Scott Alexander Hess
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Scott Alexander Hess reading at the
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBTQ Community Center | |
| Occupation | Writer |
Scott Alexander Hess is an American writer and actor. According to the Riverfront TimesofSt. Louis, Missouri, Hess is known for his "evocative" works centered on gay relationships.[1]
Hess is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, and he graduated from Affton High School.[2]
Hess acted in Mark Dendy's play "Dream Analysis" in 1998[3] and in a solo show B.J.: The Trail of a Transgendered Country Singing Star, which won the Jury Prize for Outstanding Solo Performance at the 1999 New York International Fringe Festival.[4]
His debut novel, Diary of a Sex Addict, was translated to German in 2012.[5] Another novel, The Butchers Sons, was selected in Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2015.[6] It follows three Irish brothers in 1930s who become embroiled in the New York criminal underworld.[7] His novel Skyscraper (2016) was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ erotica.[8]
His novella The River Runs Red (2019) explores class, race, sexuality and greed in late 19th century St. Louis, Missouri.[9] Kirkus Reviews found it to be a "lyrical, gritty" work with a "compelling" protagonist.[10] Another pair of novellas, The Root of Everything and Lightning, were selected as best books of 2021 on St. Louis Public Radio chosen by St. Louis Librarians.[11] They focus on three generations of family as they arrive in and move across America.[12] Writing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dale Singer felt the first story (The Root of Everything), a "generational saga", moved too quickly, while the second story (Lightning) was more "self-contained" and better suited to the novella format.[2] His 2023 novella A Season in Delhi follows a couple experiencing issues in their relationship while working abroad in Delhi, India, inspired by his own experiences visiting the country with his husband as an out gay couple.[1] Kirkus Reviews thought the work was engaging despite flaws such as a "contrived" plot.[13]
Hess was also a cowriter of the film Tom in America, an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival 2014 and the Palm Springs International Film Festival 2014.[14]
