Elaine Williams (November 10, 1933 - December 19, 1961) was an American lesbian pulp fiction author and editor of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Fellow pulp author Gilbert Fox said of Williams: "Her family refused to accept the fact that she was a lesbian".
Further, Williams' early work contained positive portrayals of lesbian relationships, making her one of the pro-lesbian pulp authors.
[4] Literary scholar Yvonne Keller named Williams as one of a small group of writers whose work formed the subgenre of "pro-lesbian" pulp fiction; others include Ann Bannon, Paula Christian, Joan Ellis, March Hastings, Marjorie Lee, Della Martin, Rea Michaels, Claire Morgan, Vin Packer, Randy Salem, Artemis Smith, Valerie Taylor, Tereska Torres, and Shirley Verel.
[2] She was and still is praised for her realistic and sympathetic portrayals of lesbian and bisexual characters, but her later novels are notably more cynical, with dismal endings.