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

Monday, October 05, 2009

“YOUR TITS ARE just as nice as they were when you were 15.”

If you want to read Jamie Peck's piece that she read at Quickies on Friday night, you can do so at New York Press. It opens with the title of this post...and gets better from there!

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Photos from Quickies: Short Erotica, October 2nd

I still owe you photos from September's In The Flesh, but for now, some photos from a spectacular, dare I say perfect, Quickies. All the readers were funny and powerful and got rave reviews from the crowd. The 100 free cupcakes went so quickly I will be getting 200 from now on (meaning October 15th at Sex and Comedy Night)! Thank you so much to all the readers who were so spectacular. Photos by Tess Danesi via Flickr.


John Bredin, Jamie Peck, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Diana Vilibert, Mark Becker – taken by Tess Danesi at Quickies: Short Erotica, October 2, 2009.


100 cupcakes from our sponsor Baked by Melissa (s'mores, tie dye, cinnamon and mint chocolate chip!)


Tess Danesi (who's reading her spanking story from Bottoms Up at our big 4-year anniversary reading/party November 19th) enjoys a cupcake

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Friday, October 02, 2009

100 free mini cupcakes tonight at Quickies, 7:30-8:30

I have room for 1-2 more readers, if you're interested, send bio and 6 minute writing sample to rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com with Quickies in the subject line. This is the last Quickies EVER, don't miss it!

FREE Baked by Melissa cupcakes and HOT readers!


FREE for you on Friday!

October 2, 7:30-8:30
QUICKIES: SHORT EROTICA
The final Quickies, in which readers have 6 minutes to wow the audience. Featuring Mark Becker, John Bredin, Jamie Peck,, and Diana Vilibert. Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Bottoms Up, Spanked, The Mile High Club). Free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa.
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, 21+ only
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.com

Mark Becker was born in Montreal and raised in New York and California. His first success as a writer came as a freshman at the University of Denver when he won an essay contest and had his work published in the school's freshman English textbook. He now writes and acts for the sketch comedy troupe Camp Wayne, which performs every month at the Broadway Comedy Club in Manhattan. Mark enjoys playing tennis, riding his bicycle, and people watching in this wonderful city.

John Bredin is a teacher, writer, and activist who is currently a Professor of English at CUNY's Inwood/ Washington Heights campus. His book SLURP: Sex Life Under Reconstruction Project--currently being serialized by Oysters & Chocolate--is equal parts humorous and scholarly. It also proposes a radical new erotic theory to expand safe sexual pleasure in the world. John's essays and stories have appeared in The Filipino Express, The Hudson Current, Slow Trains, Clean Sheets, and The Brooklyn Rail.

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

Jamie Peck is a freelance writer currently living and working in Brooklyn. She attended Columbia University, where she studied English, art history, and creative writing, wrote for the humor paper and the regular paper, and helped start Columbia's first student produced sexuality 'zine, Outlet. She has written for publications including Suicidegirls, The L Magazine, Impose Magazine, Citysearch, The New York Press, and Vice. She also enjoys bike riding, 80's prom dresses, awkward dancing, tinkering with recipes, drinking wine on her roof, and throwing house parties.

Diana Vilibert (www.diana-vilibert.com) is the web editor at Marie Claire, where she gets on her soapbox regularly to write about sex and dating for marieclaire.com. Her work has also appeared in CosmoGIRL!, nerve.com, thefrisky.com, and various other dot-coms. You can follow her quarter-life crisis at diana-vilibert.tumblr.com.

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Monday, September 28, 2009

Quickies: Short Erotica, Friday, October 2, 7:30-8:30 with FREE CUPCAKES!

Unless some major free time opens up in my schedule (ha ha ha ha ha!) this will be the last Quickies. FREE Baked by Melissa cupcakes and HOT readers!


FREE for you on Friday!

October 2, 7:30-8:30
QUICKIES: SHORT EROTICA
The final Quickies, in which readers have 6 minutes to wow the audience. Featuring Mark Becker, John Bredin, Jamie Peck, Deb Victoroff, and Diana Vilibert. Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Bottoms Up, Spanked, The Mile High Club). Free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa.
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, 21+ only
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.com

Mark Becker was born in Montreal and raised in New York and California. His first success as a writer came as a freshman at the University of Denver when he won an essay contest and had his work published in the school's freshman English textbook. He now writes and acts for the sketch comedy troupe Camp Wayne, which performs every month at the Broadway Comedy Club in Manhattan. Mark enjoys playing tennis, riding his bicycle, and people watching in this wonderful city.

