In The Flesh Erotic Reading Series

Belly dancer at Sex and Religion Night at In The Flesh Reading Series December 17th

2009-11-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
SEX AND RELIGION NIGHT
December 17th at 8:00 PM (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

Sex and religion are the theme of the final In The Flesh of 2009. Featuring Mo Beasley (Urban Erotika), joined by singers DeAngela Napier and Jeff Jeudy, Johanna Gohmann (Bust), Gary Morgenstein (Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman), Cristy C. Road (Bad Habits) and Susan Wright (Confessions of a Demon), plus belly dancing by Sherri Eldin. Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2010, Peep Show, Bottoms Up). Free 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.

Performance Poet, Producer, and Writer, Mo Beasley, dubbed The Head Coach of Erotika, leads New York City’s longest running monthly erotic performance series. He also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts/Acting from Howard University. Since 1997, Beasley has also cemented himself on the spoken word scene. The award-winning poet has performed or been featured at the legendary Nuyorican Poets Café, Joe’s Pub, American Museum of Natural History (with Sonia Sanchez) and The Kennedy Center, among other known stages. Beasley is also a member of the Spoken Word Committee of the NY Chapter of The GRAMMY’s.

When not at the mic, Beasley teaches poetry, as well as Family Life and Sexuality Education classes, to students and adults throughout New York City. His current and past clients include Children’s Aid Society, NYC Board of Education, Planned Parenthood, and Kaiser Permanente, among others. He also lectures regularly at institutions on topics ranging from fatherhood (Beasley became a father at 17 and a grandfather at 36) to new perspectives about human sexuality for the 21st century.

Mo Beasley is also the co-author No Good Nigga Bluez - a collection of “anti-nigga creative writings.” He is also editing UrbanErotika: The Anthology, as well as contributing to an anthology on fatherhood. The relevance of Mo’s work has not escaped the attention of the media. He has been interviewed by Rev. Al Sharpton, hip hop legend Chuck D, and has been quoted, profiled, or featured in New York Newsday, Amsterdam News, rolling out UrbanStyle Weekly, NRG, KISS FM (NYC), XM Satellite Radio, New York 1 News and several other local and national media.

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

Sherri Eldin is a frequent performer all over the city with her unique and alternative form of belly dancing. This summer she danced in her first music video with Brooklyn band ZO2, stars of IFC's "Z Rock." In addition to dancing, Sherri is an actress, singer/songwriter, storyteller, and writer.

Johanna Gohmann has written essays, articles, and reviews for Bust, Elle, Red, Publishers Weekly, YourTango.com, Babble.com, Parade.com, the Irish Independent and others. Her article for Bust entitled "The Vagina Dialogues" was selected for Best Sex Writing 2010, and her essay "Design a Vagina" will appear in the Best Women's Travel Writing 2010. A native of Indiana, she lived in New York City for just shy of a decade. She currently resides in Dublin, Ireland. She doesn't always write about vaginas. But she likes to.

Novelist/playwright Gary Morgenstein is the author of four novels. In addition to Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman, a romantic triangle about a divorced man who falls in love with a beautiful woman rabbi -- while still not over his ex-wife -- his novels include Jesse’s Girl, a thriller about a widowed father’s search for his adopted teenage son, the political baseball novel Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and the baseball book Rocky The Man Who Wanted to Play Center Field for the New York Yankees. His prophetic play Ponzi Man performed to sell-out crowds at a recent New York Fringe Festival. His other full-length work, You Can’t Grow Tomatoes in the Bronx, is in development.

DeAngela Napier began singing jazz and standards in Manhattan cabaret clubs when she moved to New York in the late 80s. Jeff Jeudy has been infused with music since he was a child and taught himself guitar riffs from KISS albums. Together this acoustic based duo formed a band and performed in and around New York city from 2002 - 2006. They built a following of diverse music lovers that identify with their songs of Life, Love, Loss, and Redemption. Although no longer a band, they occasionally perform and write together. DeAngela Napier is now a photographer who can be reached through her website at www.dnapierphoto.com and Jeff Jeudy is a member of the band I Love Monsters and is a Graphic Designer who can be reached at www.jeffjeudy.com

Cristy C. Road is a 26-year-old Cuban-American illustrator and writer. Blending social principles, sexual deviance, mental inadequacies, and social justice- she thrives to testify the beauty of the imperfect. Her career began in 1996, when publishing Green’Zine- a fanzine entirely devoted to Green Day. Eventually she began including blurbs on other punk rock bands, gender identity, masturbation, sexuality, aimless travel, and anarchist organizing. Green’Zine ran for ten years. Today, Road has published two illustrated novels, Indestructible and Bad Habits; and a postcard collection, Distance Makes the Heart Grow Sick. Aside from publishing, Road has been contributing art to punk rock, literature, radical organizing, and much more for the last ten years. Road currently is working on paintings, short stories, and her punk rock band The Homewreckers. She lives in Brooklyn with a short attention span and a killer gas problem.
www.croadcore.org

Susan Wright is an activist and author. Her latest novel is an urban fantasy called Confessions of a Demon that will be published in December 2009. Other novels include the Slave Trade sf trilogy, and the fantasy duology To Serve and Submit and A Pound of Flesh, as well as 9 Star Trek novels. Susan is the spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom and has lectured extensively on sexual freedom around the country. She received her masters from New York University, and lives in New York City with her husband Kelly Beaton.
www.susanwright.info

You will hear from the following books:

Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman: Sex and Romance in God's House by Gary Morgenstein

Confessions of a Demon by Susan Wright

Erica Kennedy reads from Feminista at In The Flesh

2009-11-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

Erica Kennedy reading from her novel Feminista November's 4-year anniversary of In The Flesh Reading Series. See her blog for more information.

