I'll post more about
Comedy Sex Night November 18th, where, if my non-tech brain can figure out how to upload a video off my iPhone (I know it's supposed to be "easy" but for me it's not) I will be showing a video about my sex toy collection and what my personal organizer did with it, but your last chance to see me host an event for at least a year will be December 16th at the last In The Flesh. I will be on a plane to Los Angeles next Thursday night for a project I'll be sharing about when I can, and a chance to catch up with lots of old and new friends, pose for photos, see
Sugar Daddy by Fielding Edlow and attend
CupcakeCamp LA. More on all the LA madness soon.
I can safely say it's very sad that I am missing Comedy Sex Night and if there were any way I could've rearranged it I would have. I've been anticipating Sara Schaefer's set for 6 months because I know what the story's about and, uh, let's just say it's a topic close to my heart (or perhaps a body part higher up). It's going to be an amazing, sidesplitting night and I might actually break my no organizing rule to host a comedy show because I love comedy and these comedians in particular
I do have an event I'm speaking at coming up at McNally Jackson in February and I'm sure there will be assorted NYC readings, but I will not be hosting/organizing anything so as to focus on my writing and to actually attend some of the other kickass events that happen in NYC, like Drunken! Careening! Writers! and Steamboat, which I've had to miss every month because of In The Flesh.
In 2011, unless something unusual comes up, I won't be hosting or organizing any NYC events. I don't have the time, energy or cash for it, not to mention can't handle the stress. I will be traveling and have confirmed plans for a January 28th reading at The Booksmith in San Francisco, and am hoping to do readings in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and Minneapolis in 2011.
My point was, if you want to catch me reading (probably "Vegas Treat" from the just-released
Best Bondage Erotica 2011) and hosting, not to mention catch a kickass event of burlesque, cabaret, memoir and erotica and possibly music, plus nosh on 500 cupcakes and get cool prizes, don't miss the last In The Flesh on December 16th!
In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple
There is no RSVP requirement, but if you'd like to RSVP and/or spread the word on Facebook,
click here for the Last In The Flesh event listing. Note early start time of 7:30. See also the
In The Flesh Reading Series fan page on Facebook.
IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
LAST IN THE FLESH
December 16, 2010, 7:30 pm - 10 pm
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Between Forsyth & Eldridge. Look for the hot pink awning that says "XIE HE Health Club."
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.comAfter 5+ years, over 200 readers, countless cupcakes and sexy moments, In The Flesh Reading Series is ending. Join us for a free, festive, sexy, cupcake-filled last hurrah, with erotica, memoir, burlesque and 500 free cupcakes to celebrate!Featuring memoirists
Nancy Balbirer (
Take Your Shirt Off and Cry), and
Michele Carlo (
Fish Out of Agua), burlesque performer
GiGi La Femme (Revealed, Wassabasco), memoirist
Stephen Markley (
Publish This Book), In The Flesh alum and famed letter writer
Samara O'Shea (
Note to Self, For the Love of Letters), Lambda Literary Award winner
Rakesh Satyal (
Blue Boy) and romance novelist
Kama Spice (
Sehra's Honor). Hosted and curated by
Rachel Kramer Bussel (
Best Bondage Erotica 2011, Passion, Orgasmic, Fast Girls). Giveaways include copies of
SexIs Magazine and 500 cupcakes by
Baked by Melissa.
In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named
Happy Ending Lounge, and features the country's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. The series was named
Best Reading Series by
New York Press in 2009. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Mike Albo, Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Mike Daisey, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Julie Powell, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, Zane and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the
New York Times’s UrbanEye, Daily Candy,
Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill,
The L Magazine, New York Magazine, NBC New York,
New York Post, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Fork in the Road, Gawker, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com, Serious Eats, Tasting Table and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.
