In/Out with Steph Lentz

In January 2021, Steph Lentz was fired from her job as an English teacher at a Sydney Christian school after she came out as a lesbian.

A hardcore Christian during her teens and twenties, Steph once preached against homosexuality and defended her church's conservative teachings about marriage and sex - that is, until she fell in love with a woman at her church, and her world turned upside-down. Being honest about her sexuality cost Steph her marriage, her job and her community.

At once a gripping recount, a heartfelt apology and a scathing take-down, In/Out charts Steph's course from inside Christian fundamentalism, out of the closet and into a fuller sense of herself. Questioning what she once believed and bearing witness to the grief that can accompany radical change, her story ultimately attests to the truth, beauty and goodness of reclaiming agency over our own lives.

In the midst of ongoing debates about religious freedom and discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people in Australia, Steph's story is timely and necessary.

Steph Lentz is a former advertising writer and secondary school teacher. She came to public attention in 2021 after she was sacked from her job as a teacher because of her sexuality. Steph is based in Sydney.

Michaela Kalowski is an interviewer, moderator and curator for writers and ideas festivals. Highlight interviews include Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Michelle de Kretser, Stan Grant and Etgar Keret. She's the curator of ABC RN's on-air writers festival, Big Weekend of Books, now in its 4th year. She hosts a monthly books conversation event for Petersham Bowling Club in Sydney. Michaela has conducted radio interviews for ABC RN's The Music Show, Big Ideas and The Bookshelf, ABC Classic and has presented programs across ABC radio.