Dorothy Allison

Dorothy Allison describes herself as a feminist, a working-class story teller, a Southern expatriate, a sometime poet and a happily born-again Californian. Awarded the 2007 Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction, Allison is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Allison's short story collection, Trash (1988) was published by Firebrand Books. Trash won two Lambda Literary Awards and the American Library Association Prize for Lesbian and Gay Writing. Allison's novel Bastard Out of Carolina, (1992) was a finalist for the 1992 National Book Award. The novel won the Ferro Grumley prize, an ALA Award for Lesbian and Gay Writing, became a best seller, and an award-winning movie. Cavedweller (1998) became a national bestseller, New York Times Notable book of the year, finalist for the Lillian Smith prize, and an ALA prizewinner.