American author, journalist, and activist for the LGBT community Dan Savage was born in 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. Savage initially harbored dreams of becoming an actor, and after graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Acting, he found himself working at a local video store in Madison, Wisconsin. It was there that he met Tim Keck, co-founder of the satirical publication The Onion, and learned of Keck’s plans to launch a new weekly newspaper, The Stranger.

Savage recommended that the paper have an advice column, and Keck agreed it was a great idea, offering Dan the job of writing it himself. The column ultimately became Dan Savage’s foray in to the world of journalism and entertainment, and set the course for a career which has since lasted well into the new millennium. Today, Dan Savage is author of the internationally syndicated column Savage Love, which provide advise on sex and relationships, but he is also the author of multiple books, the director of the It Gets Better Project, and an occasional theater director.

As a theater director, Dan has interpreted many classic works to give them a “queer” bent, with alterations to the gender of key characters; notable works include his interpretation of MacBeth and his parody of the play Equus. As director of the It Gets Better Project, Savage seeks to encourage adults – both heterosexual and LGBT – to record videos assuring bullied youth that live indeed does “get better” later on. The foundation is a response to the tragic suicide of Billy Lucas, who at the age of fifteen took his own life after years of bullying for his sexual orientation.

Dan Savage has grown into one of the most vocal voices against conservative views on homosexuality, frequently clashing with people with whom he disagrees on news programs such as Anderson Cooper 360 and Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and on talk forums such as Real Time with Bill Maher. Savage’s column has been franchised into the television show Savage U on the MTV network and a weekly podcast available via iTunes. Savage’s book, The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant, earned him a PEN West Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction, and Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America earned him a Lambda Literary Award.

Dan Savage’s most recent book, American Savage: Insight, Sights, Fights on Faith, Sex, Love and Politics was recently released in 2013.

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