any given time I am reading at least 2 or 3 different books because I am still discovering authors that I have yet to read and I am usually re-reading a story that I just can't let go of. I have books on my kindle, my PC and on my cellphone. Some people buy shoes, purses or clothes, I buy books.
Rachel T.: Straight female 57 year old avid reader. I read widely, but particularly in the romance genre. Nowadays I read more mm than mf because of the greater equality between the main characters. I have a professional background in health service management and auditing, although I have not worked for the past year. I am learning to rock climb - demonstrating a low aversion to risk!
Ro aka Chocolate Minx: I live in Missouri, I'm a Reviewer for Literary Nymphs and I also write customer reviews posted at Amazon under pen name Venus junkie. My favorite genre is male/male, I'm fond of explicit/detailed vampires, shifters and fantasy, although I enjoy most m/m sub-genre. I've never wanted to be an author but I enjoy being a plot bunny and doing research.
Rose
Rosie: I am an avid reader and have been my whole life. I literally adore books. A book is a success to me, if it has captured my imagination and engaged my emotions. I simply couldn't imagine my life without books in it. I am married with two children and I live near London in the UK. I am honoured to be part of this judging group.
Sally Sapphire: I am proud in pink, a transgendered gurl who loves exploring the fluid, ambiguous, ever-changing definition of gender. My passions are (quite naturally) curiosity, diversity, and imagination - the world is what we make of it, so why should we ever be content with what others tell us it should be? My love for literature, like my gender and sexuality, is both fluid and diverse, and the only thing I love more than curling up with a good book is sharing one with friends and watching them fall in love. That’s why I started http://bibrary.com/, and why I continue to spend far too much time digging through used bookstores for those hidden gems that positively embrace the community.
Sandra: I'm German. Reading gay fiction is very important in my life. I started out with male/male romance in adolescence when I discovered a German edition of 'The Lord won't mind' in a local bookstore - because it had such a beautiful cover ^_^. After that it was difficult - good gay fiction in German? No such thing. Back then it was hard to find stuff because there was so little. Now with the internet, ebooks, my being able to read English and all it is equally hard - because there is so much ^_^. My favourite genres are mystery, fantasy and historical romantic gay male fiction.
Shanna
Signy Kuiper: Writer. Reader. Editor. These labels and more apply to Signy, a 30 something from the Midwest US. An avid reader from early childhood where she curled up in the corner behind her mother's rocking chair to her teen years when she started writing her own fantasy stories and editing for friends (and the creative writing teacher who encouraged them). Now she spends her week days in the corporate cubicle farm, nights and weekends with her books, other people's books, and the hobbies that spin off from them.
Silvia: In 2006 Silvia has won the first prize in the eighth edition of the prize competition "Pari opportunità nell’Istruzione – Diversi ma uguali: insieme si cresce" - organized by the cities of Forlì-Cesena. In 2009 she was the makeup artist for the short "Break up the Silence" by director Roberta Bitto for the Movie Competition "Action for Women" launched by the European Council and the Chamber of Deputies, in cooperation with YouTube and Cinecittà Luce. Since 2009 she is part of the jury of the literary "Rainbow Award". Today she is especially inspired by love for Impressionist and post-Impressionist currents, in her work she pursues the research and its relationship with ancient customs and cults, especially those related to the figure of the Great Mother through the centuries and religions.
Sonneillon: Sonneillon is a pansexual, polyamorous Pagan who does most of her public writing on Pagan issues and social justice. She has been writing fantasy with muse-driven obsession since fourth grade. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and gaming. She is genderqueer, assigned female, and okay with that. She has a passion for GLBTQAI fiction, and for stories that center marginalized bodies in genres which typically exclude them.
Stacia
For five years he was part of the International Tour of the Terrence McNally play ""Corpus Christi"", playing Judas Iscariot. A documentary film was made of the tour and will be out in 2012 under the name ""Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption"".
Tame: Mom, doctor, poetess, friend.
Tammy: Avid reader, sometimes beta reader.
Tessanoil: Russian origin. Presently live in the US. Never part with my e-book. I read all genres but generally stick to fiction. Has being reading Gay fiction for the last six years. The ideal book for me must have a strong original plot, well developed characters that I can believe in, and a well written language. I don’t care about the settings of the story as long as authors have an idea of what he is writing about: past, present, future, alternative reality, space – bring it on. However, the story must be believable. Romance is great, but sex should not dominate the storyline.
Theresa: I'm a 30-something female wishing I had the nerve to put all the ideas I have running through my head down on paper (or in this day a computer screen). I'm getting closer and closer to taking that step. In the meantime, I get inspiration by reading some great books on one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given (my kindle).
Timothy James: The only thing Tim likes better than reading a good story is telling one. He always wanted to try his hand at writing, so a couple of years ago he began work on the Great American Novel. The ensuing obsession changed his life. He's since branched out into short prose and essays. He even works on the novel from time to time.
Tizi
Tracy: I read some of just about everything; additionally I'm a mom, a military spouse, and all that goes along with that. I live near Savannah, Georgia with my soldier, three kids, two cats and a large dog. Besides reading I enjoy baking, needlework, and occasionally playing my flute.
Uli: My name is Uli, I am a single woman from Germany and like probably all the other members of this jury I love to read... As a kid I couldn´t get enough of stories about American Indians. Later I read one mystery/ thriller after the other. But then Brokeback Mountain happened... But while I always had a soft spot for gay characters in movies I had no idea that there was a whole world of gay fiction waiting for me - somewhere out there... So after getting lost in fan fiction for about two years I also started reading original gay fiction about two years ago - and I have no idea how I am supposed to keep up with all the recommendations I get from friends I met online because of all this... And my unread mainstream books keep rotting away on my bookshelves...
Vayshti: Jack of all trades and master of none, I worked as an editing assistant at a small Australian publishing house during the early Noughties whilst undertaking an Honours degree in Professional Writing and Communication. I still keep my hand in as an editor/beta reader for both published authors and fanfic writers. Currently living in London, when I'm not devouring a book (any book), writing my own shorts or playing film extra, I can be found in a cloud of sawdust attempting DIY with power tools, or in the kitchen adopting the role of Mad Scientist/Chef.
Verena: My name is Verena, I’m 24 years old and I live in Austria. I started reading m/m fiction about 3 years ago. Since I prefer to read printed books, I will need a bigger room for them soon because I have so many. Reading was always very important to me, but after discovering m/m fiction I have to admit that I’m a proud bookaholic
Volya: I'm a warped mind in search for mind-blowing books that'll break me in pieces. I read mostly the darker stories, and have a soft spot for BDSM, D/s, and DD. You can find me tweeting as @VolyaZukov
Wendy Lyn Watson: Wendy writes deliciously funny cozy mysteries with a dollop of romance. She is also passionately devoted to 80s music, Asian horror films, and reality TV. She lives in Texas with her husband and three spoiled felines.
