Group photo

Group photo from February 2010 In The Flesh by Anya Garrett; more photos here.



Back row: Kevin Sampsell, Rakesh Satyal, Suzanne Portnoy, Michelle Churchill, Jami Attenberg
Front row: Justin Taylor, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Julie Klausner

Rakesh Satyal serenades us with a cover of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me"

This is one of the best things I've ever seen at In The Flesh and had the crowd roaring (and singing along) - Rakesh Satyal serenades us a cappella with a cover of "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift - the whole song! Thank you so much, Rakesh! You can hear how much the crowd loved this and it's one of the priceless moments we share at In The Flesh that just can't be replicated.

Suzanne Portnoy on her possessed vibrator and other sex toys

Memoirist Suzanne Portnoy brought a plethora of sex toys with her from London to share her favorites and freebies with us, complete with buzzing noises and a possessed vibrator!

Watch Michael Musto read at Love and Lust Night

This is the first of our videos from last night's AMAZING reading! We had an amazing crowd, confessed our experiences with cunnilingus (or not), shared true and fictional stories, gave away prizes and raised $75 for Partners in Health and had a great time. Singing TK!

March 18th BDSM lineup (with Julie Powell, Madison Young and more!)

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
BDSM NIGHT
March 18, 2010, 8 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.com

Get kinky with memoir writers, BDSM educators, erotica authors, a porn star, and more at In The Flesh. Featuring Melissa Febos (author of dominatrix memoir Whip Smart), blogger Selina Fire (Pleasure Salon), rope bondage expert Monk (Twistedmonk.com), Julie Powell (author of Cleaving and Julie and Julia), erotica writer Xan West (contributor, Best SM Erotica 3), Mollena Williams (author, "BDSM and Playing with Race" in Best Sex Writing 2010, BDSM educator 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). Prize giveaways sponsored by Kink Academy (shirt, journal, purse, aftercare blanket, memberships and more) and Eden Fantasys (suede flogger and faux fur bondage cuffs). Authors' books will be available for sale by Mobile Libris. Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa along with chips, candy and other 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, New York Post, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Gawker, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com, Tasting Table 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 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 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

Melissa Febos is the author of the memoir Whip Smart, (St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books). Her writing has been featured in The Southeast Review, Redivider, The Rambler, Storyscape Journal, Bitch Magazine, and Smut Magazine, among others. She co-curates and hosts the Mixer Reading and Music Series at Cake Shop, and teaches at SUNY Purchase College and The Gotham Writers’ Workshop. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. More information about her work and projects can be found at melissafebos.com.



Selina Fire is a native New Yorker whose passion is sex. She blogs about her sexual adventures at selinafire.com. She co-hosts New York City's Pleasure Salon, a monthly gathering of sex-positive activists. Her 2007 column, "On The Edge," in Penthouse Forum, was banned in Canada because officials found it too obscene. She is currently working with artist Madame Cindy on a very dirty comic book.



Monk is dubbed “a unicorn” by his friends, because he is so many things that aren’t supposed to exist. Before launching his bondage rope company, this former Eagle Scout and evangelical missionary was a software cowboy, an actor/stuntman, and a filmmaker. Six years ago, Monk’s mother-in-law gave him Midori’s rope bondage book, and a ropemaker was born. Today, in addition to running the world’s largest bondage rope company, Monk enjoys a career as a sex worker, writer, activist, educator, and entertainer.
www.twistedmonk.com



Julie Powell thrust herself from obscurity (and an uninspiring temp job) to cyber-celebrityhood when, in 2002, she embarked on an ambitious yearlong cooking (and blogging) expedition through all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She detailed the experience in her critically acclaimed 2005 New York Times bestselling memoir, Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in August 2009. Julie has made appearances on national television shows from ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS’s The Early Show to The Martha Stewart Show and Food Network’s Iron Chef America, and her writing has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers including Bon Appétit, Food and Wine, Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times, the Washington Post, and more. She is a two-time James Beard Award winner in Journalism, was awarded an honorary degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and was the first ever winner of the Overall Lulu Blooker Prize for Books. Her highly anticipated second book, Cleaving, published in December, 2009.



Xan West is the pseudonym of an NYC BDSM/sex educator. Xan’s story “First Time Since”, won honorable mention for the 2008 National Leather Association’s John Preston Short Fiction Award. Xan appears in Best SM Erotica Volumes 2 and 3, Best Women’s Erotica 2008 and 2009, Hurts So Good, DADDIES, Biker Boys, and Leathermen.

Mollena (Mo) Williams, “Delicate, Trembling Flower of Submission”© is a NYC born and raised writer, actress, BDSM Educator and Executive Pervert. She is extremely honored, humbled and proud to serve as Ms. San Francisco Leather 2009. Active in BDSM since 1996, she speaks at Leather events across the US on many kinkcentric topics. A founding member of Crowded Fire Theater Company, she blogs on http://mollena.com. Mo is also author of the upcoming Toybag Gude: Taboo Play and of the essay "BDSM and Playing with Race" which appears in Best Sex Writing 2010.



Lolita Wolf is a native New Yorker, who discovered the BDSM scene back in the late 80's when “online” meant being on the phone sex lines. She is an activist who defends the sexual freedom for all consenting adults, spreads the word about BDSM, sex and poly, and helps the community grow and flourish. However, her primary goal is "to have fun." Her writing has appeared in On Our Backs and Prometheus magazines and The Lust Chronicles anthology and she has authored two books: Spanking and CBT in a Nutshell. Recently, she was featured in the New York Times' One in 8 Million series: http://vb.ly/255f, Her website can be found at http://www.leatheryenta.com/.



