April 15 is Nerd Sex Night!

In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

There's no need to RSVP, but for those who'd like this information in another format or to spread the word, Nerd Sex Night is also on Facebook. See also the In The Flesh Reading Series fan page on Facebook.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
NERD SEX NIGHT
April 15, 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 geeky at Nerd Sex Night! Featuring Mike Albo (The Underminer), memoirist Elizabeth Bard (Lunch in Paris), Emily Cavalier (food writer, Mouth of the Border), sexual health researcher Laura G. Duncan, erotica writer Emerald (reading her Apple store erotica "Shift Change" from Best Women's Erotica 2010), chef and food stylist Akiko Moorman, author Stephen Elliott (The Adderall Diaries). Hosted and curated by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Bottoms Up, The Mile High Club). Free samples of Astroglide lube will be given out. 100 free copies of Sexis Magazine will be given out. 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, 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.

Mike Albo is a writer and performer who lives and loves in Brooklyn. His second novel, (written with his longtime friend Virginia Heffernan) is the cult humor classic, The Underminer: The Best Friend Who Casually Destroys Your Life. His performances of the character have become internet hits and can be found on Youtube like everything else in the world. His first novel, the critically acclaimed Hornito, came out in 2000. Albo has written for zillions of magazines and websites including New York Magazine, GQ, Details, and The Daily Beast. From 2007-2009 he was The Critical Shopper columnist for the New York Times. He’s performed numerous solo shows including “Spray,” “Please Everything Burst,” and “My Price Point” as well as with the comedy trio Unitard. He is also a founding member of the legendary downtown NYC naked glittery dance troupe, The Dazzle Dancers.
www.mikealbo.com



Elizabeth Bard is the author of the bestselling memoir/cookbook Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes. Her writing on art, food, travel and digital culture has appeared in The New York Times, The IHT, Wired and Harper's Baazar. She is a sexy nerd - who knows a fish fork when she sees one. Lunch in Paris was selected as a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" pick for Spring 2010. You can follow the continuing culinary adventures of an American in Paris on www.elizabethbard.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 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

Emily Cavalier is dangerously enthusiastic about life. She's a freelance food writer, and works full-time as a business development exec in the event/media industry. The New England native has called Fort Greene, Brooklyn home for the past three years and is deeply in love with her neighborhood and its people. When not at the office, out drinking cocktails or getting lost all over NYC, you can find Emily's writing at http://EmilyCavalier.com and on her food website about New York City's ethnic neighborhoods, http://MouthOfTheBorder.com.



Laura G. Duncan is a sexual health researcher, educator and writer currently
living in Brooklyn. Her research deals with issues of sexuality within medical education and primary care, focusing on health literacy and accessibility among underserved populations. In addition to her current work in clinical breast cancer research, she has worked with high schools students, health non profits and in a medical school as a Gynecological Teaching Associate.



Stephen Elliott is the author of seven books including The Adderall Diaries, Time Out New York's best book of 2009. He's written for Esquire, GQ, New York Times, and been anthologized in Best American Non-Required Reading 2005 & 2007, Best Sex Writing, and Best American Erotica.



Emerald has been a writer since age seven, though her repertoire did not begin to include erotica until her early twenties. Now in her early thirties, her erotic fiction has been published in anthologies edited by Violet Blue, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Jolie du Pre, and Alison Tyler as well as online at various erotic websites. She resides in suburban Maryland where she works as a webcam model and serves as an activist for reproductive freedom and sex workers' rights.
www.thegreenlightdistrict.org



Akiko Moorman is a New York chef, food stylist, and self-proclaimed nerd. She believes wholeheartedly that all projects, whether it be developing a new menu or finding out what felching means, begin with reading reference materials, interviewing experts, and when all else fails, using the Google machine. She deeply regrets searching for felching on the Google machine. She, however, regrets little else. Akiko graduated from Columbia University’s writing program, where one professor once described her work as, “for lack of a better word, very Tarantino-esque.”

