Daniel VILLARREAL BIO
Daniel Villarreal is a Texas-born journalist and media educator with an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University—the fancy one in New York City!
Villarreal (who speaks in the third person) has served as editor at Queerty.com (more here), Hornet (formerly UnicornBooty.com), Outsports and Gay.net (now defunct, though by no fault of his own). He has also written for Newsweek, NBC OUT, Vox, Slate, Vice.com, The Seattle Stranger, Advocate.com, Towleroad, Out.com, Metro Weekly, LGBTQ Nation, The New Civil Rights Movement, AlterNet, The Dallas Voice, The Austin Chronicle and a bunch of other great publications.
He spoke at SXSW 2019, has taught writing classes at Austin College and workshops at Netroots Nation and Creating Change. He is a recipient of the National LGBTQ Journalist Association's 2016 Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Coverage, appeared as The Psychic Nose in the SXSW 2001feature-length superhero spoof Cornman: American Vegetable Hero, and has also acted in other under-appreciated cinematic gems.
Even though he currently lives in Portland, Oregon, he remains a co-founder and coordinator of QueerBomb Dallas, the city's annual alternative queer pride celebration. He also founded CinéWilde at the Texas Theatre, the nation's longest-running monthly LGBTQ film event.
Daniel's work aims for professional accuracy, intellectual honesty and personal conviction to educate and unite progressive people (rather than just adding to the noise). He especially loves film, video games, sexual politics, transgender rights, liberation theology and tacos. (Who doesn't like tacos?)