Richard Schneider
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Richard Schneider

Editor & Publisher

b. Sept. 18, 1951

“There was a huge niche or vacuum in gay and lesbian letters which I hope we somewhat filled.”

Richard G. Schneider Jr. is the founder, editor in chief, and publisher of The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, a bimonthly print and web journal featuring essays by LGBTQ writers, historians, political figures, cultural commentators, and scholars. 

Schneider earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University in 1981. He taught anthropology and sociology for the European Division of the University of Maryland before returning to Boston to become director of research for a consulting firm, The Center for Strategy Research. 

Schneider honed his editing and publishing skills after he was enlisted to create a newsletter for the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus (HGLC) alumni organization. Soon after, the publication’s potential for broader readership became clear.

In 1994 Schneider founded The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review (GL&R). Four years later, it was reorganized as a nonprofit, relinquishing its Harvard ties. Schneider volunteered his time until 1999, when he left his job to dedicate himself to the publication. It was renamed The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide in 2000. 

With The GL&R, Schneider aimed to fill an important niche: the need for more literate, scholarly discussion of LGBTQ-related topics within the wider field of largely pop-culture-focused LGBTQ publishing. Targeting both intellectual LGBTQ and interested general-public readership, The GL&R includes essays, poems, reviews, scientific articles, and features based on a conceptual theme, such as “the science of sexuality,” that is unique to each issue. 

With Schneider at the helm for more than 30 years, The GL&R is widely considered the nation’s leading cultural and cerebral LGBTQ magazine. Its circulation of roughly 9,000 subscribers is testament to its relevance in the digital age. It has given voice to more than 1,400 LGBTQ writers, some of whom may not otherwise have seen their ideas in print. 

Mining the publication’s rich content, Schneider has published two books: “In Search of Stonewall: The Riots at 50, The Gay & Lesbian Review at 25, Best Essays 1994-2018” (2019) and “Casual Outings: Great Faces from the Annals of The G&LR” (2021), a compilation of the best portraits and caricatures from more than 300 contributed by the artist Charles Hefling. 

Schneider received the HGLC Intellectual Innovator Award in 2006. He lives in Boston with his partner, Stephen Hemrick.