About Young Offenders Media

about young offenders

Young Offenders Media is a multimedia company with a focus on GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual) as well as all other types of alternative fiction, poetry and graphic novels from both established and brand new authors. Our objective is to give authors all the tools they need for their books to be successful without taking away all of their control. While we ask them to work hard on their own behalf, we will also support them with a wide array of promotional materials, cooperative advertising and publicity events, plus the chance to collaborate with musicians, videographers, artists and other writers to cross-promote and get in touch with a much wider audience, not only in the U.S., but around the world.

We print and distribute to order to save money and trees, and the savings goes straight back to our authors in the form of higher royalties and better promotional opportunities.

While publishing is our main emphasis, we also promote, produce and market on behalf of visual artists, musicians and (soon we hope) independent video and filmmakers both alone and in cooperation with other media companies.

We plan to release our first titles in the Spring/Summer of 2010.

For our information on how to submit a book or other project idea, click Contact on the main menu above.

the head reprobate

Pat Nelson Childs

As author, publisher and promoter of his critically-acclaimed epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Firma, Pat has amassed a great deal of knowledge about the ins and outs of the book business since he first came on the scene in 2005.

Through networking and listening to other authors of all genres, PNC realized that few small presses were doing much (if anything at all) to help their authors become successful, and that the publishing and bookselling industries as a whole had fallen way behind the times. This company represents his commitment, and that of his partners and colleagues to address these issues, and to help more talented writers and artists find their audience.

Our rogues gallery

We are currently in the process of assembling a staff of supremely talented and experienced people who will be working hard to make Young Offenders a successful and respected enterprise. As new people are added to the roster, we will share some information about their lives and work here.

Victor J.Banis, Executive Editor

Victor J. Banis is an iconic author and pioneer in the gay community, often associated with the first wave of west coast gay writing. For his contributions he has been called "the godfather of modern popular gay fiction." Included on his long and impressive list of critically acclaimed works are The Man from C.A.M.P., Longhorns, Lola Dances, and the "Deadly Mystery" series.

Victor began his writing career in 1960 after moving to Los Angeles, where he had his first literary success, and rapidly turned out a number of important novels. He and his partner, Sam Dodson, collaborated on a number of nonfictional gay works, and also published magazines and edited for DSI, a Minneapolis publisher. Banis served as a tutor for various aspiring writers and acted as their de facto agent. He championed the early writing of mystery writer Joseph Hansen, among others.

His first significant work of fiction was the innovative novel, The Why Not, in 1966. A series of intertwining sketches of habitués of a Los Angeles gay bar, it was the first gay work published by a San Diego firm, Greenleaf Classics. Finding the novel sold well, editor-in-chief Earl Kemp asked Banis to submit other gay novels. Thus was born The Man from C.A.M.P.. The success of the original novel was so great that Banis went on to write eight sequels, 1966-1968. The series is historically important for several reasons. It was the first gay mystery series, already five in number before George Baxt could follow up on his success with A Queer Kind of Death, also in 1966. And the C.A.M.P. novels depicted what is probably the first openly out and joyfully unrestrained gay hero in American letters, the indomitable undercover agent Jackie Holmes.

For more biographical information on Victor, check out his Wikipedia Page.

Our accomplices

One of the things that separates YOM from the rest of the pack is our affiliation with some really incredible Media Partners. Teaming up with these other amazing individuals and companies in the media industry allows us to present our authors with a much wider array of publicity and promotion opportunities than the more traditional small presses can offer. Product tie-ins, cooperative advertising, collaborative projects and cross-promotion are the keystones of 21st Century marketing, and working with these great media partners will help us to make sure that our authors and their works are always in the public eye.

Owen Tate

Club / Internet celebrity Owen Tate performed, recorded and produced rock, funk and industrial bands such as Foxxen, The Blessed, and Pharoah. Owen transitioned to DJing and Producing in the early part of the 90's at Tunnel NYC, Limelight NYC as a host and performance artist. Owen Tate opened LeftOvers Studios in Providence RI at the world famous Fort Thunder where he was the resident dj for six years.

Hugely popular on Yahoo Groups and numerous websites, Owen Tate is the resident dj for the DickJohnson Group. He is ranked #1 of all time songs played on Glee.Com (also holding 3 more spots on their all time top 10 list), ranked #1 on Dlist.Com, and has been charting on MySpace for the last several years.

Having recorded and produced club versions for almost all the popular gay recording artists on the underground around the world today, Owen Tate has become an iconic fixture on the internet and in clubland.