Feminista

How we decided who would win the free 24-karat gold vibrator from JimmyJane

2009-11-24T07:50:00.000-08:00

So...we gave away the 24-karat gold JimmyJane Little Gold vibrator at the end of the night. I asked everyone to write down why they wanted to win. You have to watch to see some of the wacky entries!

Photos from our AMAZING 4-year anniversary

2009-11-23T16:30:00.000-08:00

The 4-year anniversary was everything I could have hoped it would be. I will be posting more videos this week, including how we decided who would win the JimmyJane 24-karat gold vibrator. THANK YOU to everyone who attended, helped, fed us and read. You all rock. It was a two hour plus night of smut, laugher and sex toys. And cupcakes.

All photos are by Anya Garrett. More in this Flickr set.

Me giving away the 2010 NYC Sex Blogger Calendar (featuring me, Desiree, Tess Danesi, Abiola Abrams and others).

Closeup of the back of the sex blogger calendar

Lily Burana kicked off the reading by reading from her memoir I Love a Man in Uniform about taking her husband to strip club.

Erica Kennedy read from her novel Feminista.

Jennifer Peters told us that her story "People in Glass Hotels" from Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists was inspired by the Standard Hotel.

As you can watch, Abiola Abrams wowed us by reading off her phone so brilliantly I think we all could've listened to it again. And again. Yay whores!

Desiree read about sex on a plane in "A Brief Respite" from The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories

Tess Danesi gets close to a "Purple Balloon" as she reads from Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories

Rosalind Christine Lloyd read about a sorority sister spanking from Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories

Petite model Isobella Jade regaled us with a tale of posing almost nude

Harley from New York custom cake/cupcake/dessert company Treat made the most amazing (and delicious!) chocolate mint cupcakes with the Molly Crabapple In The Flesh logo on them! Stunning. And glittery!

Chocolate banana cupcakes from Treat

And all 300 (!!) Baked by Melissa cupcakes got devoured. I'm not surprised!

Needless to say, I was a very, very happy host.

Abiola Abrams does all whores proud

2009-11-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

Abiola Abrams was the clear knockout of the night last Thursday. This is one of the best readings I've ever seen, not just at In The Flesh. She's a brilliant performer and the piece, from her next book The Goddess Playbook and read off her phone, was amazing. I could watch this over and over again. It's from her

Rachel will perform at the premiere of a new and must-attend reading series run by Abiola called Abiola's Kiss & Tell on December 15th.

Abiola's Kiss & Tell

Storytelling & Performance Reading Series

A Party Like A Book Star-Studded Monthly Soiree

Bestselling Authors, Skanks, Intellectuals

& Everyone In Between

Every 3rd Tuesday at MADAME X

94 West Houston Street between LaGuardia & Thompson

NYC's sexiest and most fun event.

FREE with $5 Kiss & Tell Champagne Cocktails

Drinks & Mingle at 7PM;

Show begins at 7:30PM SHARP.

First look at In The Flesh anniversary photos

2009-11-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

The next In The Flesh, and the last one for 2009, is Sex and Religion Night, Thursday, December 17th. Last night was amazing - THANK YOU to everyone who packed the bar, the staff of Happy Ending Lounge, all the readers, Baked by Melissa, Treat, Extreme Restraints, JimmyJane, Diva, Tess, Gloria and everyone else who made it happen. Videos and more photos TK. I think I can safely say a great time was had by all.

The readers:

The amazing In The Flesh logo cupcakes by Treat:

November 19th: gold vibrator, 300 cupcakes, 4-year anniversary blowout bash and reading

2009-11-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

This Molly Crabapple-drawn In The Flesh logo will be on a dozen special cupcakes for the early birds!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
4-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, SPANKING STORIES, SEX BLOGGER CALENDAR & MORE!
November 19th at 7:30 PM (doors at 7; note early start time)
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

We're celebrating 4 years of sexy smut with a party and reading galore! Bringing back memoirists Lily Burana (I Love a Man in Uniform, Strip City) and Isobella Jade (Model Life, Almost 5'4"), Erica Kennedy (Feminista, Bling), Abiola Abrams (BET, author of Dare), Jennifer Peters (Penthouse Forum), Desiree (contributor, The Mile High Club) along with Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories contributors Tess Danesi and Rosalind Christine Lloyd. You will also hear from the organizers of the 2010 NYC Sex Blogger Calendar, which Tess and host Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Spanked, Bottoms Up) posed for! Copies of authors' books and the calendar will be for sale. 300 free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa will be served. Prize giveaways include: 24-karat gold vibrator Little Gold ($325 value) from JimmyJane, paddle and slapper from Extreme Restraints, $100 Babeland gift card from Beyond the Birds and the Bees, 2 copies of the 2010 Sex Blogger Calendar (featuring Tess, Rachel, Abiola and others), Abiola Abrams' novel Dare, XXX porn film Afrodite Superstar and hot word game SexySlang.

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.

