Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, 6500 N. Clark St., hosted a presentation and conversation about iconic gay pulp fiction author Victor J. Banis on Thursday.
Banis was born in 1937 and grew up in Ohio. He moved to California in his early twenties. He wrote more than 200 short stories and books throughout his lifetime and was one of the earliest authors of popularized gay pulp fiction in the ‘60s.
His great-niece, Maggie Weadick, who is executive director of the Victor J. Banis Family Foundation, inherited hundreds of his manuscripts and books, as well as the floppy disks where many digital manuscripts are stored. She read some of his books while he was alive, but she’s since dedicated herself to reading his books roughly in alphabetical order. The books she’s gotten through are stacking up already, and she’s still reading the books whose titles start with the letter B.
Banis wrote under more than a dozen pseudonyms, but many of his works were published under his real name. He wrote mysteries, sci-fi, romance and more. His books often featured gay people as the heroes and the villains; they weren’t sad or serious books about the struggles the community faces about their identities. Weadick said it was by design.
“This isn’t so much a gay story, it’s a story about people,” Weadick said. “And these characters aren’t grappling with their sexuality. They know who they are, and they’re grappling with the world.”
Weadick emphasized Banis’s role in popularizing gay pulp fiction. According to researcher Drewey Wayne Gunn, nearly half of the gay pulp fiction stories published in 1966–18 out of 53–were written by Banis. Three years later, in 1969, 250 gay pulp books were published and just five were by him.
Banis published his first book, “The Affairs of Gloria” in 1964. That same year, he was indicted on federal charges for conspiracy to distribute obscene materials. Thanks to his publisher’s lawyers, he was acquitted, but he faced government harassment for years afterwards.
Banis’s books were a response to the moment. His publishers encouraged him to continue writing about gay life differently than it had been depicted in other works.
“Gay men were like, ‘Hey, we want to hear stories about us, and we want them in a positive manner,’” she said.
The books were sold in many locations, including in gas stations, bus terminals and airports. “Some kid–a young adult–in the Midwest, could buy a copy of this and see that they’re not alone and it’s okay to be who you are. And it gave people hope,” she said.
The foundation is collecting the rest of his books; Banis didn’t hang on to every copy during his life. Many of his novels can be rented for free from the Gerber/Hart Library.
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