He's the top: why agent Jed Mattes is one of gay lit's greatest heroes. (Summer Reading).

It was my secret desire as a young writer to be represented by Jed Mattes. I was too embarrassed to voice this lofty wish until one day I received a handwritten note from Jed, whom I'd never met. "I've enjoyed reading your work in various magazines," he wrote. "Keep up the good work."

This is classic Jed: reaching out to a stranger with no motive other than kindness. His desire to nurture young writers is one reason among many that the Publishing Triangle, the association of lesbians and gay men in publishing, presented Jed with its Leadership Award on May 8.

"The good agent nurtures writers and remembers that he's the writer's advocate and friend," says Triangle cochairman Charles Flowers. "Jed does this wonderfully, so we're thrilled to honor him in this way."

Jed, whose clients have included Urvashi Vaid, Greg Louganis, Michelangelo Signorile, Eric Marcus, and Michael Nava, is a fan and supporter of queer literature and a tireless gay rights activist. When he isn't nurturing writers, Jed volunteers on behalf of Marriage Equality USA and the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

"A lot of us gay writers are writing about our lives and our movement," Signorile says. "The fact that Jed is involved in that movement really matters. Beyond that, he behaves more like an enormously generous friend than an agent, and that's a rare and wonderful thing."

Pela is the author of Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters.