In 1995, Sue Landers needed a job. The 24-year-old was pursuing her MFA in poetry at George Mason University in Washington, D.C., and needed to support herself while she was in school.

She was also a recently out queer woman.

“I was seeking my community,” says Landers, now 46, the author of three poetry books and the incoming executive director of Lambda Literary, the leading LGBTQ literary organization in the U.S.

“When I looked for work to support myself as I was going to school, I really wanted to be in a validating, affirming, supportive place, something I think a lot of young book lovers and young queer people desire.”

Lambda Literary, a national organization headquartered in Los Angeles, traces its roots back to that D.C. bookstore, Lambda Rising, where Landers worked in her mid-20s.

The store, the journal and the annual awards the organization is most well-known for — the Lambda Literary Awards or “Lammys” — were all the result of L. Page “Deacon” Maccubbin’s entrepreneurial efforts.

Now retired, Maccubbin describes himself as someone with a knack for dreaming up new projects and getting them off the ground. Read Rest of Article Here