May 20th is True Sex Confessions Night

In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

See also the In The Flesh Reading Series fan page on Facebook.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
TRUE SEX CONFESSIONS NIGHT
May 20, 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

True Sex Confessions is back! Featuring comedians Dave and Ethan, The New York Times Magazine reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewis (author of American Voyeur), David Ellis Dickerson (author of the memoir House of Cards), Rae Padilla Francoeur (author of the memoir Free Fall, A Late in Life Love Affair), Gina Frangello (author of the short story collection Slut Lullabies), Yona Zeldis McDonough (author of the novel Breaking the Bank), comedian Ryan Paulson, Kathleen Rooney (author of the essay collection For You, For You I Am Trilling These Songs). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Editor, Peep Show, Bottoms Up). 100 copies of Sexis Magazine will be given away. Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa and chips and candy 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, NBC New York, New York Post, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Daily Candy, Flavorwire, Fork in the Road, Gawker, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com, Serious Eats, 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

Using ads on Craigslist and YouTube, best friends Dave and Ethan invited pairs of women to double date them. Two hundred dates later, their experiences have been translated into reenactments, educational songs, and valuable lessons in everything from dancing to kissing. Now, with a monthly show at the People’s Improv Theater, performances at various comedy clubs throughout New York City, and a national
college tour, they attempt to enlighten their audiences on the art of romance.



Benoit Denizet-Lewis is a writer with The New York Times Magazine who has authored memorable and controversial cover stories about teens and sex, men on the down low, fraternity boys, young gay married men in Massachusetts, and kids coming out in middle school (which one the recent GLAAD award for best magazine article of 2009). He is the author of America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, about addiction in this country, and American Voyeur: Dispatches from the Far Reaches of Modern Life, which is a collection of his previously published writing about youth culture, gender, and sexuality. He lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
www.benoitdenizetlewis.com/



David Ellis Dickerson is the author of a humorous memoir, House of Cards (Riverhead, October 2009), about his life as a geeky recovering fundamentalist writing greeting cards for Hallmark. He is a regular contributor to public radio's "This American Life," and hosts a videoblog called "Greeting Card Emergency," on YouTube, which has drawn the attention of such public radio shows as "Talk of the Nation" and "Studio 360." He is currently at work on his second book, which should probably be called Thank God For Public Radio, but won't be.
www.davidellisdickerson.com



Rae Padilla Francoeur is a journalist and editor. She is the author of Free Fall: A Late-in-Life Love Affair. She has managed a number of magazines and newspapers, and she writes book reviews, essays, nonfiction articles, short stories, and novels. She divides her time between Rockport, MA and Manhattan. Read more about Rae’s adventures at freefallrae.blogspot.com/.



Gina Frangello is the author of the novel My Sister's Continent (Chiasmus 2006) and the collection Slut Lullabies (Emergency Press 2010.) The longtime editor of the literary magazine Other Voices, she co-founded its book press, Other Voices Books, in 2005 and is now the Executive Editor of the press' Chicago office. She is also the Editor of the Fiction Section at The Nervous Breakdown. Her work has appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies including Homewrecker: An Adultery Journal (Soft Skull), Swink, StoryQuarterly, Blithe House Quarterly, Prairie Schooner and &NOW: The Best of Innovative Writing. She teaches at Northwestern University and Columbia College Chicago, and runs The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience-Chicago reading series.
ginafrangello.com



Yona Zeldis McDonough received degrees from Vassar College and Columbia University. She is the author of three novels; the most recent, Breaking the Bank, was published by Pocket in September 2009. Additionally, she edited the anthologies The Barbie Chronicles: A Living Doll Turns Forty and All The Available Light: A Marilyn Monroe Reader, and and has been widely published in many literary and national magazines including Bookforum, Bride's, Cosmopolitan, Family Circle, Harper's Bazaar, Lilith, Metropolitan Home, Modern Bride, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, O, the Oprah Magazine, Redbook, Salon, and The Village Voice. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.
www.yonazeldismcdonough.com



Ryan Paulson is the performer and co-writer (with Virginia Scott) of two solo shows, "Ryan Paulson: I'm Uncomfortable" and "Pentecostal Wisconsin." He has performed "Pentecostal Wisconsin" in 11 cities across the US and Canada as well completing a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. The show has received numerous nominations, including Best Comedy and Best Solo Performance at the Victoria Fringe Festival and Best Visiting Production by the Montreal English Critics Circle and was awarded Best Solo Performance at the Ottawa Fringe Festival. In reviewing "Pentecostal Wisconsin" Time Out New York wrote, "This categorically pitch-perfect one-man comedy has it all: music, character work, soul-searching, integrity, and honesty."
www.ryanpaulson.com



Kathleen Rooney is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press, and the author, most recently, of the memoir Live Nude Girl: My Life as an Object and the essay collection For You, For You I Am Trilling These Songs. She lives in Chicago.
www.kathleenrooney.com



Latest books by True Sex Confessions authors (some of which you will hear from at True Sex Confessions Night):

Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel

American Voyeur: Dispatches from the Far Reaches of Modern Life by Benoit Denizet-Liews

House of Cards: Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions by David Dickerson

Free Fall: A Late-in-Life Love Affair by Rae Padilla Francouer

Slut Lullabies by Gina Frangello

For You, For You I Am Trilling These Songs by Kathleen Rooney

Madison Young and her pretty tongue tonight!

