Poet and activist, Emanuel Xavier was born in Brooklyn, New York, and became involved in the ball scene as a homeless gay teen. Over a span of twenty-five years, Xavier has received recognition as a spoken word artist from national colleges and universities. He has been named an LGBTQ+ Icon by The Equality Forum and has been presented a New York City Council Citation Award. Xavier has received an  International Latino Book Award, Lambda Literary Award nominations and American Library Association Over the Rainbow Books selections for his collections which include: Love(ly) Child, Selected Poems of Emanuel Xavier, Radiance, Nefarious, If Jesus Were Gay, Americano, and Pier Queen. He is also author of the novel Christ Like and editor of Me No Habla With Acento: Contemporary Latino Poetry, Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry and Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry. He is the recipient of a Gay City Impact Award and The Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award.