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Mark Olmsted

Goodreads Author

Born

in Denver, The United States

Website

http://www.lavenderisthenewblack.com

Twitter

marquismarq

Genre

Memoir, Memoir, Historical Fiction

Influences

Maugham, Wilde, Maupassant, Julia Glass

Member Since

July 2012

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Mark has been a writer since he graduated in from NYU School of the Arts in 1980. After over a decade in Manhattan, he moved to California to pursue screenwriting and take care of his brother, who died of AIDS in 1991. Gay and HIV+ himself, Mark self-medicated through the worst of the plague years with crystal meth, which led to a conviction for drug-dealing in 2004 and nine months in prison.

Mark emerged into a life of recovery and activism, writing hundreds of essays for the Huffington Post and his personal blog, The Trash Whisperer, based on his hobby of keeping his Hollywood neighborhood free of litter. In 2011 he entered the Graduate Humanities program in Mount St. Mary’s University, obtaining a Master’s Degree with a specialization in ...more

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Combine Editions
Mark Olmsted’s books

Average rating: 4.33 · 42 ratings · 11 reviews · 6 distinct works

	Ink from the Pen: A Prison Memoir 4.32 avg rating — 41 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stories from the American Tapestry 1880-1980: Past and Present by Claudia Keenan, Sandra Moreano (Illustrator), Mark Olmsted (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Almost-Worst Best Christmas Ever by Mark Olmsted (Goodreads Author), Marianne Hegg 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Comment Pierre Poire a eu même pas peur by Mark Olmsted (Goodreads Author), Sandra Moreano (Editor), Henri Chabal (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La Jeunesse de Simone: The life of Simone Olmsted 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Goodbye for Now by Mark Olmsted (Goodreads Author), Marianne Hegg 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Mark Olmsted's Blog

GQ to the Rescue

At long last, the story about my story has made it to the big time.

https://www.gq.com/story/the-man-who-wouldnt-die

Mark is Currently Reading

Mark is currently reading

Lamb: A Novel in Snapshots

by Troy Ford (Goodreads Author)

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Nov 18, 2025 01:17AM

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Paris Ink: Australians Reflect on the City of Light

by CWIP Publishing

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Gone to Soldiers

by Marge Piercy

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