Madison Young is an international award-winning porn star, director, gallerist, and published author. She has been directing BDSM and erotic films since 2005 and has won great acclaim for her video line, Madison Young Productions, which has been awarded the 2008 Feminist Porn Award and at the 2009 Feminist Porn Awards was awarded Indie Porn Pioneer of the Year and Best Kink Film for her 2008 release Perversions of Lesbian Lust. In 2009 she was also awarded Best BDSM Movie by AEBN for Perversions of Lesbian Lust and nominated for Best BDSM Release by AVN. She has recently finished her book of memoirs, Breathe: The Sexual Evolution of Madison Young, based on her experiences in the adult industry, due out in spring of 2011. When she isn't documenting hot sex on film she is running her own non profit community art gallery in San Francisco, Femina Potens Art Gallery, which focuses on the expression of Art, Sex and Gender.
www.madisonbound.com



You will hear from the following books, which Mobile Libris will have for sale:


Behind the Bedroom Door (featuring Julie Powell's essay "Lost in Space")


Whip Smart


Best Sex Writing 2010

Two sex toy prizes will be given away courtesy of EdenFantasys, a suede flogger and bondage cuffs:


Fulfill-a-fantasy flogger from EdenFantasys


Crave wrist restraints from EdenFantasys

Prizes will be given away courtesy of Kink Academy, listed below.

1) A Kink Academy shirt, journal, scene starters deluxe set & one year membership to www.kinkacademy.com.

2) Bible purse and 1 year membership to Kink Academy.

3) Aftercare blanket & 1 year membership to Kink Academy.

Michael Musto reading at Love and Lust Night February 18th

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 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, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

Jami Attenberg is the author of the short story collection, Instant Love, and two novels, The Kept Man, and The Melting Season, which is forthcoming from Riverhead Books in January 2010. She has contributed to a number of publications, including The New York Times, New York, Print, Salon, and Nylon, as well as the anthologies Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone and Love is a Four-Letter Word: True Stories of Breakups, Bad Relationships, and Broken Hearts. jamiattenberg.com



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

Michelle Churchill is an author, blogger and real estate maven. Her first book, a memoir entitled I Thought I Grew Up, was released in May 2009. On Barnes & Noble’s web site Rising Star List and consistently in the Top 500 in Women’s Biography, I Thought I Grew Up is an Award-Winning Finalist in the National Best Books 2009 Awards. She is a single woman living, loving and working in New York City. Michelle is working on her first novel.
michellechurchill.com



Julie Klausner is a comedy writer and performer whose first book, I Don't Care About Your Band, from Gotham Books, will be released in February of 2010. She's appeared in many shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and on VH1’s Best Week Ever, where she was also a staff writer. She has written for Saturday Night Live’s “TV Funhouse” and The Big Gay Sketch Show, and her prose has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, McSweeney’s, Salon, Videogum, and others.
julieklausner.com


Michael Musto writes the popular “La Dolce Musto” column in The Village Voice as well as the breathless blog “La Daily Musto” on villagevoice.com. He’s a regular commentator on shows like Countdown with Keith Olbermann and Theater Talk, and is celebrating the release of his fourth book, a collection with some new essays called Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back.


photo by Ivylise Simones

Suzanne Portnoy is a London based erotic memoirist and the author of The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker and The Not So Invisible Woman. Her stories have been published in Ultimate Decadence (XCite Books), Scarlet Magazine and Desire. An entertainment publicist for fifteen years, when not writing about her own sex life, she can usually be found accompanying celebrities to store openings or taking one of her two teenage boys to football practise. She once had a portfolio of lovers but recently has settled down with one.
suzanneportnoy.com



Kevin Sampsell has been the publisher of Future Tense Books since 1990. His fiction has been published widely in literary journals like LIT, McSweeney’s and Opium, and on popular sites like Nerve and Failbetter. His non-fiction essays and reviews have appeared in various newspapers and magazines. His books include Beautiful Blemish and Creamy Bullets as well as his latest work, A Common Pornography: A Memoir (HarperPerennial). He works as Small Press Champion (his actual title) for Powell’s Books. He lives in Portland, Oregon.


photo by Barb Klansnic

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



Justin Taylor is 26 years old. He is the author of Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever (HarperPerennial). His fiction and nonfiction has been published by n+1, The Nation, The Believer, Brooklyn Rail, Slate, NPR, Time Out New York, and Best American Essays 2007, among many other journals, magazines and websites. In 2007 he edited acclaimed short fiction anthology The Apocalypse Reader, compiling new and selected stories about the end of the world; and guest-edited an issue of McSweeney’s (#24), for which he produced “Come Back, Donald Barthelme,” a symposium on the author’s life and work. He co-edits The Agriculture Reader and is a regular contributor to HTMLGiant: The Internet Literature Magazine Blog of the Future. He teaches at Rutgers and is at work on his first novel.

You will hear from the following books:


The Melting Season by Jami Attenberg


Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel


I Thought I Grew Up by Michelle Churchill


I Don't Care About Your Band: What I Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated by Julie Klausner


Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back by Michael Musto


A Common Pornography: A Memoir by Kevin Sampsell


Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal


Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever by Justin Taylor