Cheryl Burke (September 19, 1972 – June 18, 2011), known professionally as Cheryl B, was an American journalist, spoken word poet, performance artist and playwright, associated with the East Village arts scene in New York City.

[1] She is best known for her autobiographical book My Awesome Place: The Autobiography of Cheryl B, which was published posthumously and was co-winner, with John Irving's novel In One Person, of the 2013 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Literature.

[2] Burke was born on September 19, 1972,[1] in Staten Island, New York, and raised in New Jersey.

[1] Her work appeared in periodicals such as Ping Pong, BUST, KGB Bar Lit, GO and Velvet Park, and in anthologies such as Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution (Seal Press, 2007), Reactions 5 (Pen & Inc, 2005), The Milk of Almonds: Italian-American Women Writers on Food & Culture (Feminist Press, 2002), The World in Us (St. Martins Press, 2000), Pills, Thrills, Chills and Heartache (Alyson Books, 2004) and His Hands, His Tools, His Sex, His Dress (Haworth Press, 2001).

An out bisexual, she was survived by her partner Kelli Dunham,[1] who accepted the Lambda Literary Award for My Awesome Place on her behalf.