Bonus shot of tonight's reader/performer Madison Young!


Madison Young, photo via LAist


In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

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.

Sneak preview: Lolita Wolf will read from "Luke Lushious"

At BDSM Night March 18th (see below), Lolita Wolf will be reading from her story "Luke Lushious" from an anthology I edited called The Lust Chronicles (you can get the e-book for only $1.99 at ravenousromance.com). Here's an excerpt:

Luke Lushious
by Lolita Wolf

Every summer I spend five days at Dark Odyssey Summer Camp. We call it "sex camp." Really! It's adults only and attracts folks from all sorts of alternative lifestyles, like Tantric Sex practitioners, swingers and BDSM players. They've got dungeons, orgy rooms and 300 acres on which to play. It's quite the adventure for me--I go to classes and other organized activities and "hook up" with all sorts of people.

Luke Lushious was one of the campers. The problem with Luke is that he is gorgeous. He is 6'7" with wide shoulders and a killer smile. This problem was not his problem; it was mine. I automatically labeled him as unobtainable. I figured that I was too old and too fat to ever attract a man like him, so I just didn't even consider him. We were polite and friendly, but I had absolutely no expectations. I just wrote him off.

It happened that Luke and I wound up hitting it off the last night of camp at around 3 o'clock in the morning. He had been watching Molly and me as we tied up Marcus and teased him. Afterwards he told me that he thought I was hot. I was shocked. He told me that he liked my energy. Wow. Wow. Wow. Unfortunately, by then, it was way too late to hook up. But it gave me a lot to think about over the next few months. Oftentimes I underestimate myself. But worse, I underestimate other people. I underestimated Luke. I never expected him to see past my flaws.

A year later I signed up for Dark Odyssey again. This event has a marvelous Attendees area on its website. This is a separate website where registered campers put up profiles with photos, links, fantasies, likes, dislikes, etc. There are also sections for general discussion, ride shares, invites and more. The invites are categorized into Cabin Group, Lunch/Dinner Date, Personal Ads, Party, Play Date and Other. In the weeks leading up to the event I cruised the Attendees Area every day. I liked seeing the new profiles and invites as they went up. It always gets me psyched up and excited about camp. One day a new personal ad titled "Sucking Sleeping Beauty's Cock" went up.

Take Fullest Advantage of Mr. Luke Lushious' Lovely Cock while he is asleep!! YOU fellow camper(s) are hereby invited to Steal Into Cabin Panny FuxXx in the Darkest Hours of the Night to Skillfully Suck Me From Slumber. No Advance Reservations Required. Bedmates Aware of Aforementioned Arrangement. Reply If You Wish, Surprise Me If You Dare...

When I saw this ad, I began to fantasize about waking Luke with a blowjob. In a few weeks time, I was determined to make this happen. Oh, what a perfect opportunity for me. I stalked him on the Attendees Area and looked up the Panny FuxXx cabin. Luckily, I had some friends in the same cabin. When I got to camp, I pumped them for information. They told me which bed he slept in and that he stayed awake until 5:30 am. We figured it would be early enough if I got there around 9:30 or 10:00 am.

Monk promises free rope and dark chocolate at BDSM Night March 18th

Via @twistedmonk on Twitter. Join us all tomorrow night!



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.

Dominatrix memoir Whip Smart by Melissa Febos book trailer by Sini Anderson

Check out the book trailer for dominatrix memoir Whip Smart by BDSM Night (March 18th) author Melissa Febos, directed by Sini Anderson. See post below for full lineup and get there early. We will also have the downstairs open for this not-to-be-missed night, including an erotic performance by feminist porn star Madison Young, and we're giving away a free flogger and bondage cuffs by EdenFantasys and membership to Kink Academy!

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

In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

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.

