G. Samantha Rosenthal (she/her/hers) is an award-winning journalist, historian, musician, and author with an expertise in writing about history, religion, and culture. And as a movement organizer and storyteller, she is committed to amplifying the diverse voices and communities of Appalachia and the U.S. South, where she lives.
Samantha is the author of two books, most recently Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City.
An award-winning journalist, her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, Salon, The Advocate, Prism, The Conversation, Southern Cultures, National Parks, Lilith, Sojourners, VAN, and Them.
She also writes the Substack newsletter, The Artist’s Life.
Samantha’s reporting on Southern faith and politics (in Jewish and Christian communities) has received national recognition, including a Simon Rockower Award from the American Jewish Press Association, and an Excellence in Journalism Award from the NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists.
She currently holds a Freedomways Reporting Fellowship with Press On, a Southern movement journalism collective.
As a movement organizer, Samantha is co-founder of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project, an award-winning queer community history organization; and Second Friday, a lesbian social monthly pop-up.
A former tenured college professor, Samantha taught history, gender and women’s studies, and environmental studies at Roanoke College, Middlebury College, and Washington & Lee University. Her scholarly work has been recognized with awards and honorable mentions from the National Council on Public History, the Oral History Association, the LGBTQ+ History Association, the American Society for Environmental History, and the Working Class Studies Association.
Samantha is also a composer, and a trained classical and jazz pianist with an undergraduate degree in music. Her original compositions have been premiered or performed at the California Institute of the Arts, the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, the University of Nebraska – Omaha, Bates College, and at the wulf (Los Angeles).
She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing.
