Dorothy Allison

Dorothy Allison
Allison at the 2011 Miami Book Fair
Born(1949-04-11)April 11, 1949
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedNovember 6, 2024(2024-11-06) (aged 75)
Guerneville, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Writer
  • poet
  • novelist
EducationFlorida Presbyterian College (BA)
Florida State University
The New School for Social Research (MA)
Subjectclass struggle, child and sexual abuse, women, lesbianism, feminism, and family
Literary movementFeminism
Spouse
Alix Layman
(died 2022)
Children1
Website
dorothyallison.com (archived)

Dorothy Earlene Allison (April 11, 1949 – November 6, 2024) was an American writer whose writing focused on class struggle, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism, and lesbianism. She was a self-identified femme lesbian. Allison won a number of awards for her writing, including several Lambda Literary Awards. In 2014, Allison was elected to membership in the Fellowship of Southern Writers.