In the Flesh is a monthly reading series held the third Thursday of every month at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by erotic writer/editor Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing series, Do Not Disturb, Spanked, Dirty Girls, etc.). 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. Themed nights have included True Sex Confessions, Revenge of the Sex Columnists, GLBT Night, and Comedy Sex. Readers have included Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Stephen Elliott, Martha Garvey, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Tsaurah Litzky, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Veronica Vera, Zane and others. In The Flesh debuted in October 2005. Contact rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com for bookings, press, or questions. Click here In The Flesh: Los Angeles. “…writer and host Rachel Kramer Bussel welcomes eroticism of all stripes, spots and textures to the Happy Ending lounge on the Lower East Side.,” New York Times UrbanEye newsletter, August 15, 2007 email rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com for booking or other information or interview requests

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Heather Whaley tells of her worst date ever at Sex & Food Night at In The Flesh Reading Series

At Sex & Food Night, we were lucky enough to give away 3 copies of Heather Whaley's book Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing (thanks!) and to hear Heather tell the store of her worst date ever (inspiration for the Worst Date Nutty Cheeseball recipe in her book, which in my opinion is worth it for the hilarious table of contents alone). You'll feel better about your worst date after hearing about hers! In two parts, below. "Sometimes it's just easier to fuck the guy rather than tell him why you're not going to." Yes, you want to hear this story!







See 193 more photos of Cathy and the other readers in this Sex & Food Night Flickr set; all photos by Anya Garrett.


Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing




Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Food blogger Cathy Erway at Sex & Food Night reading from The Art of Eating In

Cathy Erway, of the blog Not Eating Out in New York, read at Sex & Food Night at In The Flesh Reading Series, from her new book The Art of Eating In: How I Stopped Spending and Learned to Love the Stove. That's below, along with a little interview with her about the book. She's an inspiration to me especially as a non-cook.









See 193 more photos of Cathy and the other readers in this Sex & Food Night Flickr set; all photos by Anya Garrett.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, January 28, 2010

In the Flesh Reading Series lineups February-May

Mark your calendars! February 18thw ill start at 7:30; all other readings 8-10 pm unless otherwise noted. FREE, 21+, no reservations, seating is limited.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
LOVE AND LUST NIGHT
February 18, 2010 at 7:30 PM - note early start time (doors at 7)
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.com


Published authors from New York, Portland and London offer up their post-Valentine's Day take on Love and Lust at In The Flesh Reading Series. Join Jami Attenberg (The Melting Season), Michelle Churchill (I Thought I Grew Up), Julie Klausner (I Don't Care About Your Band), Michael Musto (Village Voice gossip columnist, author, Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back), Suzanne Portnoy (The Not So Invisible Woman), Kevin Sampsell (A Common Pornography: A Memoir), Rakesh Satyal (Blue Boy) and Justin Taylor (Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2010, Peep Show). Authors' books will be available for sale. Cupcakes by Baked by Melissa will be served.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
BDSM NIGHT
March 18 at 8:00 PM (doors at 7, we recommend arriving at 7:30 to get a seat)
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.com


With Melissa Febos (Whip Smart), Selina Fire (Pleasure Salon),Monk (Twistedmonk.com), Julie Powell (Cleaving), Xan West (contributor, Best SM Erotica 3), Mollena Williams, Lolita Wolf (LeatherYenta.com) and feminist porn star Madison Young (MadisonBound.com). Hosted and curated by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2010, Bottoms Up, Spanked, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am). Snacks along with free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa will be served. Authors' books will be available for sale.

April 15
Nerd Sex Night
Mike Albo (The Underminer), Emily Cavalier (blogger, Dangerously Enthusiastic), sexual health researcher Laura G. Duncan, Penthouse Pet Ryan Keely, Akiko Moorman, Stephen Elliott (The Adderall Diaries). Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa and chips and candy will be served.

May 20
True Sex Confessions Night
Comedians Dave and Ethan, The New York Times Magazine reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewis (American Voyeur), David Dickerson (House of Cards), Rae Padilla Francoeur (Free Fall, A Late in Life Love Affair), Gina Frangello (Slut Lullabies), Yona Zeldis McDonough (Breaking the Bank), comedian Ryan Paulson, Kathleen Rooney (For You, For You I Am Trilling These Songs). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Editor, Best Sex Writing 2010, Peep Show, Bottoms Up). Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa and chips and candy will be served.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Monday, January 25, 2010

Jenine Sanford Holmes on hot dog lust and propositions

Sex & Food Night, January 21. Jenine Sanford Holmes was a big hit talking about her lust for hot dogs (watch the video to find out about someone else's lust too!).




Crif Dogs hot dogs, photo by Anya Garrett

Labels: , , , , , ,

Yolanda Shoshana on foodie flirtation and mac and cheese

From Sex & Food Night, January 21, 2010.

Labels: , , , , ,

Sex & Food Night: Emily Farris on Valentine's Day and cooking for lovers

Sex & Food Night video: Rachel Kramer Bussel reads "Secret Service" oral sex restaurant story inspired by Kokie's Place

I read my story "Secret Service" from the anthology Best Women's Erotica 2010 edited by Violet Blue, about an oral sex-themed restaurant inspired by Kokie's Place (RIP) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Sex & Food Night video: Rachael Parenta on bathroom sex

Sex & Food Night on January 21st was a HUGE success. Here's one of the 7 videos I'll be posting, and a recap and photos are coming soon!

Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

50 free Crif Dog hot dogs, 100 free cupcakes + free Babeland BabeLicious lube!

Now you have no excuses not to come to Sex and Food Night on January 21st!

Yes, it's true, I will be bringing 50 FREE hot dogs to the first 50 people starting at 7:30 - get 'em while they're hot!


Drawing by Jessie Oleson of Cakespy via Flickr


50 free Crif Dogs hot dogs


100 free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa




Free Babeland BabeLicious lube!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
SEX AND FOOD NIGHT
January 21 at 8:00 PM (doors at 7, we recommend arriving by 7:30 to get a seat)
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.com


Food is sexy, and sex is delicious, so In The Flesh Reading Series is kicking of 2010 with some saucy, sexy, steamy readings for the first Sex and Food Night. Featuring Cathy Erway (Author, The Art of Eating In, blogger, Not Eating Out in New York), Emily Farris (Author, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven), hot dog lover Jenine Sanford Holmes (New York Press), comedian Rachael Parenta (contributor, What Was I Thinking?! 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories), Yolanda Shoshana (The Luscious Life with Shoshi) and Heather Whaley (Author, Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Bottoms Up, Sex and Candy), who will be reading her oral sex restaurant erotica story "Secret Service" from Best Women's Erotica 2010, edited by Violet Blue. Free Babeland BabeLicious lube in dulce de leche, mojito peppermint, pomegranate vanilla, and chocolate orange. 50 free Crif Dog hot dogs will be given to the first 50 people (hot dog giveaway starts at 7:30). Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa as well as finger food snacks will be served.

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 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, 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, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine (Critics' Pick), New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Gothamist, NBC New York, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

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 numerous anthologies, two of which (Up All Night and Glamour Girls) have been Lambda Literary Award finalists, most recently The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Best Sex Writing 2009, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and Spanked. 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. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com


photo by Hilary McHone

Cathy Erway is a freelance food writer, blogger, and host of the cooking and dating podcast radio show, Cheap Date. Her blog, Not Eating Out in New York, is based on her two-year mission to forgo restaurant food, one that forged, among other things, alternatives to the nice restaurant date. She writes about sustainable food and farming for Saveur.com and The Huffington Post, and her first book, The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove will be published next month by Gotham/Penguin.
www.noteatingoutinny.com



When Emily Farris was an impressionable youth her mom told her that people who talk the most about sex are the ones having the least of it. In Emily's case this has, unfortunately, turned out to be true. Fortunately, it helped her land a job at Nerve.com, where she edited the site's pop culture blog, Scanner, for two years. Emily is now the lifestyle editor at the KC Free Press in Kansas City and when she's not glued to the computer she takes her sexual frustration out in the kitchen. Her first cookbook, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven was published in 2008. (eefers.com/casserolecrazy.com).



Jenine Sanford Holmes is a New York-based writer who divides her time between advertising and creative non-fiction. She worked for six years as a senior writer at SpikeDDB, a creative boutique agency headed by Spike Lee. Her essays have appeared in The Detroit News, The Westsider, and New York Press, among other papers. Now that she has completed her memoir she can focus on whipping her Italian language skills back in shape.



Rachael Parenta lives in Brooklyn. She performs stand-up comedy all over NYC and throughout the US. She has written several plays (both full and short) that have been produced on both coasts. She has contributed writings to Gawker.com and the 2009 book What Was I Thinking?! Currently she’s working on comedy variety show “Please, Someone Kill Me!”—Emotionally inappropriate comedy.



Yolanda Shoshana ("Shoshi") is a personality, sensualist, courtesan coach, speaker, and blogger known as the Luscious Lifestyle Diva." She followed her entrepreneur spirit by starting a lifestyle company for women which swirls sensuality, sexuality, and spirituality. Her company includes the School of the Courtisane Moderne, a modern day courtesan school which teaches women the art of seduction from the boardroom to the bedroom. She also creates seductive body products with notes from aphrodisiacs to help women bring out their inner courtesan. Shoshi has also produced and hosted her own live talk show for women in Manhattan on Channel 56 for the past 4 1/2 years titled The Luscious Life with Shoshi. Recently, she started The Luscious Life, a bi-weekly radio show with delicious guests, experts, and gurus. www.lusciouslifestylediva.com



Heather Whaley is an actress and writer. The author of Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing (Hudson Street Press, 2009), she has appeared in the films The Jimmy Show and New York City Serenade. Her plays Who's The Boss, Now? and I Will Not Marry Anthony Porter! have been performed off-Broadway and in regional theaters across the country and both contain punctuation in the titles. She has written extensively for television. Her play, Social Note, was the first play to appear in the storied Oak Room of the Algonuin Hotel. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.



You will hear from the following books:


Best Women's Erotica 2010
(Rachel Kramer Bussel's oral sex restaurant story "Secret Service")


The Art of Eating In



What Was I Thinking?!: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories
(Rachael Parenta's essay)


Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Get your 2010 In The Flesh postcards!

I'll send anyone in the US one of the new In The Flesh postcards! They list all the 2010 dates and details about the readings that are booked. Email rachelkb at gmail.com with "In The Flesh postcard" in the subject line and your mailing address in the body. The In The Flesh logo is by Molly Crabapple.

Labels: , , , , ,