Stephanie Andrea Allen, Ph.D.

Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief

Stephanie Andrea Allen, Ph.D., is a native southerner and out Black lesbian writer, scholar, and educator. She founded BLF Press in 2014 while she was still in graduate school, realizing that the challenges that women faced in regards to publishing still existed, (lack of diversity in publishing; the [false] notion that lesbian literature was now “mainstream;” lack of access to agents, editors, and other publishing professionals; and more than anything, the notion that our stories were somehow unworthy or had no literary merit), and decided that she could do something about that.

Stephanie recently co-founded the Black Lesbian Literary Collective, a not-for-profit collective collaborative focused on creating a nurturing and sustainable environment for Black lesbian and queer women of color writers.

Stephanie holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Purdue University, an M.A. in English from Auburn University, and a B.A. in English from Columbus State University. She is an Assistant Professor of Gender Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. Her scholarship examines how Black lesbian literature and film responds to and resists the heteropatriarchal systems that contribute to the invisibility of Black lesbians in popular and literary culture.

You can learn more about Stephanie at stephanieandreaallen.com

Lauren Cherelle

Managing Editor and Creative Director

Lauren Cherelle uses her time and talents to traverse imaginary and professional worlds. She holds a BFA in graphic design, an MBA from the University of Tennessee, and writing certifications from the University of Louisville. In 2016, Lauren co-founded a literary collective for Black lesbian and queer women of color. Her co-edited projects include Solace: Writing, Refuge, and LGBTQ Women of Color, Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction, and Black from the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing. Her writing reflects the lives of Southern Black girls and women. Join Lauren on Twitter and Instagram: @laurencre8s.You can learn more about Lauren at lcherelle.com.

Ashley Wang

Intern

Ashley Wang (she/her) is a rising senior at Rice University majoring in Psychology and English with a Creative Writing Concentration. She has worked as a poetry section editor for R2: The Rice Review and as a student ambassador for Fondren Library. In her free time, Ashley can be found playing indie video games, combing through NaPoWriMo prompts, and writing nostalgia-filled short stories.