Sassafras Lowrey

Sassafras Patterdale, formerly Lowrey, (they/them) is a queer and genderqueer author and full-time freelance writer. Sassafras is the author of twelve books. Their books and writing have been honored by organizations ranging from the American Library Association and the Lambda Literary Foundation to the Dog Writers Association of America and the Cat Writers Association. Sassafras is the 2013 winner of the Lambda Literary Emerging Writer Award and they hold an MFA from Goddard College in Fiction with a focus on LGBTQ+ fairy tales. Sassafras has taught creative writing at LitReactor and the NYC Center For Fiction, is a two-time AWP Writer to Writer Mentor with a focus on LGBTQ+ writers.

Sassafras has toured widely, giving readings, workshops, and keynotes at colleges, conferences, bookstores, festivals, and squats from Atlanta to Berlin to Toronto to NYC, Oakland and Amsterdam on topics ranging from Queer Writing to the epidemic of LGBTQ Youth Homelessness. Sassafras’ numerous conference appearances include AWP and Saints & Sinners Queer Literary Conference.

Sassafras’ work has been published in dozens of anthologies and they are currently a full-time freelance writer. Sassafras’ writing regularly appears in leading magazines/publications including the New York Times, WIRED, and Good Housekeeping. Sassafras has appeared on PBS Books and BBC radio, and their novel Lost Boi was a Lambda Literary writers in schools book. The film rights for Lost Boi were recently optioned.