Blair Fell

Blair Fell
EducationB.A., University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa;
Special student, Gallaudet College;
M.F.A., City College of New York (City University of New York)
Alma materUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Gallaudet College
City College of New York
Occupations
  • Novelist
  • Playwright
  • Television writer
  • Actor
  • Sign language interpreter
Writing career
Period1990s–present
Genres
  • Queer fiction
  • Literary fiction
  • Historical fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Theater
  • Television
Notable worksThe Sign for Home (2022)
Disco Witches of Fire Island (2025)
The Two Wills (2026)
Naked Will (play)
Notable awards
  • Doris Lippman Prize in Creative Writing (two-time winner)
  • Shine Award (Queer as Folk)
  • Golden Mic Award (California Connected)
  • HX Camp Comedy Award
  • Seven Dramalogue Awards
  • The Robbie Award
Websiteblairfell.com

Blair Fell is an American novelist, playwright, television writer, actor, and American Sign Language interpreter based in New York City. He is the author of three novels: The Sign for Home (2022), Disco Witches of Fire Island (2025), and The Two Wills (2026). His fiction is known for its queer themes, humor, and emotionally resonant storytelling. Fell has also written for television and theater, performed as an actor on stage and screen, and has worked as a certified ASL interpreter since 1993.

Life and education

Blair Fell lives and works in New York City. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and also attended Gallaudet College as a special student—an experience that deepened his engagement with Deaf culture and American Sign Language. In 2020 he earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from City College of New York, part of the City University of New York system, where he was a two-time recipient of the Doris Lippman Prize in Creative Writing—once for an early draft of his debut novel, and again for Disco Witches of Fire Island.[1]

Fell was previously married to Colin Lentz; the two have since divorced, but remain great friends, and his ex-husband is often acknowledged in his works as being a major influence.

In addition to his writing career, Fell was an active member of ACT UP New York, serving on the organization's media committee during the height of the AIDS crisis—an activist background that directly informs the political and communal themes of Disco Witches of Fire Island. He has worked as an American Sign Language interpreter for the Deaf and DeafBlind communities since 1993. He has also worked as an actor, producer, and director in New York City's downtown theater scene, and once spent a summer bartending on Fire Island, an experience that informed Disco Witches of Fire Island.

Career

Theater

Fell began his creative career as a playwright and actor in New York City, where he wrote dozens of plays performed in downtown NYC venues and in productions across the United States and internationally. His most notable plays include:

  • Naked Will: An award-winning play based on Oscar Wilde's short story The Portrait of Mr. W. H., exploring the queer love story embedded in Shakespeare's sonnets. CurtainUp wrote that "Fell brilliantly applies his 'treatment' to produce an expansive, funny yet surprisingly intelligent and complete staging of the [Shakespeare] debate."[2] Next Magazine described it as shining brighter than Shakespeare in Love. The play was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.[3]
  • Burning Habits: A downtown cult theatrical work that received coverage in The New York Times, which wrote that audiences with "a childlike glee in seeing authority figures ridiculed" and "a thorough distaste for sexual hypocrisy" would "get a major kick out of Burning Habits."[4] Time Out described the work as having "an addictive rush," and the Village Voice's Michael Musto called it "riveting … written with wry wit and acted to the hilt."
  • The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun: An award-winning play that received notice in The New York Times, which found within it "the troubled, oddly compassionate soul that was always at the core of the work of such first-rate camp artists as Charles Ludlam," and wrote that "in dressing up despair in barbed frivolity, Mr. Fell provides his own skewed equivalent of tragic catharsis."[4] The Houston Chronicle called the play "wickedly funny." The play was later developed as a musical at the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), with music and lyrics by Andy Monroe.
  • Madame Fury: A play reviewed in The New York Times Critic's Notebook column as "wildly amusing," with the paper singling out Fell's dialogue for a tyrannical ballet master character based on George Balanchine.[5]
  • Beauty: A one-act play included in the anthology production Happy Endings. The New York Times called it one of the best pieces in the program, describing it as "Blair Fell's ode to longing with a Proustian punch line."[6]

Fell's theater work earned him seven Dramalogue Awards, the HX Camp Comedy Award, and the Robbie Award.[1]

Television and film

Fell has written for and appeared in film and television. His credits include:

  • Queer as Folk (Showtime, 2000–2005): Fell contributed teleplay and story to the American version of this groundbreaking LGBTQ-themed drama series (2002). He won the Shine Award for his work on the show.[1]
  • California Connected (Public television): Fell wrote for this Emmy Award-winning public television series and received a Golden Mic Award for his segment.[1]
  • CBS Summer Playhouse (CBS, 1989): Fell appeared as an actor, playing the role of Vinnie.[7]
  • Surviving Home (2017): Fell served in the camera and electrical department on this production.[7]

Novels

The Sign for Home (2022)

Fell's debut novel, The Sign for Home, was published in April 2022 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books (Simon & Schuster). The novel follows Arlo Dilly, a 23-year-old DeafBlind Jehovah's Witness living in Poughkeepsie, New York, whose sheltered life is upended when a new ASL interpreter opens him up to a wider world and the possibility of finding a lost love.

