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JT LeRoy

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JT Leroy (J.T. LeRoy, Terminator), a young American author, has written a novel, Sarah; a collection of short stories, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things; and the novella Harold's End illustrated by Australian artist Cherry Hood. She is currently working on a fourth work, to be released by Viking Press later this year.

Career

JT has written for such magazines as 7x7, Zoetrope, McSweeney's, and the online magazine Memorious and newspapers ranging from the New York Times and the London Times to Spin, Vogue and Interview. Her work has also appeared in such anthologies as The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003, MTV's Lit Riffs, XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits, Nadav Kander's Beauty's Nothing, and The Fourth Sex: Adolescent Extremes. Leroy wrote the original screenplay for Gus Van Sant's Elephant (2003) and is listed as the film's associate producer. She also wrote the liner notes for Billy Corgan's book of poetry, Blinking With Fists.

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things was made into a film in 2004, directed by Asia Argento, who also starred in the adaptation. It has since been picked up by Palm Pictures and is slated to be released in the U.S. later this year. The film version of Sarah is currently being written by screenwriter Jeffery Hatcher for Secretary (2002) director Steven Shainberg. JT is also slated to write the screenplay for Jean-Claude Schlim's House of Boys with Bob Graham, currently in pre-production.

JT Leroy entered into an e-mail relationship with Garbage singer Shirley Manson in early 2001 after she mentioned reading her book Sarah on her online journal on the band's website. She sent her a manuscript for The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things and they became friends. At the time Manson was writing and recording the band's third album, what would become beautifulgarbage and wrote a song loosely based on Leroy called 'Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)'. Although the song was never released in the U.S., it was a top ten smash in Australia. Manson and Leroy never actually met until December 2001 when Leroy attended a live performance of the band. Shirley Manson later name-checked Leroy and Speedie in the title song from the band's fourth effort Bleed Like Me.

JT Leroy lives in San Francisco with Speedie and Astor, members of the rock band Thistle LLC for whom she writes the lyrics.

Identity

Few hard facts are known about the enigmatic author. She credits his writing to Dr. Terrence Owens, a therapist at the McAuley Adolescent Unit of St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco. Dr. Owens encouraged JT to write in-between sessions to maintain continuity of thought and convinced him that these accounts would help to train a class of prospective social workers. These writings eventually made their way into the collection of short stories Close to the Bone: Memories of Hurt, Rage and Desire (1998). Leroy is notoriously camera-shy and often—perhaps borrowing a page from artist Andy Warhol—sports a wig and/or sunglasses when in public. She avoids the media, but it is said that she appreciates her fans, and e-mails them whenever she can.

An article in New York magazine October 10, 2005 by author Stephen Beachy suggested that LeRoy and Speedie are both personas adopted by a woman named Laura Albert. Beachy, like several commentators since 1999, speculates on parallels to the case of Anthony Godby Johnson. Unlike that case, however, here many persons have had direct personal dealings with LeRoy and consider themselves close friends and associates. They are probably liars, too.

Books

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things

ISBN 1582341427 (hardcover); ISBN 1582342113 (paperback)

Published in America on June 1, 2002 by Bloomsbury. The book consists of a collection of short stories.

Sarah

ISBN 1582340765 (hardcover); ISBN 158234146X (paperback)

First published in America on June 9, 2001 by Bloomsbury.

Harold's End

ISBN 0867196149

Published by Last Gasp on January 30, 2005.

External links

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