Deadline for Coming Together: Positively Sexy Is Tomorrow!

Hi friends! A quick reminder that the deadline for Coming Together: Positively Sexy is tomorrow! More details are here.

As I've been saying, please don't hesitate to email me if you're just finding out about this and need more time. I want all the submissions I can get! You can reach me at annabeth dot leong at gmail dot com.

I'm looking forward to reading your story, and to sharing more news about the book as we go forward!

Calls for Submissions: Circlet Press

My friends at Circlet Press have posted two interesting new calls for submissions!

First up is Mollie Wolfe's call for erotic stories about sexual and nonverbal healing, due June 15th. This has the makings of a very powerful anthology, and I'm going to be thinking a lot about what would make a good story for it. Several stories I've read in the past on this theme come to mind as among the most moving erotic stories I've read. I'm thinking specifically about some of the work in Xan West's Show Yourself to Me anthology, and also several stories by Janine Ashbless and Shanna Germain.

On the rollicking good time front, we have Jen Blackmore's call for Golden Age Erotica, which she describes as "erotic Indiana Jones!" Jen Blackmore is a master of coming up with themes that get me excited, then following through with great anthologies. I can't wait to write for this one, and I can't wait to read it. Deadline is July 1st.

Also, don't forget my submission call (not for Circlet), for stories about HSV+ characters for the charity anthology Positively Sexy. You can find more information about that here. The deadline is Monday, May 22nd, but if you're just learning about this now and have a great idea, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We can work something out!

Call for Submissions: My Charity Anthology, due May 22

Hi friends,

I've had this pinned to my Twitter account for a while now, but I could still use more submissions, so I wanted to boost a bit more.

I first posted this call last year, and then refined the anthology topic in response to the submissions I received and am looking for a few more stories. Please consider writing something for me. If you'd like to discuss your idea or need more time, please feel free to email me at annabeth dot leong at gmail dot com. <3 <3 <3 I'm posting the call in full below, but you can also find it on the publisher's website here.

***

Coming Together: Positively Sexy is a collection of erotica focused on characters living and loving while HSV+, edited by Annabeth Leong. Proceeds benefit the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, a sexuality education and training organization that works to reduce sexual shame, challenge misinformation, and advance the field of sexuality.

SUBMISSION CALL

Update: In the first submission window for Coming Together: Positively Sexy, many submissions focused on characters living and loving while positive for HSV (herpes). So I've decided to embrace that focus and reopen the call in order to fill out a book all about these characters. I'd particularly love to get more stories including queer men or nonbinary characters, but any story exploring and celebrating the sexuality of characters with herpes is welcome.

Details from the original call are below:

Ever notice that sex ed classes tend to focus on how to prevent STIs, but don't say much about living with them and having a sex life after an STI diagnosis? Erotica, on the other hand, is often written as if STIs don't exist at all.

For this anthology, I'm looking for short erotica and erotic romance about characters who have STIs.

I would like to see a range of experiences represented. Give me characters just opening themselves up to sexuality post-diagnosis, characters for whom disclosure and safer sex practices are a routine side note to whatever sexual fun they're getting up to, and everything in between. Stories must be fictional.

It's a major priority for me to include stories about people of a variety of orientations, body types, races, genders, etc. I'm very interested in stories that engage with stigmas around STIs, but I'm absolutely not interested in stories that perpetuate those stigmas. I'm interested in the realities of sexuality, and it is fine for characters to have backgrounds that include unsafe behavior/murky consent/etc. In the present of your story, however, I want to see characters who are responsible with themselves and their partners. Please use medically accurate information where relevant. Please don't be preachy or shaming.

All sexualities and gender expressions are welcome. Kink is welcome. Realistic contemporary settings only, please.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Stories between 3,000 and 7,500 words are preferred. I will consider shorter stories or stories as long as 10,000 words if I find them truly exceptional.

Coming Together contracts non-exclusive rights to publish, so previously published work is fine, as long as you own the rights to the work you submit. Stories over 5,000 words may be released individually through Coming Together as well, with the sales proceeds benefiting the CSPH.

Please use RTF, DOC, or DOCX format when submitting a manuscript. Include your legal name, pen name, and a working email address at the top of the document. Do not paste your story into the body of your message.