The novel drew on Fell's decades of experience as an ASL interpreter working with Deaf and DeafBlind individuals. The New York Times featured the novel in a "By the Book" interview with novelist James Hannaham, who praised it as "a hilarious, peculiar and very touching story about a deaf, blind Jehovah's Witness boy and his gay interpreter."[8] The Los Angeles Times described it as "thought-provoking and entertaining... poignant... riveting."[9] Publishers Weekly called it "hard to resist."[10] BuzzFeed News called it a must-read, citing Fell's firsthand knowledge of ASL and assistive technology.[11] Library Journal awarded it a starred audiobook review, calling it a "delightful coming-of-age debut novel."[12]

The book was selected as both an American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce selection and an Indie Next pick for Spring 2022, and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.[13]

Disco Witches of Fire Island (2025)

Fell's second novel, Disco Witches of Fire Island, was published in 2025 by Alcove Press and distributed by Penguin Random House. Set in 1989 on Fire Island Pines, the novel follows a young gay man grieving the death of his boyfriend from AIDS who becomes entwined with a coven of queer disco witches during a summer of magic, romance, and community.

The book became a USA Today bestseller. The New York Times called it "heartfelt," writing that it "perfectly makes a case for the necessity of hope, no matter how bleak the world may feel."[14] Publishers Weekly awarded it a starred review, calling it "an impressively drawn romance" with "immense heart and beauty." Midwest Book Review described it as "original, clever, deftly crafted."

The novel was named a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Gay Romance at the 38th Lambda Literary Awards ceremony (2026).[15]

RuPaul selected it for his 2025 Pride month pick for his Allstora book club calling it "a riotous celebration of Joy, Resiliance, Drag, and the Power of Chosen Family."

The Two Wills (2026)

Fell's third novel, The Two Wills, is a queer historical fiction reimagining of William Shakespeare's life and the possible inspiration behind his sonnets. The novel is rooted in the idea—also explored in Fell's play Naked Will—that a boy player named Willie Hughes, who originated the roles of Juliet, Desdemona, and Rosalind, inspired a queer love story at the heart of Shakespeare's greatest works. The novel was published in 2026 by Alcove Press and distributed by Penguin Random House.

Essays and journalism

Fell has written personal essays and journalism that have appeared in Out magazine, the New York Daily News, HuffPost, and Fiction Southeast.[1]

Critical reception and New York Times coverage

Fell's work has been reviewed multiple times by The New York Times across both his theatrical and literary career:

  • Burning Habits (1998): Reviewed favorably, the paper noted that audiences with the right sensibility would find it a highly entertaining send-up of religious hypocrisy and authority.[4]
  • The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun (1998): The same review praised the work's camp sensibility and emotional depth, comparing Fell to landmark downtown theater artist Charles Ludlam.[4]
  • Madame Fury (1998): Featured in the paper's Critic's Notebook column, which highlighted the play's wit and Fell's sharp dialogue.[5]
  • Beauty (2008): Singled out as one of the highlights of the Happy Endings anthology production.[6]
  • The Sign for Home (2022): Featured in the paper's "By the Book" column, with novelist James Hannaham citing it as a personal favorite.[8]
  • Disco Witches of Fire Island (2025): Reviewed as "heartfelt" with praise for its message of hope in a difficult time.[14]

Awards and recognition

AwardWorkYear
Doris Lippman Prize in Creative Writing (×2)The Sign for Home (draft); Disco Witches of Fire IslandMultiple
Shine AwardQueer as Folk (TV)—
Golden Mic AwardCalifornia Connected (TV)—
HX Camp Comedy AwardTheater—
Seven Dramalogue AwardsTheater—
The Robbie AwardTheater—
GLAAD Media Award nominationNaked Will (play)—
Lambda Literary Award finalist (Gay Romance)Disco Witches of Fire Island2026
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize longlistThe Sign for Home2022
Indies Introduce Selection (ABA)The Sign for Home2022
Indie Next Pick (ABA)The Sign for HomeSpring 2022

Bibliography

Novels

  • The Sign for Home (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, 2022) ISBN 978-1982175955
  • Disco Witches of Fire Island (Alcove Press, 2025)
  • The Two Wills (Alcove Press, 2026)

Plays (selected)

  • Naked Will
  • The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun
  • Burning Habits
  • Madame Fury
  • Beauty

Television (writer)

  • Queer as Folk (Showtime, 2000–2005) – writer (teleplay and story, 2002)
  • California Connected (Public television) – writer

Television and film (actor / crew)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Author Interview: Blair Fell". LibraryThing. April 15, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Naked Will – A CurtainUp Review". CurtainUp.
  3. ↑ "Cake or Pie? with Blair Fell". Fire Island News. August 7, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Theater Review: How a Lesbian Curse Made a Gay Bar Suffer". The New York Times. November 20, 1998.
  5. 1 2 "Critic's Notebook: Now the Uncool Are the Coolest of All". The New York Times. October 26, 1998.
  6. 1 2 "Theater Review: Happy Endings". The New York Times. February 20, 2008.
  7. 1 2 "Blair Fell". IMDb.
  8. 1 2 "James Hannaham: By the Book". The New York Times. August 26, 2022.
  9. ↑ "The World of the Deaf Is Finally Getting Notice". Los Angeles Times. March 29, 2022.
  10. ↑ "The Sign for Home". Publishers Weekly.
  11. ↑ "Books Coming Out Spring 2022". BuzzFeed News.
  12. ↑ "Starred Reviews: Audio in Depth". Library Journal. June 2022.
  13. ↑ "2022 First Novel Prize Longlist". Center for Fiction.
  14. 1 2 "Disco Witches of Fire Island – Press". blairfell.com.
  15. ↑ "38th Lambda Literary Awards". Wikipedia.
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