Charles Rice-González, born in Puerto Rico and reared in the Bronx, is a writer, long-time LGBTQ activist, and co-founder with Arthur Aviles of BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance. He is an Asst. Professor at Hostos Community College – CUNY where he teaches in the English Department. His novel, Chulito, received recognition from the American Library Association and the National Book Critics Circle, and he co-edited From Macho to Mariposa: New Gay Latino Fiction. His play I Just Love Andy Gibb was published in Blacktino Queer Performance: A Critical Anthology, and his writing's been published in over a dozen journals and anthologies most recently in Aster(ix), QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking, Obsidian and Teaching Black. His honors include a MacDowell Fellowship, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, a PEN America Writing as Activism Fellow, the Lambda Literary Foundation's Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award, an award from the New York City Council, the Men(cion) Award from 100 Hispanic Women, a Gay City News Impact Award in 2017 for his activism and contributions to advancing the lives of LGBTQ people, and Lifetime Achievement Honor from the Bessies - NY Dance and Performance. He has a B.A. in Communications from Adelphi University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. He worked in the publicity and public relations field in the arts for over 20 years for Universal Pictures, on Broadway and Off-Off Broadway and with various dance groups including Noche Flamenca, Ballet Hispanico, and the National Ballet of Cuba. He is the chair of the board for The Bronx Council on the Arts and The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, and is a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop board. He was a founding member of Gay Men of the Bronx (1990-2001).