Once upon a fabulous time Abiola Abrams was raised by Guyanese royalty in a gorgeous suburban ghetto of New York City, appropriately called the "Queens County." These are her chronicles: Dare is her first novel, and her writing is featured in the anthologies Dirty Words, Behind the Bedroom Door and A Memory A Monologue A Rant & A Prayer. Abiola's films range from Knives in My Throat, about mental illness, to Afrodite Superstar, about sexuality. She has hosted shows for BET, HBO and NBC and is now also a host-producer of The Planet Abiola Show. Recently audiences enjoyed watching Abiola get her dating game together as "Miss Picky" on VH1's Drew Barrymore-produced hit reality series Tough Love.
www.abiolatv.com

Lily Burana is a punk rock girl turned writer and editor. Since starting her writing life as a columnist and editor at punk and alternative 'zines, she has gone on to write for The Washington Post, GQ, The New York Times, Self, Glamour, Entertainment Weekly, Details, The Village Voice, The New York Observer, and others. She has been a Contributing Editor at SPIN and New York magazines. Lily married an active-duty Army officer in 2002. Her latest book, I Love a Man in Uniform: A Memoir of Love, War, and Other Battles (Weinstein Books, 2009) was inspired by the overwhelming response she received to her writing about the domestic side of military affairs--a Slate Diary and a New York Times Op-Ed. Her first non-fiction book, Strip City: A Stripper's Farewell Journey Across America (Miramax Books, 2001) made Best of the Year lists in Entertainment Weekly, Salon, New York Newsday, and Rocky Mountain News.
Lily Burana

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

Often based on her own explorations in the world of D/s and BDSM, Tess Danesi explores the darker side of erotica, writing with raw honesty about that shadowy area where pain becomes pleasure and pleasure pain. Tess has been published in several anthologies including Pleasure Bound by Alison Tyler, Do Not Disturb and Bottoms Up by Rachel Kramer Bussel as well as in Time Out New York. CarnalNation.com generously sends her amazing sex toys to review and she can often be found testing them in her high tech masturbation testing facility aka the office ladies room. In between all that and her actual job, for two years running, she’s produced the NYC Sex Blogger Calendar which raises funds for Sex Work Awareness. She blogs about life, death and everything in between at Urban Gypsy (http://nyc-urban-gypsy.blogspot.com).

Desiree is a brainy, sexy, foodie, geeky, writer chick from New York. She lives in Brooklyn with her vampire cat Snarf and has always had an inclination toward the naughty. She never backs down from a Scrabble challenge and once scored seventy six points with the word "clitoris." Her dirty stories have been published in anthologies such as Lust Chronicles and The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories and her musings about sex have appeared in the Huffington Post and The Frisky. She blogs about love, sex, and life at www.baserinstincts.com. For general info on her antics or to find out where to read her stuff, check out www.desireemoodie.com.

Isobella Jade is known as one of the tiniest working models out there. She is also the author of Almost 5’4”, her modeling memoir. In early November her graphic novel Model Life: The Journey of a Pint Size Fashion Warrior debuts. Daily Isobella gives modeling insight and advice on being a shorter-than-average model on her blog, and despite her height she has used what she does have and has modeled for Marshalls, Victoria's Secret, Easy Spirit, Macy’s, Bon Appétit, TLC, Univision, MTV, Women's World, and many, many others. Her story and advocating has been featured in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Allure.com, Page Six, Ad Age, The New York Post, WSJ, Nylon, Mediabistro.
www.isobelladreams.com

Thanks to the aggressive heroine of her second novel, Feminista, Publisher's Weekly as called Erica Kennedy "the pioneer of bitch lit". She is also a screenwriter and blogger who began her writing career by blindly pitching and selling a humor piece on why women love to hate Gwyneth Paltrow to the New York Daily News women's section where she became a frequent contributor. She has written celebrity profiles and style pieces for In Style, Vibe, Paper and UK Elle. She blogs about pop culture and all things FEM at The Feminista Files (thefeministafiles.blogspot.com/).

Rosalind Christine Lloyd is a contemporary fiction and erotica writer (and occasional poet, journalist and music reviewer) whose work has appeared in over fifteen anthologies. She currently has two novels in progress, is working on a compilation of her published short fiction and has one completed screenplay. She lives downtown with her queer version of a nuclear family.
http://rosalindchristinelloyd.blogspot.com

Jennifer Peters is the associate editor of Penthouse Forum and Girls of Penthouse and a contributing editor to Penthouse Magazine. Her work has appeared in several places under numerous names, but her favorite bylines use her real name. Those rare works have appeared in Forum, Penthouse and Rachel Kramer Bussel's Peep Show anthology.

You'll be hearing readings from these books:

Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories

Model Life: The Journey of a Pint-Size Fashion Warrior

I Love a Man in Uniform

Giveaways include (more TK):

24-karat gold Little Gold vibrator courtesy of JimmyJane

From Extreme Restraints:

Strict Leather Black Fraternity Paddle

12" Slapper With Holes

$100 Babeland gift card from Beyond the Birds and the Bees

SexySlang word game

XXX porn film Afrodite Superstar

Abiola Abrams' novel Dare

We're giving away 2 copies of the calendar!

petite model Isobella Jade reading at True Sex Confessions Night

2009-11-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

Rumor has it that Isobella will be reading something a little more personal on Thursday...and she has a new book called Model Life out - we're giving a copy away. Be there!

"Marty Beckerman Gets Fucked In The Ass By His Girlfriend and the Dildo of Revenge"

2009-11-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Another classic...from January 2007 In The Flesh Reading Series.

Sex and Comedy videos from October are up!

2009-11-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

Videos are finally up from last month's Sex and Comedy Night. 2 more are coming soon.

Carolyn Castiglia:

Parts 1 and 2:

Shawn Hollenbach:

Mindy Raf:

Marty Beckerman:

Margot Leitman:

Parts 1 and 2:

Love and Lust Night at In The Flesh February 18th

2009-11-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
LOVE AND LUST NIGHT
February 18, 2010 at 8:00 PM (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), 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

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

A Common Pornography: A Memoir by Kevin Sampsell

Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal

Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever by Justin Taylor

Sex and Religion Night is December 17th

2009-11-12T08:44:00.001-08:00

The best endorsement In The Flesh could ever get

2009-11-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

And it touches me more than I can say. From the one and only Susie Bright, who I was SO honored to have at the series in February, and hers was the only time we opened up the upstairs and downstairs. via Huffington Post

I have read and performed at hundreds of venues, all over the world— and in terms of sheer class, generosity, and author-happiness, the only producer who comes close to Rachel, is the British Film Institute. And they don't have cupcakes.

