About
When Barry’s first collection of stories was read aloud by his second grade teacher, the author hid. As the years flew by, he wrote more, hid less (not really), and branched out to Super 8 films and cassette tape recorders. Barry’s audience—consisting solely of friends and family—were both amused and bemused.
Since those childhood days, Barry has earned degrees in English and French from the State University of New York College at Brockport, and a Master of Arts in Writing from the Johns Hopkins University.
Tinseltown, a Finalist in the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, is Barry’s first novel. His novel The Celestial won the Gold Medal in the 2012 Foreword Book of the Year Awards and was a Finalist in the 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. Reunion, Paradise at Main and Elm, and A Special Kind of Folk were all Finalists in the Foreword Book of the Year Awards. Sideways Down the Sky was named a Finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Literary Award, and a Finalist in the 2014 Foreword Book of the Year Awards. Wellspring was named a Finalist for the 2014 Foreword Book of the Year Awards.
His stories, novels and teleplays have won awards, including Grand Prize and 1st Place in the Rhode Island International Screenplay Competition; Semi-Finalist status, 14th Annual American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest; Top 75, 2016 Tracking Board Launch Pad Feature Screenplay Competition; Finalist, 2016 Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Competition; Semi-Finalist, Carmesi House International Screenplay Competition; Finalist, Great Gay Screenplay Contest; Finalist, TeaDance Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Screenplay Contest; Finalist, Cannes Screenplay Contest; a 2008 Pushcart Prize nomination; 3rd Place in the 2010 Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) literary contest and Finalist status in the 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013 PNWA contests; 3rd Place in the 79th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition and a winning entry in the 2013 WILDSound Screenplay competition; 3rd Place in the Scriptapalooza TV Writing Competition; 4th Place in the London Film Awards; Gold and Silver Awards in the International Independent Film Awards; and Grand Prize and a Silver Award in the American Movie Awards Screenwriting Competition.
When not embroiled in his own writing, Barry sips wine, nibbles on chocolate, and watches films and TV—both the classic and the cheesy. (Mmm…cheese!)
www.barrybrennessel.com 
cool site! keep the literary ball rolling!
March 3, 2011 at 4:28 am
Congratulations on your book and making your dream a reality!
Don’t forget Chris and I when you’re a famous author
May 26, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Barry–a new fan here. Just finished Tinseltown, recommended to me by fellow m/m romance reading buddies on AfterElton.com…I’m a professional writer (alas, not of fiction, but I’ve done that, too), a Kindle junkie, a voracious reader (I commute by train, therefore I read) and an aficionado of m/m romance. Tinseltown is brilliant. You manage to make the book’s very gimicky style (I don’t mean that critically, but I can’t think of another word for it…) completely captivating. In a less gifted writer’s hands, this style could become tiresome, but as you have written it, it just dances along, from one creative gambit to the next. Awesome. I am so deeply envious of your ability to write this way and make it not only sharp and very smart, but hugely funny. I’m beyond envious, and I loved those characters, especially Micah, very much. I read this kind of book because (1) I’m sick of straight people getting all the romance pages, and (2) I need to recharge my batteries, as I’m a soppy romantic and tend to weep. You’re definitely A-list and I can’t wait till your next volume is on Kindle. Many thanks.
June 29, 2011 at 11:29 pm
Hi Ulysses– I’m so glad you enjoyed Tinseltown. You’ve inspired me to hurry up and finish the next novel. Thanks for the comments.
June 30, 2011 at 3:13 am
Congratulations Barry!! You have really done a wonderful job!!
August 17, 2011 at 8:28 pm
I thought ‘Tinseltown’ was great! I agree with one of the previous posters — you have written it in a style that not a lot of people can successfully do. And I found it to be a book that I wanted to continue reading until I finished — but when life’s interruptions forced me to put it down, I found it something I couldn’t wait to escape back into. To me, that is the sign of a great writer. Congratulations!
September 27, 2011 at 4:29 am