Celebrating Pride with Cleveland Public Library

The only author to ever win the American Library Association’s Stonewall Award twice, Ellis Avery was raised in Columbus, Ohio; wrote two novels, a memoir, and a book of poetry; taught fiction writing at Columbia University and University of California, Berkely; and won awards from the Ohioana Library Association and Lambda Literary Foundation.

e.E. Charlton-Trujillo is a Mexican American filmmaker and award-winning author of books for teens and children including the American Library Association Stonewall Award-winning Fat Angie. e.E. co-founded Never Counted Out, a non-profit which empowers at-risk youth through access to the arts and creative mentorships.

Aubrey Wertheim, born Robert Wertheim, was a gay rights activist who served as Director of Services for the Lesbian Gay Community Service Center of Greater Cleveland, began the Maryanne Finegan Anti-Violence Project, created PRYSM, a support group for gay youth and founded the Living Room, the mid-west’s first HIV/AIDS drop-in center. Wertheim was an award-winning playwright.

Charles Callender moved to Cleveland when he became a professor of anthropology at Case Western Reserve University. He was the editor and publisher of the newspaper the “Gay People’s Chronicle” from its inception in 1984/85 until his death in 1986. The chronicle ceased publication in 2019. In his honor CWRU established the Callender Memorial Award, which is given to undergraduates who show outstanding achievement in anthropology.

Richard Cole is the Artistic Director of the North Coast Men’s Chorus, a role he assumed in the late 90’s. He’s a 1981 graduate of Bowling Green State University with a degree in music education. Mr. Cole served as Chair for the 2014 Gay Games’ Band and Choral events, and received a 2015 LGBT Heritage Day award from the City of Cleveland for contributions to community entertainment.

A Writer, Activist, Director and Educator of racial and economic justice issues related to the LGBTQ community. Born in the 1980s at the height of the HIV epidemic, he became an activist at the AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland, and held sex-education workshops. His education started at Hawken School and Ohio Wesleyan University. In 1999, he moved to New York to pursue acting, but quickly shifted back to continuing his education and passion for social justice.