[7] After working briefly as a Capitol Hill aide, he received his master's degree in liberal studies (with a concentration in history and film) in 1988 at Wesleyan University.
He freelanced for, among others, Architectural Digest, Connecticut magazine, Men's Fitness, Frontiers (Los Angeles), and The Boston Phoenix.
In addition, Mann has written the nonfiction books Wisecracker (1998), a biography of film star William Haines, for which he won the Lambda Literary Award,[11] Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood (2001), and Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger (2005).
This will surely be the definitive version of Hepburn's life for decades to come, as it is an outstanding example of painstaking research matched with splendid writing.
[14] "Trying to figure out the Barbra Streisand mystique is no easy task, but Mann expertly captures the launch of her remarkable career in the early 1960s when a unique 'star was born.'
[17] Tinseltown was a New York Times bestseller and won the 2015 Edgar Award (presented by the Mystery Writers of America) as Best Fact Crime Book of the Year.
[18] NPR named it one of the best books of the year, adding "Brings the early days of the movie industry to sparkling life."
He was outed in 1991 when the Hartford Courant, covering a gay rights rally at the state capitol, published his name and photo.