April 15 is Nerd Sex Night at In The Flesh

In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

There's no need to RSVP, but for those who'd like this information in another format or to spread the word, Nerd Sex Night is also on Facebook. See also the In The Flesh Reading Series fan page on Facebook. Free candy includes mini Kit Kats, mini Peppermint Patties, mini Hershey's candy and Reese's Peanut Butter cups, along with 200 free Baked by Melissa cupcakes and chips, cookies and more! We're opening up the downstairs for those who want to drink and mingle while you listen. It's a not-to-be-missed evening.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
NERD SEX NIGHT
April 15, 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 geeky at Nerd Sex Night! Featuring Mike Albo (The Underminer), memoirist Elizabeth Bard (Lunch in Paris), Emily Cavalier (food writer, Mouth of the Border), sexual health researcher Laura G. Duncan, erotica writer Emerald (reading her Apple store erotica "Shift Change" from Best Women's Erotica 2010), chef and food stylist Akiko Moorman, author Stephen Elliott (The Adderall Diaries). Hosted and curated by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Bottoms Up, The Mile High Club). Free samples of Astroglide lube will be given out. 100 free copies of Sexis Magazine will be given out. 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, 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.

Mike Albo is a writer and performer who lives and loves in Brooklyn. His second novel, (written with his longtime friend Virginia Heffernan) is the cult humor classic, The Underminer: The Best Friend Who Casually Destroys Your Life. His performances of the character have become internet hits and can be found on Youtube like everything else in the world. His first novel, the critically acclaimed Hornito, came out in 2000. Albo has written for zillions of magazines and websites including New York Magazine, GQ, Details, and The Daily Beast. From 2007-2009 he was The Critical Shopper columnist for the New York Times. He’s performed numerous solo shows including “Spray,” “Please Everything Burst,” and “My Price Point” as well as with the comedy trio Unitard. He is also a founding member of the legendary downtown NYC naked glittery dance troupe, The Dazzle Dancers.
www.mikealbo.com



Elizabeth Bard is the author of the bestselling memoir/cookbook Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes. Her writing on art, food, travel and digital culture has appeared in The New York Times, The IHT, Wired and Harper's Baazar. She is a sexy nerd - who knows a fish fork when she sees one. Lunch in Paris was selected as a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" pick for Spring 2010. You can follow the continuing culinary adventures of an American in Paris on www.elizabethbard.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 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

Emily Cavalier is dangerously enthusiastic about life. She's a freelance food writer, and works full-time as a business development exec in the event/media industry. The New England native has called Fort Greene, Brooklyn home for the past three years and is deeply in love with her neighborhood and its people. When not at the office, out drinking cocktails or getting lost all over NYC, you can find Emily's writing at http://EmilyCavalier.com and on her food website about New York City's ethnic neighborhoods, http://MouthOfTheBorder.com.



Laura G. Duncan is a sexual health researcher, educator and writer currently
living in Brooklyn. Her research deals with issues of sexuality within medical education and primary care, focusing on health literacy and accessibility among underserved populations. In addition to her current work in clinical breast cancer research, she has worked with high schools students, health non profits and in a medical school as a Gynecological Teaching Associate.



Stephen Elliott is the author of seven books including The Adderall Diaries, Time Out New York's best book of 2009. He's written for Esquire, GQ, New York Times, and been anthologized in Best American Non-Required Reading 2005 & 2007, Best Sex Writing, and Best American Erotica.



Emerald has been a writer since age seven, though her repertoire did not begin to include erotica until her early twenties. Now in her early thirties, her erotic fiction has been published in anthologies edited by Violet Blue, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Jolie du Pre, and Alison Tyler as well as online at various erotic websites. She resides in suburban Maryland where she works as a webcam model and serves as an activist for reproductive freedom and sex workers' rights.
www.thegreenlightdistrict.org



Akiko Moorman is a New York chef, food stylist, and self-proclaimed nerd. She believes wholeheartedly that all projects, whether it be developing a new menu or finding out what felching means, begin with reading reference materials, interviewing experts, and when all else fails, using the Google machine. She deeply regrets searching for felching on the Google machine. She, however, regrets little else. Akiko graduated from Columbia University’s writing program, where one professor once described her work as, “for lack of a better word, very Tarantino-esque.”

NBC New York covers February's reading by Michael Musto

You can watch the video of Michael Musto reading here, and get a recap from NBC New York (thanks!):

“I’m happy to see some straight people here,” he joked, adding that he hadn’t been in a “mixed crowd” since the 1980s.

Squinting at his reading material through his iconic round glasses, the 54-year-old Musto complained about getting up in years.

“I can’t even read,” he said. “Does anybody have bifocals?”

Musto was one of the featured readers for the monthly event, In the Flesh Erotic Reading Series. He read a story from a 2005 column about the gay sex club El Mirage on East Houston Street.


Michael Musto photo by Anya Garrett