Paula Martinac’s New Novel

Congratulations to Paula Martinac on the publication of her new novel, Testimony. This novel, like so much of Martinac’s work, touches on difficult social issues of which we may be aware, though perhaps without the acuity and depth of Martinac’s insight and storytelling ability. The novel takes place In rural Virginia in 1960, and follows the world of history professor Gen Rider has secured tenure at Baines College, a private school for white women. A woman in a man’s field, she teaches “Negro” history, which has made her suspect with a powerful male colleague. Even while she’s celebrating her triumph, she’s also mourning the break-up of a long-distance relationship with another woman—a romance she has tightly guarded, even from her straight female mentor.

Martinac is the author of five published novels and a collection of short stories. Her debut novel Out of Time won the 1990 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, and The Ada Decades was shortlisted for the Ferro-Grumley Award. Her most recent novel, Clio Rising, was awarded the Independent Publishers (IPPY) gold medal in Northeast Regional Fiction. She has published three nonfiction books on lesbian and gay culture and politics as well as numerous articles, essays, and short stories. Also a playwright, her works have had productions with Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company, Manhattan Theatre Source, the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, No Name Players, and others. Martinac is a 2019-2020 Artist Fellowship Recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council and in 2019 she received a Creative Renewal Fellowship from the Arts & Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County.