Free 24-karat gold vibrator 11/19 courtesy of JimmyJane

2009-11-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true, in addition to tons of other prizes and 10 fabulous readers, we are giving away a $325-value 24-karat gold Little Gold vibrator at the 4-year anniversary party/reading at In The Flesh Reading Series on November 19th courtesy of JimmyJane! One lucky winner will get to take this valuable sex toy home. Here's the stats on it:

LITTLE GOLD
Waterproof, Silent, Everlasting Vibrator

Sleek, silent and waterproof, this 24k gold vibrator is decadence distilled. Take it in the pool, chill it in the fridge - or ride your bike in the rain with one in the basket.

Details

* The vibrator's frequency is tuned to provide a deep, resonant sensation.
* Our vibrators all feature our exclusive, patented replaceable motor system.
* Our vibrators are 5.25" long, and 0.67" in diameter.
* All materials are medical quality, body safe and dishwasher safe.
* Three Year Limited Warranty.

It's also a great chance to get a 2010 NYC Sex Blogger Calendar and get it signed by Rachel, Tess Danesi, Desiree, Abiola Abrams and possibly other lurking models.

And don't forget the 300 FREE cupcakes from Baked by Melissa!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
4-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, SPANKING STORIES, SEX BLOGGER CALENDAR & MORE!
November 19th at 7:30 PM (doors at 7; note early start time)
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

We're celebrating 4 years of sexy smut with a party and reading galore! Bringing back memoirists Lily Burana (I Love a Man in Uniform, Strip City) and Isobella Jade (Model Life, Almost 5'4"), Erica Kennedy (Feminista, Bling), Abiola Abrams (BET, author of Dare), Jennifer Peters (Penthouse Forum), Desiree (contributor, The Mile High Club) along with Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories contributors Tess Danesi and Rosalind Christine Lloyd. You will also hear from the organizers of the 2010 NYC Sex Blogger Calendar, which Tess and host Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Spanked, Bottoms Up) posed for! Copies of authors' books and the calendar will be for sale. 300 free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa will be served. Prize giveaways include: 24-karat gold vibrator Little Gold ($325 value) from JimmyJane, paddle and slapper from Extreme Restraints, $100 Babeland gift card from Beyond the Birds and the Bees, 2 copies of the 2010 Sex Blogger Calendar (featuring Tess, Rachel, Abiola and others), Abiola Abrams' novel Dare, XXX porn film Afrodite Superstar and hot word game SexySlang.

Jonathan Ames reading "Womb Shelter" at In The Flesh Reading Series

2009-11-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

There are dozens of videos from past In The Fleshes up (sadly, not so much from our first year) so I will be sharing some of them here as we celebrate the 4-year anniversary of the reading series New York Press just named Best Reading Series!

Here's noted author and the man behind the show Bored to Death, Jonathan Ames, reading from "Womb Shelter" from Stephen Elliott's anthology Sex for America: Politically-Inspired Erotica.

Sex and Food Night is January 21st

2009-11-04T09:32:00.001-08:00

There may be another addition to the lineup, and I'm hoping to be able to serve mini hot dogs and other fun snacks. A great way to ring in 2010! Lineup for December 19th's Sex and Religion Night is now posted!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
SEX AND FOOD NIGHT
January 21 at 8:00 PM (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

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). 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, 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.

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

2010 Theme Nights

2009-11-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

I have some great things planned for 2010! Trust me, the lineups are spectacular, and I'm honored to have so many authors from around the country joining us. The November 19th 4-year anniversary event is going to be amazing as well, and December 17th is Sex and Religion Night - lineup announced very soon.

Lineups are being finalized but themes are:

January 21 - Sex and Food Night

February 18 - Love and Lust Night

March 18 - BDSM Night

April 15 - True Sex Confessions Night

May 20 - Nerd Sex Night

June 17 - GLBT Night

4-year anniversary blowout bash and reading November 19th

2009-10-19T17:41:00.001-07:00

This Molly Crabapple-drawn In The Flesh logo will be on a dozen special cupcakes for the early birds!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
4-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, SPANKING STORIES, SEX BLOGGER CALENDAR & MORE!
November 19th at 7:30 PM (doors at 7; note early start time)
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

We're celebrating 4 years of sexy smut with a party and reading galore! Bringing back memoirists Lily Burana (I Love a Man in Uniform, Strip City) and Isobella Jade (Model Life, Almost 5'4"), Erica Kennedy (Feminista, Bling), Abiola Abrams (BET, author of Dare), Jennifer Peters (Penthouse Forum), Desiree (contributor, The Mile High Club) along with Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories contributors Tess Danesi and Rosalind Christine Lloyd. You will also hear from the organizers of the 2010 NYC Sex Blogger Calendar, which Tess and host Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Spanked, Bottoms Up) posed for! Copies of authors' books and the calendar will be for sale. 300 free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa will be served. Prize giveaways include: 24-karat gold vibrator Little Gold ($325 value) from JimmyJane, paddle and slapper from Extreme Restraints, $100 Babeland gift card from Beyond the Birds and the Bees, 2 copies of the 2010 Sex Blogger Calendar (featuring Tess, Rachel, Abiola and others), Abiola Abrams' novel Dare, XXX porn film Afrodite Superstar and hot word game SexySlang.

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.

