Ann Bannon Publishing Timeline

Publishing Timeline
Gold Medal Books (New York, Fawcett Publications, 1957 - 1962)	The original issue of the Bannon books, published by the premier publisher of original pulp paperback stories in the 50s and 60s. They issued Westerns, detective yarns, science fiction, romance, and lesbian pulps, and made a fortune doing it.
Arno Press/New York Times (New York, 1975)	A hardcover library edition, created by a book-publishing arm of the New York Times newspaper. Bannon's books were part of a series called "Homosexuality: Lesbians and Gay Men In Society, History and Literature."
Naiad Press (Tallahassee, FL; pocketbook edition, 1983; trade paperback edition, 1986)	Naiad was the premier women's press for a quarter of a century, with national and international distribution. Their re-issue of Bannon's books really launched the wave of sustained interest that continues to this day.
Quality Paperback Book Club (New York, 1995)	The QPBC is a subsidiary of Book-of-the-Month Club. They published an omnibus edition of the Bannon books, omitting, however, the title 'Journey to a Woman' for reasons unknown. This edition, dubbed The Beebo Brinker Chronicles, is part of a series QPBC calls "Triangle Classics: Illuminating the Gay and Lesbian Experience." There's good company here, including Gertrude Stein, Thomas Mann, James Baldwin, Virginia Woolf, Oscar Wilde, and Rita May Brown, among many others.
Cleis Press (San Francisco)--2001 to [2003])	The beautiful new Cleis Press editions of all five novels, with witty retro covers, are now in print. They were republished between 2001 and 2003. Odd Girl Out, I Am A Woman, Women In the Shadows, Journey to a Woman, and Beebo Brinker are now available through Cleis Press at www.cleispress.com. They can also be ordered online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and other Internet book sellers.

Summaries of the Books
Odd Girl Out	The first written and first published of the Ann Bannon books, this is the story of two college sorority sisters, Beth and Laura, who discover a passion for one another before the elder of the two, Beth, decides to commit to a conventional romance with her college sweetheart. Laura then must refashion her own life, and heads for far-away New York City. This book was the second-best selling paperback original of 1957, and was reissued many times by Gold Medal.
I Am A Woman	The story of what happens to Laura when she makes it to New York and meets the handsomest, most swashbuckling, and world-weary butch in the city: Beebo Brinker, the character for whom the series is named. Much of the story takes place in Greenwich Village, then a Mecca for members of the GLBT community, much as was Paris in the Roaring Twenties, and the Castro District in San Francisco today.
Women in the Shadows	The somewhat darker tale of Laura and Beebo's disillusion with one another. But this is also the story that tackles interracial romance when that was an unthinkable topic, and the subject of gay and lesbian parenthood, another area to which no-one had given a thoughtful treatment up to that point.
Journey to a Woman	What happens to three strong, beautiful women when one of them--Beth--rediscovers her passion for another--Laura--only to run headlong into the arms of the third--Beebo Brinker herself.
Beebo Brinker	A "prequel" to the preceding tales. Although it was written last in the series, this story brings Beebo from the hayfields of Wisconsin to New York's Greenwich Village. She arrives a very young and uncertain girl, but by the end of the story, we see the emergence of the dashing young butch she will become. Along the way there are beautiful girls to explore and a sparkling dalliance with an international movie star.
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