About

Lee Mandelo (he/him) is a writer, scholar, and sometimes-editor whose work focuses on queer and speculative fiction. His recent books include debut novel Summer Sons, a contemporary gay Southern gothic, as well as the novellas Feed Them Silence and The Woods All Black. Mandelo's short fiction, essays, and criticism can be read in publications including Tor.com/Reactor, Post45, Uncanny Magazine, and Capacious; he has also been a past nominee for various awards including the Lambda, Nebula, Goodreads Choice, and Hugo. He currently resides in Louisville and has recently received his PhD in Gender Studies from the University of Kentucky. Further information, interviews, and sundry little posts about current media he's enjoying can be found at leemandelo.com or @leemandelo on socials.

Represented by Kate McKean of Morhaim Literary.

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As for his academic career, Lee has pursued degrees in English and Contemporary Literature, including on a Master’s granted on fellowship to the University of Liverpool in 2014. After a five-year stint holding traditional jobs ranging from distance education to law, he returned to the world of scholarship to complete a Ph.D. in Gender & Women’s Studies with a certificate in Social Theory at the University of Kentucky. His research broadly focuses on queer theory, sexuality, digital cultures, as well as trans and-or queer masculinities; he also is currently studying Thai language and engages on both scholarly and personal levels with BL and other queer media transnationally ranging from the US to East and Southeast Asia. Over the course of his doctoral program, he was awarded the Wimberly C. Royster Graduate Excellence Awards in Arts and Sciences grant and the OPSVAW Dissertation Fellowship. Splitting time between prose work, teaching courses on gender and power, and engaging with as many queer materials possible--from contemporary visual art to horny fanfiction--his daily life involves a fair amount of eye strain.

"2024 Summer Reading Roundup," by Alison Law, Bitter Southerner, May 2024

"Unsanitary Work: The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo," with Sarah Gailey, Stone Soup, February 2024

"Four new provocative science fiction visions of the future," by Charlie 

Jane Anders, Washington Post, April 2023

"Exclusive Interview with Lee Mandelo: Feed Them Silence," with Sarah Gailey, Stone Soup, April 2023

"What Is It Like to Be a Plant," by Amy Brady, Scientific American, March 2023

"Sexuality and Southern Dark Academia in Lee Mandelo’s Summer Sons," by Em Nordling, Tor.com October 2022

"Graveyard Gays: 6 Eerie Queer Ghost Stories for Halloween," by Alana Joli Abbott, Paste Magazine, October 2022

"The 60 Most Popular Horror Books of the Past Five Years," Goodreads September 2022

"7 queer horror novels that should be on your bookshelf," by Saumyaa Vohra, GQ & Them.us September 2022

"15 best books by LGBTQ+ authors in 2022," by Justin Krajeski, NBCNews, June 2022

"A Catalogue of Touches: Friendship, Loss, and What’s Left Behind in Lee Mandelo’s Summer Sons," by

Trisha Low, Tor.com, March 2022

"8 of the Best Queer Horror Books," by CJ Connor, Book Riot, January 2022

"Mandelo’s Debut Novel ‘Summer Sons’ Explores Gender, Fuel and Ghosts in the Blood," by Nicholas Reich, 100 Days in Appalachia, January 2022

"15 Wonderful Books By Trans, Genderqueer, And Nonbinary Authors Released In 2021 That Definitely Deserve A Place In Your Bookshelf," by Jay Hogan, Buzzfeed.com, December 2021

"Queerness and the Southern Gothic: Lee Mandelo’s Summer Sons," by Ellie Campbell, Ancillary Review of Books, September 2021

"The 20 Best Halloween Reads to Mark the Start of Spooky Season," by Keely Weiss, Harper's Bazaar, September 2021

"Cold Ghosts, Fast Cars, Hot Mess: 'Summer Sons,'” by Jake Casella Brookins, Chicago Review of Books, September 2021

 If you're interested in discussing a speaking engagement, guest lecture, or other appearance, please get in touch using the site contact form.  

If you'd like to send letters, gifts, or other forms of fan-support, I maintain a P.O. box [currently on hold due to a big move] as well as a general wish-list. 

General policies: please don't send perishables (including homemade food, sorry!) or anything it would be rude to force an assistant to see-slash-handle (y'all know better).