Once upon a fabulous time Abiola Abrams was raised by Guyanese royalty in a gorgeous suburban ghetto of New York City, appropriately called the "Queens County." These are her chronicles: Dare is her first novel, and her writing is featured in the anthologies Dirty Words, Behind the Bedroom Door and A Memory A Monologue A Rant & A Prayer. Abiola's films range from Knives in My Throat, about mental illness, to Afrodite Superstar, about sexuality. She has hosted shows for BET, HBO and NBC and is now also a host-producer of The Planet Abiola Show. Recently audiences enjoyed watching Abiola get her dating game together as "Miss Picky" on VH1's Drew Barrymore-produced hit reality series Tough Love.
www.abiolatv.com

Lily Burana is a punk rock girl turned writer and editor. Since starting her writing life as a columnist and editor at punk and alternative 'zines, she has gone on to write for The Washington Post, GQ, The New York Times, Self, Glamour, Entertainment Weekly, Details, The Village Voice, The New York Observer, and others. She has been a Contributing Editor at SPIN and New York magazines. Lily married an active-duty Army officer in 2002. Her latest book, I Love a Man in Uniform: A Memoir of Love, War, and Other Battles (Weinstein Books, 2009) was inspired by the overwhelming response she received to her writing about the domestic side of military affairs--a Slate Diary and a New York Times Op-Ed. Her first non-fiction book, Strip City: A Stripper's Farewell Journey Across America (Miramax Books, 2001) made Best of the Year lists in Entertainment Weekly, Salon, New York Newsday, and Rocky Mountain News.
Lily Burana

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

Often based on her own explorations in the world of D/s and BDSM, Tess Danesi explores the darker side of erotica, writing with raw honesty about that shadowy area where pain becomes pleasure and pleasure pain. Tess has been published in several anthologies including Pleasure Bound by Alison Tyler, Do Not Disturb and Bottoms Up by Rachel Kramer Bussel as well as in Time Out New York. CarnalNation.com generously sends her amazing sex toys to review and she can often be found testing them in her high tech masturbation testing facility aka the office ladies room. In between all that and her actual job, for two years running, she’s produced the NYC Sex Blogger Calendar which raises funds for Sex Work Awareness. She blogs about life, death and everything in between at Urban Gypsy (http://nyc-urban-gypsy.blogspot.com).

Desiree is a brainy, sexy, foodie, geeky, writer chick from New York. She lives in Brooklyn with her vampire cat Snarf and has always had an inclination toward the naughty. She never backs down from a Scrabble challenge and once scored seventy six points with the word "clitoris." Her dirty stories have been published in anthologies such as Lust Chronicles and The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories and her musings about sex have appeared in the Huffington Post and The Frisky. She blogs about love, sex, and life at www.baserinstincts.com. For general info on her antics or to find out where to read her stuff, check out www.desireemoodie.com.

Isobella Jade is known as one of the tiniest working models out there. She is also the author of Almost 5’4”, her modeling memoir. In early November her graphic novel Model Life: The Journey of a Pint Size Fashion Warrior debuts. Daily Isobella gives modeling insight and advice on being a shorter-than-average model on her blog, and despite her height she has used what she does have and has modeled for Marshalls, Victoria's Secret, Easy Spirit, Macy’s, Bon Appétit, TLC, Univision, MTV, Women's World, and many, many others. Her story and advocating has been featured in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Allure.com, Page Six, Ad Age, The New York Post, WSJ, Nylon, Mediabistro.
www.isobelladreams.com

Thanks to the aggressive heroine of her second novel, Feminista, Publisher's Weekly as called Erica Kennedy "the pioneer of bitch lit". She is also a screenwriter and blogger who began her writing career by blindly pitching and selling a humor piece on why women love to hate Gwyneth Paltrow to the New York Daily News women's section where she became a frequent contributor. She has written celebrity profiles and style pieces for In Style, Vibe, Paper and UK Elle. She blogs about pop culture and all things FEM at The Feminista Files (thefeministafiles.blogspot.com/).

Rosalind Christine Lloyd is a contemporary fiction and erotica writer (and occasional poet, journalist and music reviewer) whose work has appeared in over fifteen anthologies. She currently has two novels in progress, is working on a compilation of her published short fiction and has one completed screenplay. She lives downtown with her queer version of a nuclear family.
http://rosalindchristinelloyd.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Peters is the associate editor of Penthouse Forum and Girls of Penthouse and a contributing editor to Penthouse Magazine. Her work has appeared in several places under numerous names, but her favorite bylines use her real name. Those rare works have appeared in Forum, Penthouse and Rachel Kramer Bussel's Peep Show anthology.

You'll be hearing readings from these books:

Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories

Model Life: The Journey of a Pint-Size Fashion Warrior

I Love a Man in Uniform

Giveaways include (more TK):

24-karat gold Little Gold vibrator courtesy of JimmyJane

From Extreme Restraints:

Strict Leather Black Fraternity Paddle

12" Slapper With Holes

$100 Babeland gift card from Beyond the Birds and the Bees

SexySlang word game

XXX porn film Afrodite Superstar

Abiola Abrams' novel Dare

We're giving away 2 copies of the calendar!

Sex and Comedy Night group photo

2009-10-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

So many little birdies told me that Sex and Comedy Night was a hit! THANK YOU to Carolyn Castiglia for being guest host, to all the readers/performers, to Gloria, Tess and Diva for helping and everyone who came out!

You can see more photos in this Flickr set and video will be coming soon. And don't miss November 19th!

L to R: Shayna Ferm, Carolyn Castiglia, Marty Beckerman, Shawn Hollenbach, Margot Leitman, Mindy Raf, Dan Hirshon, Megan Carpentier.

Taken at Sex and Comedy Night at In The Flesh Reading Series, October 15, 2009. Photo by Anya Garrett.