John Bredin is a teacher, writer, and activist who is currently a Professor of English at CUNY's Inwood/ Washington Heights campus. His book SLURP: Sex Life Under Reconstruction Project--currently being serialized by Oysters & Chocolate--is equal parts humorous and scholarly. It also proposes a radical new erotic theory to expand safe sexual pleasure in the world. John's essays and stories have appeared in The Filipino Express, The Hudson Current, Slow Trains, Clean Sheets, and The Brooklyn Rail.

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

Jamie Peck is a freelance writer currently living and working in Brooklyn. She attended Columbia University, where she studied English, art history, and creative writing, wrote for the humor paper and the regular paper, and helped start Columbia's first student produced sexuality 'zine, Outlet. She has written for publications including Suicidegirls, The L Magazine, Impose Magazine, Citysearch, The New York Press, and Vice. She also enjoys bike riding, 80's prom dresses, awkward dancing, tinkering with recipes, drinking wine on her roof, and throwing house parties.

Deb Victoroff is a playwright with several well-received short plays under her belt. Her plays have been performed in Manhattan (at The Producer's Club, the Samuel French competition, and the Strawberry One Act Festival), in Brooklyn (at the Black Box Festival), at the Source Festival in Washington DC, and the First Stage in Los Angeles. Her play "Letter From a Soldier" was well received in Vancouver (a
review is here) where it was performed at the Walking Fish Festival and later at the Fringe Festival. The play also came in second (out of more than 200 submissions) in the New Works of Merit Competition out of Manhattan.

Diana Vilibert (www.diana-vilibert.com) is the web editor at Marie Claire, where she gets on her soapbox regularly to write about sex and dating for marieclaire.com. Her work has also appeared in CosmoGIRL!, nerve.com, thefrisky.com, and various other dot-coms. You can follow her quarter-life crisis at diana-vilibert.tumblr.com.

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Need readers for Quickies Friday, October 2nd

The next Quickies: Short Erotica, a night of short (6 minute) readings is Friday, October 2, from 7:30-8:30. I still need a few more readers. You and your piece can be published or not. Email me at rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com with "Quickies" in the subject line along with a bio and writing sample of what you would read. Same with In The Flesh - no pay but you do get a free drink ticket or two and the free cupcakes I shall be serving.

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Monday, September 07, 2009

What happened at Quickies

We had a huge number of readers (9!) on Friday night for Quickies, a Brazilian film crew, and a lot of fun! I have no idea if I have the time or energy for another quickies, so that may be the end (but In The Flesh is going strong), so pay attention/get a postcard/follow us on Facebook/Twitter (links at right). If you liked Melissa Febos's pee-filled excerpt from her forthcoming memoir Whip Smart, make sure you come back for BDSM Night March 18th! And obviously, don't miss superstar night at In The Flesh September 17th with Susan Shapiro, Amy Sohn, Joshua Lyon, Julie Metz, Kerry Cohen and Diana Joseph! (Seriously, you will kick yourself hard if you miss this.) And postcards are now in! Send your US mailing address to rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com with "ITF Postcard" in the subject if you want one. There are plenty!

Of course there were the usual 100 FREE Baked by Melissa cupcakes which were very quickly devoured!

Sorry about photo quality/scarcity, we may get some more in, this is a lowkey, no budget affair so, no real photos save for my iPhone.


Whip Smart author Melissa Febos whipped the night into shape with an excerpt about her first day as a pro domme.


Michelle Robinson read a supernatural (I think that's the right word) that scared me but was also very hot that will be published next year.


Jackson West proved that Sarah Palin erotica (his story is called "Sarah Palin: The Agony and the Ecstasy") is still timely. And Sarah Palin impersonator extraordinaire Sara Benincasa was in the audience!


Jackson West shot this photo of me in my paparazzi moment. We should have video at some point from the Brazilian TV crew, who also interviewed several readers.


Said Brazilian TV crew who asked amazing questions (ummm...yes, I have gotten spanked in the downstairs of Happy Ending and had phone sex outside the bar, though I didn't reveal quite all those details because really, you should come for the crazy hot readers and free snacks, not to hook up).

That being said, I spied a couple making out in a booth and I know that at least one set of people met that night and left together, so...make of that what you will.

