Rachel Pollack: Trailblazing Queer Writer

We’ve recently learned that the amazing Rachel Pollack, who was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2015, is expected to pass away very soon. The information comes firsthand from Neil Gaiman, a longtime friend of Pollack. Gaiman’s post on Mastodon on Sunday said the following:

My friend the brilliant author Rachel Pollack is coming to the end of her life. She won the Nebula, World Fantasy and Arthur C Clarke awards. She is a world renowned expert on Tarot, and her books on Tarot are still regarded as the good standard. She created the first trans superhero, in Doom Patrol in '93. I will miss her very much when she goes. I am writing this at the request of her wife Zoe, to let her friends know that the end is soon, and to let the obituarists know too.

If you don’t know the name Rachel Pollack, you should. A prolific author and early trans icon, Pollack is one of the many reasons Blackwarren Books exists today. This isn’t hyperbole; our founder Vaughn R. Demont has a personal connection in that she served as his faculty advisor during his MFA work at Goddard College, where she taught for many years, and kept in touch for years after.

It’s unclear when she will pass, but it’s likely to be in the immediate future. Our hearts are with Pollack, her family and friends, and her countless fans and admirers around the world.