Tonight's Sex and Comedy reading details and more thanks

2009-10-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

Also big thanks to MurphGuide and The Skint for listing tonight's reading (bookmark them both!).

Yes, we are having our first guest host while I'm in San Francisco for Litquake. I promise you LOTS and LOTS of laughter! Please come out and show Carolyn and everyone else how funny sex can be!

And yes, OF COURSE, there will be free cupcakes! 200 free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa, in fact! So picture the photo above, times two, but be warned - they go fast.

In the ultra swanky, sexy former massage parlor that is Happy Ending Lounge:

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
SEX AND COMEDY NIGHT
October 15th at 8 PM (doors at 7; we recommend arriving by 7:30 for 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

Sex and Comedy Night is back with guest host Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, Funniest Mom in America) filling in for Rachel Kramer Bussel. Featuring comedians Seth Herzog (Sweet), Dan Hirshon (Lampshades and Ottomans), Shayna Ferm, Shawn Hollenbach (Miss Fag Hag Pageant), Margot Leitman (Stripped Stories) and Mindy Raf (Best Night Ever), as well as writers Marty Beckerman (Dumbocracy) and Megan Carpentier. 200 free cupcakes from 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. 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.

Marty Beckerman, 26, is the author of Dumbocracy, Generation S.L.U.T. and Death to All Cheerleaders. He has written for Playboy, Discover, Huffington Post, New York Press, mediabistro and The Daily Beast, and has been featured by the New York Times, Gawker, MSNBC, ABCNews.com, Salon.com and National Public Radio. Christian Lander, bestselling author of Stuff White People Like, said of Dumbocracy: "Beckerman uses the deft and subtle touch of a sledgehammer. If you can read this entire book without being offended, then there is a good chance that you are illiterate. If you can read this entire book and not enjoy it, then there's a good chance you take yourself too seriously."
www.martybeckerman.com

Megan Carpentier is a freelance writer and a former editor of Jezebel.com whose work has also been published in The Daily Beast, Glamour and Ms.

chaoticmegan.blogspot.com

Carolyn Castiglia has been seen and heard nationally on VH1, MTV2, NBC's Last Comic Standing, Nick-at-Nite's Funniest Mom in America, The Maury Show, ABC World News with Charles Gibson and Sirius/XM Radio. She performs stand-up all over New York, in both alternative venues and mainstream clubs. Internationally she's appeared at the Comedy Cafe in Amsterdam and most recently at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she filmed a pilot for BBC3 with Brown Eyed Boy called Laughter Shock, showcasing the 14 edgiest International stand-ups at the Fringe. Her solo show, Brown Ambition, has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theatres and premiered at Ars Nova. Her joke writing has appeared in Time Out New York, the New York Post and The Idiot's Guide to Jokes. http://carolyncastiglia.blogspot.com

photo by Anya Garrett

Shayna Ferm performs solo, with her band and also with her sketch comedy group, Fearsome, at music and comedy venues all over NYC. Her band, "Shayna Ferm and the Upper Deckers" released their first album, Blonde, last year. She is currently working on a video project for one of her latest hits.
www.shaynaferm.com

Seth Herzog has been a professional actor since elementary school and performing stand up since the 5th grade talent show. After doing a lot of theater as a youth (and 5 summers at Stagedoor Manor), he found stand up again once he moved back to NY in 1994, and since than has a been a vital force in the thriving downtown scene. He's the creator and producer of Sweet, a long running, popular show at the Slipper Room. Sweet has hosted some of the greatest talents in the country, along with his Mom. On the big screen, Seth has appeared the films, Role Models, The Ten, The Baxter, Safe Men, In the Weeds and upcoming The Winning Season. On the small screen, Seth has been a regular pop culture pundit on VH1's Best Week Ever and All Access series for the last 5 years. Also, he's had some memorable turns on Comedy Central's "The Chappelle Show" & "Stella" as well as, CBS's Love Monkey, E! #1 Single, and AMC's Date Night.

Though incapable of doing his own laundry, Dan Hirshon is able to leave audiences in hysterics. Since taking the spotlight in Boston's Theater District several years ago Dan has performed at the Boston and Las Vegas Comedy Festivals, co-written and produced the sketch comedy album, Lampshades and Ottomans, and shared secrets about his traumatic childhood with strangers from Maine to South Africa. If you are looking to laugh or just looking for a 90-pound basket case with a Jewfro who dresses like a seventh grader, then you'll love Dan.

Shawn Hollenbach is a New York based stand-up comedian, improv actor and songwriter. You may have seen him on Logo's Gayest Week Ever or hear him occasionally on The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirus/XM's OutQ Radio. He has been featured on two episodes of Hot Gay Comics Live on here! TV and was the host of a celebrity video podcast, Busted. Shawn is the producer of Closet Cases, a Critics' Pick for Time Out NY and a Homo Must for HX Magazine. He was the creator and co-producer of the Miss Fag Hag Pageant featuring Caroline Rhea, Hedda Lettuce and Michael Musto. He also co-produces The Back Room at Comix Ochi's Lounge and The Skip and Sparkle Variety Show as Skip Lickdale with Katina Corrao. Shawn has also been on the Comedy Central at Crash Mansion Showcase and has performed with the Funny Gay Males 20th Anniversary Show at Gotham Comedy Club.
www.shawnhollenbach.com

