S. Renee Bess facts for kids

Quick facts for kids S. Renée Bess
S. Renee Bess, wearing the Alice B Medal Awarded in 2019
Born	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality	American
Style	multi-ethnic representation, social themes, African-American culture, lesbianism, feminism, complex female characters, and family relationships
Movement	Social Justice and Black Lives Matter
Spouse(s)	Vivian Lotz

S. Renée Bess is an American author from Pennsylvania. She writes stories that feature many different cultures and people. Her books often explore important social topics and African-American culture. She also focuses on strong female characters and family bonds.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Renée Bess was a Spanish and French teacher. She has been writing for most of her life. Her work has won several awards. One notable award is a "Goldie" from the Golden Crown Literary Society. This was for her 2017 book, Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars. This book was created after a sad event at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Renée Bess is also involved with the Golden Crown Literary Society and the Lambda Literary Foundation.

About Renée Bess

Her Early Life and Schooling

When Renée Bess was six years old, she loved the story of "Dr. Dan The Bandage Man." Later, she enjoyed reading about Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Books became a very important part of her life. Because she loved reading so much, writing came naturally to her. She started writing poetry and short stories. Later, she began writing novels. She believes there are still many more stories she wants to tell.

In the late 1960s, Renée graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls. This was a school for girls only, and it was integrated. After high school, she went to Temple University. There, she studied education and languages. She spent her career teaching Spanish and French in a public high school in Philadelphia. She also worked part-time helping student teachers at a local university. All this time, she wrote as much as she could.

Her Personal Life

In March 2025, Renée Bess's wife of 49 years passed away. Renée still lives in the Philadelphia area. She continues to write, edit, and help other authors with their books.

Her Writing Career

In 1994, Renée Bess won first place in a writing contest. Her short story was called "At the Beauty Parlor." After this, two of her short stories were included in Canadian books. These books were called "Piece of My Heart: A Lesbian of Colour Anthology" and "Ma-Ka: Diasporic Juks." Renée Bess is dedicated to writing beautiful stories. She fills her books with characters from many different backgrounds. Her stories often include important social topics, mystery, and suspense. One reader even said she writes "stories for the thinking reader."

Her first full novel, Leave of Absence, was published in 2005. In 2006, she met people from Regal Crest Enterprises (now Flashpoint Publications). She submitted her second novel, Breaking Jaie, to them. It was published in 2007. She then published three more novels. After that came the Our Happy Hours book. Her most recent book is Between a Rock and a Soft Place: Selected Works. Her first novel was also updated and republished in 2013.

From the very start, Renée Bess has believed in writing about diverse people. She once said that it's important for people to tell their own stories. This helps to show that everyone has a right to exist. She noted that sometimes, certain groups of people are not seen or heard.

In 2020, Renée Bess wrote an article called "Excuse Me While I Burn a Few Bridges." In it, she encouraged everyone to discover Black authors, especially those who write about women's rights and diverse relationships. She shared that her second novel was praised for its writing. However, a publishing house owned by women rejected it. They said, "no one will be interested in reading about a black girl’s coming out." This happened only thirteen years ago, long after the Jim Crow era.

To discuss publishing and the role of writers, Renée Bess had an interview in 2016. She talked about important issues like fairness, inclusion, and diversity in publishing.

Renée Bess is a strong supporter of all people. She believes in telling accurate history. In 2016, she wanted to create a book to remember those who were killed at the Pulse Nightclub in Florida. She asked author Lee Lynch for help. Lee Lynch thought the idea was "brilliant." The book, Our Happy Hours, included stories and poems from 48 writers. It received excellent reviews. In 2019, it won the Goldie Award for Best Anthology from the Golden Crown Literary Society.

Published Works

Novels

• Leave of Absence (2005), second edition (2013) ISBN: 9781619291065
• Breaking Jaie (2007) ISBN: 9781932300840
• Re: Building Sasha (2008) ISBN: 9781935053071
• The Butterfly Moments (2010) ISBN: 9781935053378
• The Rules (2014) ISBN: 9781619291577
• Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars (2017) ISBN: 9781633048133
• Between a Rock and a Soft Place: Selected Works (2021) ISBN: 9781949096347
• Her Last Secret (2024) ISBN: 9781619295698

Short Stories and Poems

• Driving Alone to P-Town is No Easy Thing, in "Piece of My Heart: A Lesbian of Colour Anthology", Sister Vision Press (1991).
• At the Beauty Parlor, in "Labyrinth Newspaper" (1994)
• TBA, in "Ma-Ka Diasporic Juks: Contemporary Writings by Queers of African Descent," Sister Vision Press (1998)
• Long Story Short: a poem, in "Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars", Flashpoint Publications (2017)
• A Night Beyond the City Limits, in "Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars", Flashpoint Publications (2017)

Awards and Recognitions

• 1994 – Won First Place in Labyrinth Newspaper's Short Story Contest.
• 2018 – Received The Golden Crown Literary Society Goldie Award for “Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars.”
• 2019 – Honored with The Alice B Readers Award Medal of Appreciation.