Please use Times New Roman font, size 12, and one-inch margins. Double-space paragraphs and set indentations to .3 – Do not use tabs or spaces to indent.

Please do not submit poetry or memoir.

Direct all submissions to positivelybook@outlook.com and CC submissions@the-erotic-cocktail.com.

Include “Coming Together Positively Sexy Submission” in the header of your e-mail. In your e-mail message, include a two-line blurb for your story (to help with promotion if your story is accepted), and a short biography, no more than 150 words, including your website/blog/social media links if applicable. Please also indicate if your story has been previously published.
Feel free to query if your submission is not acknowledged within 72 hours.

Coming Together is a non-profit organization, and all CT authors and editors have generously donated their talents to various causes. Compensation for inclusion in this work is a PDF contributor copy of the finished product and the satisfaction of knowing you are helping an amazing organization that is working to reduce sexual shame.

Signs that you've read the guidelines make me <3 you. Thanks so much for being interested in this anthology. ABOUT THE EDITOR:

Annabeth Leong is frequently confused about her sexuality, but enjoys searching for answers. Her work appears in dozens of anthologies, including recent editions of the annual series Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Erotic Romance, and Heiresses of Russ: Best Lesbian Speculative Fiction. She is the author of the novel Untouched and the short story collection Liquid Longing, and is the editor of Circlet Press's MakerSex: Erotic Stories of Geeks, Hackers, and DIY Culture. She can be found online at annabethleong.blogspot.com, and on Twitter @AnnabethLeong

When Stigma Stops Writing

I recently wrote a post for Delilah Night about the challenges presented by the book I'm currently taking submissions for, the charity anthology Coming Together: Postively Sexy.

What I didn’t realize was that this book is demanding a different kind of editing skill: convincing and encouraging nervous writers to try their hands at stories that feel risky to them. I have had many conversations with writers who say they don’t know anything about STIs and can’t write about them, only to tell me in the next breath that they’ve had or currently have an STI. I’ve had conversations with writers who say they can’t picture how a story could include mention of an STI and still be sexy. I’ve had conversations with writers who say they are far too worried about the possibility of getting something wrong. I’ve talked to writers who say they mostly submit stories they’ve already written, and they’ve never written a story that includes a character with an STI.

To me, this all speaks to the stigma around STIs, the very stigma that I’m hoping this book can question. I want to make a book that opens up a little space inside a dominant culture that often seems intent on shaming people, a book that offers up a vision that an STI doesn’t have to be the end of a person’s sex life, that it doesn’t have to be a big deal at all. I’m hoping to get some stories from writers who already know that because they’ve lived that experience, and I’m also hoping to get some stories from writers who are learning it through the writing they’re doing now.

You can read the rest of the post here, at Delilah's blog.

You can read the full call for submissions, with all the details, here.

Also, check out Delilah's post about the anthology she's editing, Coming Together: Under the Mistletoe.

And, writers, let's do some good by being bad. :) (An old tagline for the charity erotica publisher, Coming Together).

(Also, the deadline for Positively Sexy has been extended to Oct 1st!)

Deadline Extended: Coming Together: Positively Sexy

I've extended the deadline for Coming Together: Positively Sexy until October 1st! If you were thinking of writing a story for this, I hope this gives you the time you need.

Here's the full information about the call.

As always, please feel free to get in touch with questions.

One Time at Porn Camp...

I spent last weekend at the Circlet Press Editorial Retreat, also known as #porncamp. I like the name because it embraces the sexuality we're trying to celebrate. At the same time, I don't think it accurately represents how deep things get there. I have a master's degree in writing, and I've been to all sorts of conferences and classes, and I've never been to any event or class with as high a degree of really useful information and activities as #porncamp. Here are some impressions of the whirlwind:

Making:

I got to see a proof of the print edition of my anthology MakerSex: Erotic Stories of Geeks, Hackers, and DIY Projects. (Ebook edition is available now, and the print edition is on its way!)



Speaking:

We recorded a podcast of a live reading with Nobilis Erotica (you can hear me last, reading from my genderqueer science fiction story "Always the Same, Always Changed", which you can hear in full in The Sexy Librarian's Dirty 30).