Nancy Balbirer's memoir,
Take Your Shirt Off and Cry, was published by Bloomsbury in April. She is the author and star of the critically acclaimed solo show
I Slept With Jack Kerouac and Other Stories, the co-creator of the cult reading series, Cause Celeb!, and has co-starred on
Seinfeld and MTV’s
Remote Control. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is the co-owner, designer and doyenne of the West Village boite,
Pasita. She lives with remarkably few regrets in Manhattan with her husband and daughter.
takeyourshirtoffandcry.com
photo by Rob d'Entremont
Rachel Kramer Bussel is an author, editor, blogger and reading series host. She is Senior Editor at
Penthouse Variations and a former sex columnist for
The Village Voice. She’s edited over 30 anthologies, including the kink-themed
Spanked, Bottoms Up, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma'am, He's on Top, She's on Top, Rubber Sex as well as
Fast Girls, Orgasmic, Peep Show, The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and the non-fiction
Best Sex Writing series. Her books won 3 2009 Independent Publisher Awards. Her writing been published in publications such as Clean Sheets,
Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Fresh Yarn, Huffington Post, Mediabistro,
Newsday, New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Tango, The Village Voice, and
Time Out New York, and in over 100 anthologies, including
Best American Erotica 2004 and
2006. Rachel conducts nationwide readings and erotic writing workshops. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com
photo by Anya Garrett
Michele Carlo is a writer/performer and comedic storyteller who has lived in four of the five boroughs of New York City and remembers when a slice of pizza cost fifty cents. Her stories have been published in
Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood’s Lost & Found: Stories From New York, Chicken Soup For The Latino Soul and SMITH Magazine. Her memoir,
Fish Out of Agua: My life on neither side of the (subway) tracks, was published this summer by Citadel Press.
www.michelecarlo.com
Since 2005,
GiGi La Femme has been named one of New York City’s sultriest striptease stars and is also the co-producer of the monthly show Revealed Burlesque at the Under St. Mark’s Theater. A Golden Pastie Award winner for Best Booty Shaker 2009 and Miss Coney Island 2010, the multi-talented bump ‘n’ grinder, go-go girl, chanteuse and pin-up model has traveled the nation performing signature acts such as "Spanking", "Princess Leia" and "Sweet Leaf". She is also the host of Wasabassco Burlesque at venues around New York, New England and Washington, DC.
gigilafemme.com
photo by Greg Brophy
Stephen Markley is an Ohio transplant, who graduated from Miami University in 2006. After an eight month, 12,000 mile cross-country road trip that left him completely broke, he made the daring decision to move to Chicago. As far as he knows, he is the only person from that school in this city. He writes for Cars.com's blog KickingTires and his freelance work has appeared in the
Chicago Reader, RadarOnline, the Populist Progressive, 10,000 Tons of Black Ink, Private Investigator's Magazine, Midnight Times, and the Weber Studies Journal. Most importantly, he is an author. His first book,
Publish This Book, can be found on Amazon.com and bookstores everywhere.
www.stephenmarkley.com
Samara O’Shea has written two narrative non-fiction books—one on the art of letter writing and the other on the importance of keeping a journal. On her website, LetterLover.net, she offers to write letters and wedding vows for those struggling to find the right words. This is Samara’s fourth time reading at In the Flesh. She is honored to have been a part of this wonderful reading series. Samara will be reading from her unpublished book,
Don’t Make Me Defriend You, about losing her cyber virginity.
www.letterlover.net
Rakesh Satyal is the author of the novel
Blue Boy, a gender-bending comedy about a young Indian American boy's fascination with the Hindu god Krishna. He is an editor at HarperCollins, where he works with such authors as Paulo Coelho, Clive Barker, Armistead Maupin, and Paul Rudnick. A member of the planning committee for the annual PEN World Voices Festival, he sings a popular cabaret show in the city. He lives in Brooklyn.
rakeshsatyal.com
Kama Spice has lived in the East and the West and merges both in her stories. She considers herself a pro-sex feminist who likes to explore the point where spirit and eros converge to create power. Kama is published in various genres and has two erotic romance novels with Ellora's Cave, with a third forthcoming.
KamaSpice.com
