Bold Strokes Books brings together a multi-talented team with decades of experience in the world of independent publishing. We not only have first-hand knowledge of the product and the market, we have the expertise to make your publishing experience the rewarding process it should be. This is our primary goal.

Len Barot, President

Len Barot has had a lifelong passion for the importance of lesbian-themed literature in the LGBT community and brings more than twenty years experience in both writing and publishing to Bold Strokes Books. As an author writing under the nom de plume Radclyffe, she has published over 25 novels and anthologies. With her unique perspective as both author and publisher, she provides a forum to support the growth of each author's career while producing quality works to enrich the body of lesbian fiction. She states: "I believe that publishing is about building long-term relationships and establishing careers through a combination of quality production, aggressive marketing, and wide-scale distribution. I also believe it is about aiding excellent authors to improve their craft through effective, targeted editing in an environment of mutual respect and rapport. I am an author, and I know how much more it takes to 'make a book' than just placing a cover on a manuscript. Done with respect and love for the craft, creating a book is a never-ending joy. My mission is to provide that experience to every author at Bold Strokes Books."

She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Publishing Triangle, and the Independent Book Publishers Association. As an author, she has received the Alice B. Readers Award twice, once for lifetime achievement, The Lambda Literary Award in both romance and erotica, and multiple Golden Crown Literary Society Awards in the romance, mystery, and erotica categories. She has been a Lambda Literary award finalist in the mystery category and a silver medal winner for the Independent Publishers Award in romance and erotica. She has contributed as a workshop instructor, moderator, and presenter at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans , the York Lesbian Arts Festival in the UK , and the Golden Crown Literary Society convention on multiple occasions. She has also organized and moderated the Annual Helping Our Women Lesbian Authors Benefit Panel during Women's Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts since its inception; was a guest speaker along with Ann Bannon at the Golden Threads Lesbian Conference in Provincetown, Massachusetts; has presented numerous author seminars at the Publishing Triangle in New York City; and has organized and sponsored the first Palm Springs Lesbian Book Festival in Palm Springs, California (2007). In 2007 she achieved a first in LGBTQ publishing when Bold Strokes Books, Inc was named a recognized publisher by the Romance Writers of America.

Lee Ligon, Operations Manager

Lee Ligon has extensive experience in systems management and technical support and coordinates the production process with our printer, McNaughton & Gunn.

 Editorial Consultants

Jennifer Knight, Senior Consulting Editor

Jennifer Knight is a substantive editor with twenty years book trade experience. Formally educated in English Literature (M.A. University of Westminster), she specializes in book 'doctoring' - analyzing and revising complex manuscripts - and has had substantial editorial involvement in over two hundred works including non-fiction, literary fiction, commercial fiction (in particular historical, crime, and romance genres, feminist, and gay & lesbian fiction). Jennifer's experience is concentrated in the U.K. and Australasian literary fiction markets, and the U.S. romantic and popular fiction markets. Clients have included Penguin, Transworld, Century Hutchinson, Allen & Unwin, and Michael Joseph. In addition to editorial work, Jennifer teaches advanced clinics in manuscript revision for editors and writers, conducts tutorials for her clients, and also writes screenplays. In any substantive editing process, Jennifer combines mentoring with guidance on technique and disciplined revision methodologies to improve both a manuscript and its author's craft.  

Cindy Cresap, Consulting Editor and Production Manager

Cindy’s editing career began when she was an undergraduate at Yale University, where she was a writer, writing instructor, and managing editor for a national college guide published by St. Martin’s Press. She now has over ten years’ experience in both fiction and non-fiction editing. For over four years, she was the managing editor for a lesbian small press, where she was also responsible for manuscript reviews and acquisitions.    October 2007 BSB Interview

Greg Herren

Greg Herren is the author of eleven novels, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Murder in the Rue Chartres.  He has edited eight anthologies, including Fratsex, the all-time bestselling title for Insightoutbooks, and Love, Bourbon Street, which also won the Lambda Literary Award. He was editor of Lambda Book Report for two years, worked as a consulting editor for a number of LGBT presses, and was senior editor of Harrington Park Press for three years. He is a co-founder of the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans, and has also published over fifty short stories in markets as varied as Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Men magazine.

Victoria Oldham

Victoria Oldham grew up in Southern California and now lives with her partner in England. She has a Masters in English Composition and Literature, with specialties in the Classics and Women’s Studies. She has presented papers at universities in Hawaii, New York, California and Iowa on the uses of mythology in contemporary literature and is pursuing her PhD in feminine mythological figures in current literature. She works as an editor in the Marketing Department of an entertainment venue and has published several short stories as well as more than fifty articles.

Stacia Seaman

Stacia Seaman has more than ten years' experience in substantive editing, copy editing, and proofreading. Her background is in Slavic Languages and Literatures (M.A. University of Texas). After spending several years with a scholarly press editing nonfiction, she has moved into fiction editing, specializing in crime and romance as well as lesbian and gay fiction.  January  2008 BSB Interview

Ruth Sternglantz

Ruth Sternglantz has over twenty years of editorial experience, having spent her entire adult life working with words and making books of one sort or another. As an English professor for fifteen years (PhD NYU), she taught writing, literature, and gender studies. Outside of the classroom, she has worked in acquisitions and has edited works of fiction and non-fiction for trade and academic presses, and has trained and supervised editorial teams on a major academic journal.

Shelley Thrasher

Shelley Thrasher, Professor Emeritus of English, M.A. and PhD (University of Houston), has taught creative writing, women’s studies, fine arts, and English at the college level for more than 30 years.  She became one of the first consulting editors at Bold Strokes Books in 2004 and has attended and continues to attend conferences in New Orleans, Provincetown, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Palm Springs, at which she has often been a presenter.  She specializes in style editing, although she also does story and copy editing.  To date, she has edited over fifty novels for BSB. 

 Production Consultants

Sheri - Graphic Arts

A picture is truly worth a thousand words. See Sheri's covers at the BSB Bookshop pages.

Contact her at: graphicartist2020@hotmail.com    November 2007 BSB Interview

Barb Kiwak - Graphic Illustrator

Illustrating for various publishing houses and design firms for over twenty years, some of Barb's other clients include American Greetings, Random House Publishing, and Reader's Digest.  To view a complete selection of her work, visit www.kiwak.com.  The Berkley Gallery in Virginia represents her fine art at berkleygallery.com.

 Marketing Consultants

Connie Ward, Publicist

Connie Ward assists in the setup of author events with booksellers and reading groups, arranges print and online interviews, and serves as assistant coordinator for BSB book events.  Connie has over thirty years of experience in administration and business.

LD Anderson

LD Anderson (Andy) has more than twenty years experience in the corporate and small-business worlds.  Her varied background allows her to perform general marketing functions for Bold Strokes, including managing the Web site, designing and publishing a monthly online BSB newsletter, and developing promotional material.

 Legal Consultants

Paula Tighe

Paula Tighe is a partner in the law firm of Earnest & Tighe, P.A. She has 15 years of legal experience concentrating in the areas of corporate/business, contract, civil litigation, and real estate law. Her clients include large national corporations and governmental agencies, as well as small businesses. Over the years, she has performed pro bono legal work for clients in the arts and entertainment fields, including representation of an aspiring rock band. Ms. Tighe is also currently a volunteer board member for a national non-profit organization.She graduated with Honors from Southern Methodist University in 1986 with a B.B.A. in Marketing and in 1989 from the University of Florida College of Law.