American author Dan Savage (born October 7, 1964) has written six books, op-ed pieces in The New York Times, and an advice column on sexual issues in The Stranger (an alternative newspaper from Seattle, Washington). A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Savage began contributing a column, Savage Love, to The Stranger from its inception in 1991. By 1998 his column had a readership of four million. He was Associate Editor at the newspaper from 1991 to 2001, when he became its editor-in-chief, later becoming its editorial director in 2007.Savage's books have had successful sales results and have been generally well received. Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist was published in 1998 and features selections from his advice column. His next book The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant was published in 1999, and recounts his experiences with his boyfriend whilst deciding to adopt a child. The book received a PEN West Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction, and an Off-Broadway musical based on the work was the recipient of the BMI Foundation Jerry Bock Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America, published in 2002, describes the author's experiences indulging in the seven deadly sins. The book was featured in The Best American Sex Writing 2004, and won a Lambda Literary Award.Savage's 2005 book The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family, recounting his personal experience deciding to marry his partner Terry Miller and analyzing same-sex marriage, reached The New York Times Best Seller list, and Nielsen BookScan noted it sold approximately 300,000 copies. After founding the It Gets Better Project in 2010 to reach out to teenagers after incidents of suicide among LGBT youth, his edited compilation of submissions It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living was published in 2011. The book features notable contributors, including David Sedaris, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. Sales of the book were successful, and IndieBound reported it reached a list of best-sellers in the United States less than one week after publication. It reached 16th on The New York Times Best Seller list in April 2011. Savage collaborated with Lindy West, Christopher Frizzelle, and Bethany Jean Clement on a college guide, How to Be a Person, which was published in 2012. His 2013 book American Savage reflects on Savage's experiences throughout the founding of the It Gets Better Project and was well received by The Washington Post and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
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