Thanks to everyone who read, the TV crew, and Frank at Happy Ending for another fabulous night of smut. I even had one newcomer who I've been trying to get to read who I just may have convinced with this Quickies, so that's a coup.

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Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Friday 9/4 Quickies = Sarah Palin erotica, sex toy stories, Sheia Levine, dominatrix memoir and more!

September 4, 7:30-8:30
QUICKIES: SHORT EROTICA
Readers have six minutes to turn you on with erotica and true sex stories. Featuring Jackson West reading Sarah Palin erotica, Melissa Febos reading from her dominatrix memoir Whip Smart, Madlyn March reading from the classic Gail Parent novel Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York (see cover below), comedian Kelli Dunham, erotica writer Michelle Robinson, TheFrisky.com columnist John DeVore, and Rocco Ernest Privetera. Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Bottoms Up, Spanked, The Mile High Club). Free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa.
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, 21+ only
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676


Madlyn March will read two short scenes from this classic novel by Gail Parent, Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York.


plus 100 free cupcakes from Baked by Melissa

Kelli Dunham (www.kellidunham.com) is everyone's favorite ex nun dorky boi-girl comic. She is also the author of four books of humorous nonfiction and a contributor to numerous anthologies. Despite being almost middle-aged, she has never once waited for a bus at Port Authority without being challenged by the truancy police.

Melissa Febos is the author of the memoir Whip Smart, forthcoming from St. Martin’s Press in 2010. Her writing has been featured in The Southeast Review, Redivider, The Rambler, Storyscape Journal, Bitch Magazine, and Smut Magazine, among many 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, and lives in Brooklyn. More information about her can be found at melissafebos.com.

Madlyn March is the pseudonym of a Brooklyn journalist who has had articles published in The New York Post, Self, Time Out New York, Parenting, and AfterEllen, to name but a few. Erotica credits include First-Timers, Spanked, Ultimate Lesbian Erotica 2009, Do Not Disturb, and the e-book Love Notes.

Rocco Ernest Privetera started in NYC ten years ago doing comedy and theater, and now performs adult improv and tells his own ribald storytelling. He plays piano for friends comedy shows, enjoys scandalizing his siblings with filthy web videos and tells stories about the things that fascinate him: food, sex, science, and birds.

Michelle Janine Robinson is the author of three novels being published by Simon & Schuster; Color Me Grey, More Than Meets The Eye and Serial Typical. Michelle's short story "Mi Destino" was included in Zane's New York Times Bestseller Caramel Flava and her short story contribution "The Quiet Room" was the first featured story in the Times Bestseller Succulent: Chocolate Flava II. Michelle has contributed to other anthologies, such as Purple Panties, with the story she wrote titled “Hailey's Orgasmic Splendor” and Honey Flava with the story "The Flow of Qi. "Michelle is also a contributor to the oral sex-themed anthology, Tasting Him, with her story “A Tongue Is Just A Tongue,” edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel.

Jackson West is trying to get over himself and write more fiction. Until then, his non-fiction work and attempts at oversharing can be found on jacksonwest.com, a veritable firehose of online nonsense.

And look what you can win - so appropriately, we'll have a copy of Wicked Quickies to give away!

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Friday, August 21, 2009

More Quickies: Short Erotica September 4, one hour

As you may know, Quickies is an offshoot of In The Flesh, held on Friday nights for a short sweet hour of 7:39-8:30. The next one is Friday, September 4th, kicking off Labor Day weekend, at Happy Ending Lounge, 302 Broome Street, NYC.

Readers include Jackson West reading Sarah Palin erotica, comedian Kelli Dunham, erotica writer Michelle Robinson, and blogger/writer Diana Vilibert.

Still booking readers - email a 6-minute sample to rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com if you're interested.

Free (21+) and free snacks!

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Friday, August 07, 2009

Bonus reading Quickies TONIGHT 7:30-8:30!! Free books!

Can't get enough In The Flesh? Come out tonight for the first (of many or none remains to be seen) Quickies: Short Erotica. Readers have 6 minutes to wow us.

Please come hear me, Stephanie Schroeder, Dana Rossi, Fidencia Solomon, Rachael Nachtway and others tonight, 7:30-8:30 at Happy Ending Lounge, for the debut (and perhaps, denouement, if that's the right word) of Quickies! It's an offshoot of In The Flesh Reading Series and readers have 6 minutes to read.

TONIGHT!! Friday, August 7th
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

Because I suck, I have done zero publicity so the first 5 attendees I will give a copy of my new book Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories and there will be free food.

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