Margot Leitman’s off beat, brutally honest, fearless comedy has earned her two ECNY “Best Female Stand Up” nominations and the “Joke of the Week” in Time Out New York. Margot now regularly appears as various characters, including the cult favorite Gynoblast on Late Night With Conan O’ Brien, in addition to appearances on VH1’s Best Week Ever, ESPN’s Cheap Seats, AMC, the Style Network, E!, Comedy Central, MTV and NBC Broadband. Most recently she can be heard as the voice of “Fox” on the new Spike TV cartoon The Team, as a featured comedian on Comedy Central.com’s Weekly Evil, and dancing in the current Mohegan Sun ad campaign. Every month she and Giulia Rozzi co-host the wildly popular, monthly, sex-themed storytelling show Stripped Stories. Margot has been featured in Glamour magazine, and the books Fifty Dates Worse Than Yours and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Jokes. She has written online for the Lifetime Network, College Humor.com, EHow.com and in print for Playgirl magazine.
www.margotleitman.com

Mindy Raf has appeared regularly on VH1's Best Night Ever, and has contributed her comedy and voiceover work for WACB, The Daily Comedy Network, and Embraceyourgrace.com. Mindy also authored a widely-read relationship column on College Humor.com that has been featured in The New Yorker and the New York Post. Mindy performs stand-up and musical comedy as well as sketch characters all over New York, in both alternative venues and mainstream clubs. Her most popular character being chick rocker/vegan activist Leibya (Labia) Rogers, who she played recently in her solo show Leibya Fair! Mindy is currently working on her first novel which is set to be published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin.
www.mindyraf.com

In The Flesh named Best Reading Series by Our Town

2009-10-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to New York City paper Our Town for this intelligent, observant writeup. It's an Upper East Side paper so I'm extra honored. Please come out, tonight and November 19th, and know there there are plenty of free cupcakes and it really is a fun environment. Running a free event is extremely important to me so I can't say, "If you don't have a good time, you get your money back," but that is the spirit. I love the energy the audience brings to In The Flesh and am so glad we can be a pleasant surprise to newcomers.

Best Reading Series: In The Flesh Reading Series
Third Thursday of every month at Happy Ending Lounge, 302 Broome St. (betw. Eldridge and Forsythe)
212-334-9676
Even though Happy Ending Lounge is most closely associated with its namesake series (which has picked up and moved to Joe’s Pub), there’s something a bit naughtier brewing at the Broome Street den of debauchery. Now in its fourth year, “In the Flesh,” hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel, features established and up-and-coming writers sharing their frank, funny, frisky tales of love and lust. Even more impressive: the series manages to do so—for the most part—without veering into creepy territory. Tension is cut by asking the audience to anonymously submit sexy secrets, and it doesn’t hurt that Bussel provides hundreds of cupcakes and not-to-be-missed miniature peanut butter cups to lull everyone into a sugar-induced sense of security. Normally we would avoid an erotic reading series like the plague, but after venturing down here to catch a friend reading her dirty dissertation, we were charmed by the humor of the readers and crowd and not at all displeased by the fact that everything we heard was actually—surprisingly—sexy. —BVB

Thanks to UrbanEye and Melena Ryzik

2009-10-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

Melena Ryzik of the must-read New York Times daily newsletter UrbanEye has once again listed In The Flesh! What does this mean? Get there early! Those 200 free cupcakes (scroll down for details) will be gone in a flash. Thanks!

Here's what she wrote:

Tonight, the In the Flesh readings series tackles something you should never do in bed: laugh. (Well, laugh at.) Comedians and writers will detail their funniest (intentionally or not) trysts, and you’ll get to snack on free cupcakes. Another thing you should probably not do in bed — unless you’re willing to share.

Visit The Skint for fun free NYC event listings

2009-10-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

For the 29 or 30 other days of the month you are not at In The Flesh, please make sure to visit The Skint for a wealth of free and cheap things to do. And no, they didn't ask me to post this. I discovered them when they independently linked to In The Flesh and was so impressed with the site; it reminded me of when I first moved here in 1996 and hardly knew anyone and didn't know where to go and was always looking for great events on a student budget. I still am, just have less time, but The Skint makes me want to make more time.

200 free cupcakes at Sex and Comedy Night this Thursday October 15th!

2009-10-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are having our first guest host while I'm in San Francisco for Litquake. I promise you LOTS and LOTS of laughter! Please come out and show Carolyn and everyone else how funny sex can be!

And yes, OF COURSE, there will be free cupcakes! 200 free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa, in fact! So picture the photo above, times two, but be warned - they go fast.

In the ultra swanky, sexy former massage parlor that is Happy Ending Lounge:

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
SEX AND COMEDY NIGHT
October 15th at 8 PM (doors at 7; we recommend arriving by 7:30 for 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

Sex and Comedy Night is back with guest host Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, Funniest Mom in America) filling in for Rachel Kramer Bussel. Featuring comedians Seth Herzog (Sweet), Dan Hirshon (Lampshades and Ottomans), Shayna Ferm, Shawn Hollenbach (Miss Fag Hag Pageant), Margot Leitman (Stripped Stories) and Mindy Raf (Best Night Ever), as well as writers Marty Beckerman (Dumbocracy) and Megan Carpentier. 200 free cupcakes from 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. 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.

Marty Beckerman, 26, is the author of Dumbocracy, Generation S.L.U.T. and Death to All Cheerleaders. He has written for Playboy, Discover, Huffington Post, New York Press, mediabistro and The Daily Beast, and has been featured by the New York Times, Gawker, MSNBC, ABCNews.com, Salon.com and National Public Radio. Christian Lander, bestselling author of Stuff White People Like, said of Dumbocracy: "Beckerman uses the deft and subtle touch of a sledgehammer. If you can read this entire book without being offended, then there is a good chance that you are illiterate. If you can read this entire book and not enjoy it, then there's a good chance you take yourself too seriously."
www.martybeckerman.com

Megan Carpentier is a freelance writer and a former editor of Jezebel.com whose work has also been published in The Daily Beast, Glamour and Ms.

