Larry Benjamin. Wordsmith. Writer. Author.

Years ago, we moved to the ‘transitional” neighborhood of Germantown (in Philadelphia), then said to be on the verge of a comeback. There was much talk about The Germantown Renaissance which was talked about breathlessly and in the tone of reverence usually reserved for people who “know” computers and pop stars who appear in bikinis two weeks after giving birth. Sixteen years later there is still talk of The Germantown Renaissance . This reminds me of all the news that short stories were poised for a comeback, its return to popularity fueled, in part, by shrinking attention spans and the proliferation of electronic devices.   I am as dubious about the Short Story Renaissance as I am about The Germantown Renaissance. Short stories seem to be the stepchild of literature.   Publishers don’t seem to want to publish them. When I started shopping around my first collection of short stories, I was told that no one would publish a collection of short stories, unless I’d first writ...

Fellow writer Andrew Q. Gordon and I had a video chat the other day, as part of Prism Book Alliance’s “Outside the Margins” series. We talk about everything from writing to marriage to diversity in LGBT fiction to his thoughts on my writing a sequel to What Binds Us , to my next release.  So if you'd like to see us “unplugged,” pull up a chair, pour a cup of coffee and watch. Feel free to leave a comment on Prism’s page. One random commenter will win a $25 gift certificate. A Chat with Larry Benjamin ~ Andrew Q Gordon: Outside the Margins   Follow me on Twitter and Facebook .

  This week, I'm very excited to turn my blog over to my friend and fellow writer, Andrew Q. Gordon, whose book, Purpose , I absolutely loved. I can't wait to read the new one.  Andrew's new book, A Closed Door , is set to release today (October 8) by Wayward Publishing. Blurb Outted at thirteen, Orin Merritt left home after high school hoping to escape the hell his life had become. Ten years later when a tornado destroys his childhood home and kills his parents, Orin finds himself in an entirely new nightmare. One he can't run away from. Blaming himself for failing the two people who always loved and supported him, he returns home and confronts his past in the person of his one-time best friend, Thomas Kennett.  Thomas not only rejected him when Orin came out, he led the group that tormented Orin into leaving.   As he struggles to deal with his grief, Orin also labors to fulfill the pledge he made to his parents befor...