Washington, D.C. – The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) will be presenting the first NLGJA Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage to Edythe Eyde. Eyde, who wrote by the pen name Lisa Ben, is the creator of the first known lesbian publication, Vice Versa, which she single-handedly produced and distributed in Los Angeles for a year in the 1940s.

“We are so grateful that Lisa Ben laid the groundwork for us all in the LGBT community and celebrate her courage to take that first step the community needed to have a voice.” said Jen Christensen, NLGJA president. “She exemplifies the best of what all good journalists hope to be.”

The NLGJA Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage is designed to honor a journalist whose body of work is distinguished by insight and impact through engaging features on LGBT individuals, the LGBT community or LGBT issues.

The award is named for the pseudonym Eyde used for her pioneering publication, Vice Versa, which she had to hand deliver to avoid run afoul of laws on the books that made it illegal to send material about lesbians through the mail. In the 1950s she wrote under with the pen name Lisa Ben for The Ladder, the first nationally distributed lesbian magazine.

Lisa Ben was inducted into the NLGJA Journalists Hall of Fame in 2010 for her work that paved the way for many LGBT journalists to follow. 

The award will be presented at L.A. Exclusive, A National Benefit for NLGJA, on June 19, 2014 in Los Angeles.  For more information and tickets, visit www.nlgja.org/laexclusive.


About the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association 

NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues. NLGJA opposes all forms of workplace bias and provides professional development to its members. For more information on the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, visit the NLGJA website at https://www.nlgja.org.