Learning:

Laura Antoniou, writer of the Marketplace series clued us in on tips for writing and sustaining a series. I've always wanted to try writing one, so I was glad to learn from a master. Cecilia Tan also shared insights about serials, which is another form I've been curious about, and that wasn't covered in my formal writing education.

Sharing:

Social media is hard for me. I genuinely like talking to people, but maintaining that day after day online takes a sort of energy and attention that I often feel I can't afford—too often, it seems it would come at the expense of my writing or my significant personal relationships. So much talking about social media in writerly contexts is about shame and endless to-do lists. I really appreciate that at the Circlet Retreats we've talked about it with more attention to pragmatism, personality, authenticity, and emotional needs. Last year, we talked a lot about depression and social media. This year, Avery Vanderlyle came up with some great ideas for how writers can support each other while being social. I'm really looking forward to working with her and Artemis Savory on allowing a bit more of myself to live online. Also, Artemis and Avery are wonderful. This post wouldn't exist without them, so it's already working!

Discussing:

I moderated a panel on safer sex in speculative fiction worlds. I've said for a while that I prefer contemporary erotica stories to include safer sex because there's a lot of characterization that one sees in how those discussions, negotiations, and practices are handled. There is an ease to handwaving those issues away in speculative fiction, but I think that leaves a fair bit of world-building on the table, and denies a chance to get to know more about who's in the story. This could be a giant post in its own right, but I framed some categories for us to talk about, and then enjoyed what Circlet authors and editors had to say about them.

In no particular order, I think consider safer sex in specfic could produce really interesting details about barrier types (psychic as well as physical? something else?), negotiation techniques (verbal/nonverbal? ritual? etc), cultural beliefs (matching science or not? consistent across cultures?), consequences (complex, definitely), and opportunities for display of trust and intimacy. These are all really cool things to think about when designing other worlds. I want to spend more time sinking into these ideas, either in story or post form.

(I'm thinking a lot about safer sex lately—don't forget that I'm currently looking for submissions for Positively Sexy, which will feature erotic stories about characters who have STIs.)

Playing:

I finally, finally got to play Slash: The Game, which I've heard about every year at #porncamp. I'm still thinking about Barbarella paired with Morticia Addams, and Mr. Spock finding love with Castiel.

Writing:

And last but not least, Circlet's publisher Cecilia Tan never lets us get away without writing something new, so I have the beginnings of a lesbian robot story that I'm going to be finishing up in the next few days. Here's a taste:

"Fuck them," I said, as I began to fuck her. "It's not our fault they fucked up the programming. I don't give a fuck if they die because we're off mission."

If they'd wanted us to act rationally, they shouldn't have made us so human. They shouldn't have given her the capacity to get so gloriously wet, to squeeze my finger with such taut muscularity. They shouldn't have connected my here endings with such complexity, shouldn't have let my body sympathize with hers so well, shouldn't have made me so I shivered at the base of my spine at the effort of working my fingers deeper into her tightening cunt.

So that starts my afternoon off right. Having participated in the group activities, it's just about time for me to head back to my bunk ;)

At Oh Get A Grip: What I'm Reading

The current topic at Oh Get A Grip is what we're reading. I love talking about that, so I didn't show much restraint.

I posted about the four most recent books I've read: Suki Kim's Without You, There Is No Us; Harper Bliss's French Kissing; Daniel Jose Older's Half Resurrection Blues; and Patricia Highsmith's Carol. That last one is still in progress. I also posted about what I'm hoping to read: stories for my the new book I'm editing, Coming Together: Positively Sexy.

Also, if it's fun for you to see what I've been reading lately, you can check out my Goodreads profile, too. I sometimes fall out of updating it, but I've been paying attention to it so far this year.

Announcing: Coming Together: Positively Sexy

I'm editing another book!

It's going to be called Coming Together: Positively Sexy, and it's an anthology of erotica focused on characters living and loving while STI-positive. All proceeds will benefit the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, a sexuality education and training organization that works to reduce sexual shame, challenge misinformation, and advance the field of sexuality.

