jackie young

The following films are screening at LA's Outfest this week and will likely make the rounds to LGBT film fests near you! Be sure to check them out and support lesbian filmmaking at all levels. Check out Bloomington, a Loving Annabelle-esque look at a student / teacher lesbian affair, A Marine Story with Dreya Weber and Paris Pickard, the documentary about singing New Zealand twins The Topp Twins and The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister.

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, a Scottish poet and playwright, has won the Costa poetry prize. Duffy was appointed Britain’s Poet Laureate in May 2009, and was the first Scot, first woman and the first openly gay person to fill the position. In 1999, Duffy narrowly lost out on filling Ted Hughes’ position as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, but has noted that she would not have accepted at that time because of the public attention that would have focused on her raising a young child in a lesbian relationship with poet Jackie Kay.

I love Showtime. Not just because they're the network that brought lesbian audiences 'The L Word,' but also because in the wake of the Jennifer Beals, Kate Moennig starrer, two fine female-driven half-hours have taken its place.
And considering Showtime has green-lighted a third season for both 'Nurse Jackie' (Edie Falco) and 'United States of Tara' (Toni Collette), the strong women are resonating well with audiences - the pickups come just days after each show premiered its second season.

Alma Lopez's “Queer Saints: Holy Violence” exhibition explores the idea of female saints as butch/masculine lesbians.

Mila Kunis is set to executive produce a new women's liberation drama for the CW called Meridian Hills.

Calling all show tune and Anne Hathaway lovers – The Hollywood Reporter reports that the Oscar nominee and LGBT ally has been cast as Fantine in the latest iteration of Les Misérables., a big screen musical based on the smash hit stage version that's based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 tome that revolves around student uprisings in 1830’s France. Duffy is nominated for UK author of the year. Other nominees in the category are Julian Barnes, Carol Birch, Andrea Levy, Anthony Horowitz and Alan Hollinghurst. The awards celebrate mostly British authors, except in the categories of international author of the year and the paperback of the year.

Kim Zolciak defends lesbian rumors. "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kim Zolciak talked with Andy Cohen about rumors she's in a relationship with a woman on his Bravo talk show Watch What Happens Live, saying, "I've never been with a woman in my life." Over the weekend Zolciak was seen out with DJ Tracy Young. But a source says, "It has been really hard for her coming to terms with falling for a woman..." Watch the video here. 

Promising women playwrights and screenwriters are getting a showcase in Chicago this weekend with performances of lesbian-themed scripts that made the cut as finalists in the Women’s Work contest, sponsored by Pride Films and Plays.

Lesbian music powerhouse Melissa Etheridge is set to make her Broadway debut playing St. Jimmy in American Idiot from February 1 to 6. Her role is currently played by Green Day frontman, and visionary of the show, Billie Joe Armstrong. The week-long stint will not be the last of her Broadway career, as she and her girlfriend Linda Wallem, creator of Nurse Jackie, have a musical in the works.

Cinephiles, it’s your day - a day in which bets must be paid off, sighs of relief and anger must be given, and speculation must begin on a month long journey towards Oscar Day. Yes, early this morning the official Academy Award nominations were released, and folks, this year’s going to be a doozy with Natalie Portman, Annette Bening as a controllin lesbian mom, Michelle Williams, Jennifer Lawrence, Melissa Leo, Amy Adams and more...

We kick off our nostalgic homage to the best lesbian moments of 2009 with a look at the small sceen –scripted. Reality TV is next! See why Kate Moennig, Eliza Dushku, Swoosie Kurtz, Blythe Danner, Elizbeth Perkins, Tamara Braun, Eden Riegel, Evan Rachel Wood, Jane Lynch, Sara Ramirez, Jessica Capshaw and more all made this list!