About Gertrude

Gertrude is the annual literary publication of Gertrude Press. Gertrude Press is a nonprofit 501(c)3 (status pending) organization showcasing and developing the creative talents of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer-identified, and allied individuals.

The views expressed in the print publication and on this website do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, editorial board, or Board of Directors.

Eric K. Delehoy Founding Editor	Eric Delehoy is the founding editor of Gertrude Press. His essays, poetry, and short fiction have appeared in a number of journals such as instant city, The Rockford Review, Onthebus, Coal City Review, Upstairs at Duroc, Seedhouse, Weird Sisters, and Cranial Tempest, among others. His short story, "Bus People," received the Rockford Review's Editors' Choice Award. Eric earned his Master in Fine Arts (Fiction) from Antioch University Los Angeles in 2004. He has served in numerous positions in LGBTQA organizations including Executive Director, and later Board of Directors President of the Lambda Community Center, a non-profit educational and social support organization serving the queer communities of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.
Justus Ballard Fiction Editor	Justus Ballard lives in Portland, Oregon. He teaches composition, creative writing, and literature at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon. In 2004, he received his MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University; later that year, he received the Friends of Lake Oswego Library William Stafford Fellowship from Oregon's Literary Arts for a novel in progress. His long short story "The Cubist Infant" was published in March 2005, by Cloverfield Press. In 2006, he was awarded the Lisa S. Ede TYCA-Pacific Northwest Outstanding Teacher Award, Adjunct Category (TYCA is the Two Year College Association of the National Council of Teachers of English). He is the fiction editor of Gertrude, and does design and layout for Gertrude Press. He also does freelance design work for the Oregon Psychoanalytic Center, a Portland-based non-profit that focuses on issues of mental health in the community. He is currently working on a novel, several short stories, and a rock opera.
Elizabeth Simson Poetry Reader, Webmistress	Elizabeth Simson has been in love with poetry since her mother first read her "The Highwayman" as a child. Her poems have appeared in over two dozen literary journals and anthologies, including Versal, Atlanta Review, Kalliope, Comstock Review, Common Ground Review, BorderSenses, Earth's Daughters, and elsewhere. Elizabeth’s first chapbook, Sea Change, was recently published by Finishing Line Press. A 1996 graduate of Willamette University, Elizabeth received the National Endowment for the Humanities Younger Scholar's Award. She is a member of OSPA, WPA and the International Women's Writing Guild (IWWG). Elizabeth serves as the quarterly newsletter editor for the Oregon State Poetry Association and is a member of the 29th Street Writers. Catch her online at www.poemfish.com.
Steven Rydman Poetry Editor	Steven Rydman resides in the Metropolitan Detroit area of Michigan and Key West, Florida. He holds a B.S. Degree (Suma Cum Laude) from Wayne State University in Secondary Education English and Math. For three years, he worked for the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, traveling the state of Michigan and beyond doing fundraising, safer sex workshops and gay/lesbian sensitivity trainings. In December 2004, he completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Antioch University Los Angeles. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in numerous journals, including Rattle, Connecticut River Review, Paterson Literary Review, Bloom, Bellingham Review, Chiron Review, The Los Angeles Review and StoryQuarterly. He received one Commendation and two Honorable Mentions in the 2001, 2003, and 2004 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards, plus Third Place in both the Detroit Writer's Voice 2003 Contest judged by X.J. Kennedy and in the 2003 Oscar Wilde Poetry Awards from Gival Press. His piece "Vacuum" was picked by Robert Olen Butler as the 2006 World's Best Short Short Story in The Southeast Review. He published his first chapbook of poetry, My Town, in the summer of 2003.
LeAnna Covalt Editorial Board	LeAnna Covalt completed her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the Antioch University in Los Angeles, and now teaches writing at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon. Her work has been seen in one of the earliest editions of Gertrude: A Journal of Voice and Vision as well as other places such as: The Year of the Blue Jay: An Anthology and The Oklahoma Review. She currently lives in Portland with her two dogs and her poetry.
Jodi Ballard Editorial Board	Jodi has a history of helping both social and cultural non-profit organizations. In the past, she worked in Americorps with a team of VISTAs committed to bringing about economic equality to low-income neighborhoods by building a strong network of non-profits and community groups. Jodi's experience with grant writing, organizational and resource development, not to mention her extreme good looks, will surely help to elevate Gretrude Press to new heights. In addition, Jodi was a co-founder of The Rogue festival in Fresno, Ca. The festival is an exhibition of experimental theater, art and music. The Rogue recently received a nod by the New York Times as a spring destination fringe festival. (Which wouldn't be worth commenting on except when has Fresno ever received a nod for a cultural acheivement?) Jodi is currently not working on an album, a story or a piece of artwork. However, she is looking forward to mingling with the good people of Portland at the many upcoming Gertrude events and building a coalition of lifelong Gertrude supporters.
Scott Moore Editorial Board	Scott Moore is the news editor and political columnist for the Portland Mercury, Portland, Oregon's premier alternative news and culture weekly, covering city and state politics. Previously, he's been employed a staff editor for a music business magazine, a computer technician, a bellboy, and pizza delivery phone operator. His article "2,000 Sheep and a Shovel Toilet," about immigrant sheepherders in the San Joaquin Valley won the New California Media Award for Central Valley Reporting in 2001. More than anything in the world, Scott enjoys discussing himself in the third person.
Tammy Stoner Editorial Board	Tammy is the writer/creator of "Dottie's Magic Pockets" - the first kids show for children in LGBT families and their friends. In 2007, she was a finalist for Disney/Touchstone's Film Fellowship. She has worked at The Advocate and OUT magazines and Alyson Books, where she edited three anthologies. Her writing has appeared in a few dozen places, including StarFcker, Society, Urban Syntax, and DotDotDot*. She is currently trying to sell one of her kidneys ("juicy, juicy!") to pay off her MFA - interested parties can email her directly.
Photo Coming Soon Alison Tobey Intern	Allison Tobey grew up in the lands surrounding Cleveland, Ohio. After a five year stint in the corn fields of Iowa she is glad to live in Portland, Oregon where she works as a coffee slinger and is a candidate for her Masters in Creative Writing from Antioch University. She has seven chickens in her backyard which is illegal under Oregon state law. (Yes, she looked it up.)
Siobhan Crosby Chair, Resource Development Committee	Siobhan Crosby hails from Philadelphia, PA with a stint in our nation's capital while earning her BA in Liberal Arts at The George Washington University with a minor in Creative Writing. She was drawn to Portland for its distance from home and has stayed for the creative energy, fantastic food and drink culture, dry summers, and the Hood strawberries. She serves as customer relationship and marketing manager (industry term: circulation manager) for Imbibe Magazine, dedicated to drinks from coffee to cocktails. She brings a big Rolodex, a special schmoo-zheh-sais-quoi and a fondness for spreadsheets to the Gertrude Board.

Board Member Responsibilities