For so many reasons, I'm thrilled that this project is happening.

I love the CSPH deeply as an organization—it is not an exaggeration to say it has changed my life and given me much-needed sanctuary.

And I think this is a subject that needs to be explored. I have read so much erotica, and I can't recall ever seeing a character who was STI-positive. (If you have run across this, I am really interested to know where. Leave a comment or email me!)

Once I realized this lack, it became incredibly glaring to me. I got into writing erotica because I wanted to speak about the unspoken. There is so much revealed in people's sex lives. I am fascinated by the vulnerability and exposure. And yet, in the years I've been writing erotica, I've become disheartened by what I tend to hide. By typically presenting a fantasyland in which STIs don't exist, I have missed out on a huge part of what I think it is our calling as erotica writers to explore.

I want and have always wanted to write about sex, in all its strangeness and beauty and difficulty. I enjoy fantasies, and I am also interested in realities. By picking up on unspoken "rules," and shying away from portraying STIs, I have turned away from writing about the world I actually know.

I remember being diagnosed with HPV when I was in my early 20s and plunging into a morass of shame and confusion. I honestly didn't really know what HPV was or meant—and it felt like I couldn't get the information I needed, no matter how many questions I asked or how many things I looked up. I had such a poor understanding of STIs that I truly believed for a while that being diagnosed with it meant I would have to be celibate for the rest of my life. It is only in the past few years that I have become able to talk about parts of my history like this in a matter-of-fact way, informed by medically accurate information, not overshadowed by crushing shame and a sense of dirtiness.

I got pretty spotty education about STIs in the first place—and I recognize I was lucky to have avoided the abstinence-only approach that passes for "education" in many American schools. I remember most vividly the scare tactics that were used in my health class—the giant pictures of warts and lesions that made them look like dangerous space anomalies. I remember being told to use condoms, but not being told anything about what one might do if one ended up getting an STI or wanting to sleep with someone who had one.

I have cried with shame while disclosing my sexual history with a new partner. I have cringed at the sight of the capital letters HPV highlighted in pink on a form at the doctor's office.

When I was younger (before my HPV diagnosis), I had partners ask (while trying to convince me not to use a condom), "You're a clean girl, aren't you?" As if that was due diligence for STI prevention. As if there was any way to answer that question well or honestly. As if I hadn't already asked to use a condom.

There are also stories that aren't mine to tell, about people I've known who have lived with shame and judgement when I don't think they should have to.

The point of all this is that I'm a person who has lived and loved after an STI diagnosis, and I know plenty of other people who have, too. And I've never seen myself represented in the genre I have worked in since 2008. I have never represented myself in my own genre.

I say that knowing that HPV is common, an STI that is sometimes dismissed as something "everybody" has. What does it say that I've felt so much shame and hesitation about something so common? What does it say that I've never felt safe writing about it?

I came up with the idea for this book late last year, in the midst of some feelings of burnout. For several years, I had been writing as hard and fast as I could, pouring my soul into my stories and also constantly producing them. There were things going on in the erotica industry that were messing with my livelihood and breaking my heart. I found that a lot of my work seemed to be too weird or too queer or too dark or too something. Untouched had come out, and I never anticipated how naked and exposed that book would make me feel.

When I began writing, I believed I had things to say that were important, things that only I could say. Increasingly, though, I found myself abandoning stories, questioning whether they mattered at all.

I took a step back and began to ask myself if I had anything still to say, if I thought I still could do things in this field that needed to be done. After a period of soul searching, the idea for this book came to me. I couldn't convince myself that the world cared about or needed a lot of things I could choose to work on—this, though, was different. I believe that Coming Together: Positively Sexy could make a real difference to its readers, to its writers, and to me, as editor.

Any time my will as an artist has flagged, the answer has always been to go harder, go deeper, expose more. That is all that feels true to me, the only thing I have in the end.

I need and want this book to exist. But I can't make it happen on my own. I need more perspectives than the one I've got. I need a lot of different stories. Maybe what I need is your voice.

You can find the full call for submissions here.

If you have any questions, please email me at positivelybook@outlook.com.

(Also, many thanks to Melanie at the CSPH, who helped me come up with the name for this book!)