chaoticmegan.blogspot.com

Carolyn Castiglia has been seen and heard nationally on VH1, MTV2, NBC's Last Comic Standing, Nick-at-Nite's Funniest Mom in America, The Maury Show, ABC World News with Charles Gibson and Sirius/XM Radio. She performs stand-up all over New York, in both alternative venues and mainstream clubs. Internationally she's appeared at the Comedy Cafe in Amsterdam and most recently at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she filmed a pilot for BBC3 with Brown Eyed Boy called Laughter Shock, showcasing the 14 edgiest International stand-ups at the Fringe. Her solo show, Brown Ambition, has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theatres and premiered at Ars Nova. Her joke writing has appeared in Time Out New York, the New York Post and The Idiot's Guide to Jokes. http://carolyncastiglia.blogspot.com

photo by Anya Garrett

Shayna Ferm performs solo, with her band and also with her sketch comedy group, Fearsome, at music and comedy venues all over NYC. Her band, "Shayna Ferm and the Upper Deckers" released their first album, Blonde, last year. She is currently working on a video project for one of her latest hits.
www.shaynaferm.com

Seth Herzog has been a professional actor since elementary school and performing stand up since the 5th grade talent show. After doing a lot of theater as a youth (and 5 summers at Stagedoor Manor), he found stand up again once he moved back to NY in 1994, and since than has a been a vital force in the thriving downtown scene. He's the creator and producer of Sweet, a long running, popular show at the Slipper Room. Sweet has hosted some of the greatest talents in the country, along with his Mom. On the big screen, Seth has appeared the films, Role Models, The Ten, The Baxter, Safe Men, In the Weeds and upcoming The Winning Season. On the small screen, Seth has been a regular pop culture pundit on VH1's Best Week Ever and All Access series for the last 5 years. Also, he's had some memorable turns on Comedy Central's "The Chappelle Show" & "Stella" as well as, CBS's Love Monkey, E! #1 Single, and AMC's Date Night.

Though incapable of doing his own laundry, Dan Hirshon is able to leave audiences in hysterics. Since taking the spotlight in Boston's Theater District several years ago Dan has performed at the Boston and Las Vegas Comedy Festivals, co-written and produced the sketch comedy album, Lampshades and Ottomans, and shared secrets about his traumatic childhood with strangers from Maine to South Africa. If you are looking to laugh or just looking for a 90-pound basket case with a Jewfro who dresses like a seventh grader, then you'll love Dan.

Shawn Hollenbach is a New York based stand-up comedian, improv actor and songwriter. You may have seen him on Logo's Gayest Week Ever or hear him occasionally on The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirus/XM's OutQ Radio. He has been featured on two episodes of Hot Gay Comics Live on here! TV and was the host of a celebrity video podcast, Busted. Shawn is the producer of Closet Cases, a Critics' Pick for Time Out NY and a Homo Must for HX Magazine. He was the creator and co-producer of the Miss Fag Hag Pageant featuring Caroline Rhea, Hedda Lettuce and Michael Musto. He also co-produces The Back Room at Comix Ochi's Lounge and The Skip and Sparkle Variety Show as Skip Lickdale with Katina Corrao. Shawn has also been on the Comedy Central at Crash Mansion Showcase and has performed with the Funny Gay Males 20th Anniversary Show at Gotham Comedy Club.
www.shawnhollenbach.com

Margot Leitman’s off beat, brutally honest, fearless comedy has earned her two ECNY “Best Female Stand Up” nominations and the “Joke of the Week” in Time Out New York. Margot now regularly appears as various characters, including the cult favorite Gynoblast on Late Night With Conan O’ Brien, in addition to appearances on VH1’s Best Week Ever, ESPN’s Cheap Seats, AMC, the Style Network, E!, Comedy Central, MTV and NBC Broadband. Most recently she can be heard as the voice of “Fox” on the new Spike TV cartoon The Team, as a featured comedian on Comedy Central.com’s Weekly Evil, and dancing in the current Mohegan Sun ad campaign. Every month she and Giulia Rozzi co-host the wildly popular, monthly, sex-themed storytelling show Stripped Stories. Margot has been featured in Glamour magazine, and the books Fifty Dates Worse Than Yours and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Jokes. She has written online for the Lifetime Network, College Humor.com, EHow.com and in print for Playgirl magazine.
www.margotleitman.com

Mindy Raf has appeared regularly on VH1's Best Night Ever, and has contributed her comedy and voiceover work for WACB, The Daily Comedy Network, and Embraceyourgrace.com. Mindy also authored a widely-read relationship column on College Humor.com that has been featured in The New Yorker and the New York Post. Mindy performs stand-up and musical comedy as well as sketch characters all over New York, in both alternative venues and mainstream clubs. Her most popular character being chick rocker/vegan activist Leibya (Labia) Rogers, who she played recently in her solo show Leibya Fair! Mindy is currently working on her first novel which is set to be published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin.
www.mindyraf.com

Susan Shapiro reads from Speed Shrinking at In The Flesh Reading Series

2009-10-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

Susan Shapiro read from her novel Speed Shrinking, about a woman who goes in search of a new therapist (like speed dating, but with shrinks) at the September 2009 In The Flesh Reading Series.

photo by Anya Garrett

Susan Shapiro, a Manhattan journalism professor, has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Newsweek, Salon.com, Daily Beast, The Forward, Village Voice, People, More, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. She's author of the nonfiction books: Only as Good as Your Word, Lighting Up, Secrets of a Fix-Up Fanatic and Five Men Who Broke My Heart, which was optioned for a feature film. Speed Shrinking is her fictional debut. She lives with her husband, a TV/film writer, in Greenwich Village, where she teaches her own "instant gratification takes too long" writing method at the New School, NYU and in private workshops and seminars.