K.M. SOEHNLEIN (he/him) was born in New York City, raised in New Jersey, and lives in San Francisco — all locations that have played a part in his writing. His debut novel, The World of Normal Boys, praised for its depiction of a queer teenager in the 1970s suburbs, won the Lambda Award for Gay Fiction. He followed it up with You Can Say You Knew Me When, a novel centered on two pivotal moments of San Francisco history, the heyday of the Beat Generation in 1960 and the peak of the first dot-com wave in 2000. His third novel, Robin and Ruby, followed the characters from The World of Normal Boys into the 1980s with the story of a brother and sister’s eventful weekend at the Jersey Shore. 

 

Army of Lovers, his long-awaited fourth novel, draws from his time in New York City at the height of the AIDS epidemic with a riveting portrait of the activist groups ACT UP and Queer Nation.   

 

Soehnlein is the recipient of the Henfield Prize in short fiction and a Rainin Filmmaking Grant for screenwriting. His journalism and personal essays have appeared in numerous publications and anthologies. He received an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and currently teaches at the University of San Francisco MFA in Writing Program.