Mary Wings

[1] Divine Victim, Wings' only Gothic novel, won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery in 1994.

Her work was driven generally by the desire to discuss underrepresented topics that are relevant to her personal life.

[6][7][8] Wings self-published Come Out Comix, printing copies in the basement of a karate studio.

[11][8] The plot of this comic book focuses on the character Maggi, who is coming to terms with her lesbian identity and finding a lover in the process.

The latter, Are Your Highs Getting You Down, was funded by a California Arts Council grant in 1979, tackled the growing issue of drug addiction and abuse.

Wings was one of the originators of lesbian detective fiction, publishing her first mystery novel, She Came Too Late, in England in 1986 and the United States in 1988.

[2][10] She Came Too Late was a success and gave Wings notoriety as the book appeared for seven weeks on the London City Limits Bestseller List and won Best Novel of the Year in the 1986 Reader's Poll.

[7][8][9] She gave talks at art schools on panels with artists like Trina Robbins and Lee Marrs.

Due to the Briggs Initiative, Wings feared that her open lesbianism would bar her from ever becoming a teacher in California, a childhood dream of hers.

[2][21] Wings died from lung cancer at her home in San Francisco, on July 3, 2024, at the age of 75.

[4] Divine Victim (1993) - Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery winner Emma Victor series