Photo by Rainer schulze
Professional Bio
Michael Quinn is a critic, essayist, and storyteller exploring books, identity, and culture through a gay lens.
He examines how books shape culture, how queer narratives challenge dominant ideas, and how literature can expand the way we see ourselves—and each other.
His writing has appeared in The Sun, The Gay & Lesbian Review, Publishers Weekly, and more. A member of the National Book Critics Circle, he writes the monthly column “Quinn on Books” for the Brooklyn-based Red Hook Star-Revue, where he champions underrepresented voices, small presses, and LGBTQ+ literature.
Beyond the page, Michael brings narrative clarity to organizational storytelling. His award-winning, documentary-style video series illuminates the choices behind nonprofit employees’ commitment to serve.
At the heart of his work is the belief that stories don’t just reflect the world—they have the power to shape it.
The Backstory
A Gay Writer’s Career Path Doesn’t Follow a Straight Line
My first job was in publishing. I had two bosses—one a gay man, the other a lesbian. The gay man groomed me to advance. Making a book deal was, he said, “the part that gives you a hard-on.” I was not so aroused.
I left for a display job, ironing shirts in the basement of a store in Herald Square. That basement opened the door to a career in high-end fashion—designing window displays and merchandising showrooms from New York to Milan.
After years of flying business class to fashion week, I became disillusioned with the industry’s wastefulness. I took a job as a receptionist at a mannequin company, where everything was handmade. I eventually managed their Brooklyn factory for nearly a decade, advocating for better working conditions for its mostly Latin staff. When the business folded, I worked as a stylist. When the pandemic hit, I transitioned into internal communications at a nonprofit.
All the while, I was writing and editing on the side: evaluating manuscripts for a film company, developing copy for a spiritual healer’s website, and reading for literary magazines.
It didn’t matter what the job was. I was always observing. Watching how people moved. How power operated. How stories were told. And writing it all down.
Writing about gay topics—books, identity, memory, desire—became its own kind of advocacy: a way to affirm the emotional complexity, depth, and dignity of the gay experience.