Due, Linnea A. 1948–

PERSONAL: Born April 3, 1948, in Berkeley, CA; daughter of Floyd O. (a psychoanalyst) and Ellen (a nurse; maiden name, Anderson) Due. Education: Sarah Lawrence College, B.A., 1970; University of California—Berkeley, M.A., 1971.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—5846 Vallejo St., Oakland, CA 94608.

CAREER: Educational Development Corp., Menlo Park, CA, writer, 1973–74; Classified Flea Market, Oakland, CA, graphic designer, 1974–78; Diana Press, Oakland, in advertising, 1978; Oakland Graphics, Oakland, typesetter, 1978–. Editor for Straight Arrow Press, 1973–75.

AWARDS, HONORS: High and Outside was listed among best books for young adults by American Library Association, 1980.

WRITINGS:

High and Outside (young adult novel), Harper (New York, NY), 1980.

Give Me Time, Morrow (New York, NY), 1985.

Life Savings, Spinsters, 1992.

(Editor, with Lily Burana and Roxxie) Dagger: On Butch Women, Cleis Press, 1994.

Joining the Tribe: Growing Up Gay and Lesbian in the 1990s, Anchor (New York, NY), 1995.

(Editor) Hot Ticket: Tales of Lesbians, Sex, and Travel, Alyson Books (Los Angeles, CA), 1997.

(Editor) Uniform Sex: Erotic Stories of Women in Service, Alyson (Los Angeles, CA), 2000.

SIDELIGHTS: Linnea A. Due broke new ground with her YA novel about teenage alcoholism in 1980. As she once explained: "I began High and Outside when I re-turned from a trip—I had a week off work, and no one knew I was in town—so I locked myself in my study and started writing. I became so involved with my characters I wouldn't have been surprised in the least if they'd rung my doorbell one morning. This is the joy of writing for me—when the characters assume their own identities and run away with the story, leaving my idea of the book behind. Listening to the characters is much more interesting than writing about them, and eventually, I suspect, results in a better book."

Due followed the success of High and Outside with her 1992 novel Life Savings, about which a Publishers Weekly contributor commented: "This novel raises important questions about money, power and social responsibility. Mostly, however, it entertains. Each character is carefully drawn, with her own quirks, flaws and personal history."

In 1995, Due published Joining the Tribe: Growing Up Gay and Lesbian in the 1990s, a collection of interviews with gay and lesbian youth that a Publishers Weekly critic called "moving and vital." The teens Due interviewed "vividly recount the assaults they suffer in their families and schools and in the broader society," the reviewer added, noting that "name-calling, beatings and death threats" were not uncommon. The Publishers Weekly critic also thought that the book reflects the voice of these young Americans through Due's commentary and "sensitive editing." Due has edited three more collections, including lesbian fiction, interviews, and travel tales.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Best Sellers, September, 1980.

Lambda Book Report, July-August, 1994, Victoria A. Brownworth, review of Dagger: On Butch Women, p. 19; July, 1998, Susan Branch Smith, review of Hot Ticket: Tales of Lesbians, Sex, and Travel, p. 35.

Library Journal, June 15, 1980.

Publishers Weekly, August 31, 1992, review of Life Savings, p. 69; August 21, 1995, review of Joining the Tribe: Growing Up Gay and Lesbian in the 1990s, p. 59.

Women's Review of Books, March, 1996, review of Joining the Tribe, p. 16.