Watch me interview Joanna Angel on Tuesday, February 9

At the start of 2021, I made some professional goals for myself, and one was to be asked to do an "in conversation with" interview with an author for a bookstore. I had been asked once over the last few years, but it was in New York and would have required five hours of bus travel, and that didn't really make sense for my schedule. But with the rise of virtual book events, I'm thrilled to say that on Tuesday, February 9, 2021, from 8-9 p.m. ET (5-6 p.m. PT), I'll be interviewing the amazing Joanna Angel of Burning Angel fame about her new choose-your-own erotic fantasy novel Club 42 for Culvery City, California romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice. Click their name to RSVP; the event is free. And I guess I manifested really well because I'm actually going two interviews in February. My next interview will take place on 22 at 5 pm EST, not for a bookstore but for the amazing women over 40 community The Woolfer. I'll be interviewing Tracy Clark-Flory, whose journalism you probably know from Jezebel or other outlets, about her debut memoir, Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey Into the Heart of Desire for The Woolfer TV. You can watch it live or it'll be recorded for their site and YouTube channel.



Club 42 will be published that day from Cleis Press, as will my kinky anthology, Best Bondage Erotica of the Year, Volume 2. Joanna contributed her super sexy story "One Last Gangbang" to my anthology Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5, and all those books will be for sale from The Ripped Bodice that night (or are available for pre-order or order now), including copies of Club 42 signed by Joanna as well as my Best Bondage Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 and Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5. You can also pick up her first choose-your-own eortic fantasy novel Night Shift from The Ripped Bodice. Here's more detail about what to expect from Club 42.

Naomi, a proud Brooklyn hipster, finds her life is forever changed when she gets fired from her barista job and wanders into a strip club called Club 42. On a whim, Naomi auditions to become a dancer and what happens next . . . is up to you!

Join Naomi as she works the day shift at a Manhattan club where patrons sip on carrot juice instead of beer. From learning the art of the lap dance to giving her ex the “extras” in the VIP room, there’s more to learn here than she ever learned in college. Should she tell her partner—the dreamy, broke musician who is unofficially squatting in her apartment—about her job, or should she learn to lead a double life between two boroughs? Should she experiment with moonlighting as a Dominatrix, or stay in the strip club and submit to her newest crush, exploring her sexuality and her newfound love for exhibitionism as she twerks her way into a new tax bracket? It’s all up to YOU, so grab your stilettos, turn up the early-2000s dance hits, and guide Naomi through this nonstop naked adventure in the city that never sleeps!

Free books for life giveaway and Book Angel program helping kids in need

My November articles (so far) for Forbes.com are below, where I've been covering all things books, publishing, libraries, authors, literary agents, book clubs and more since November 2018, are about some cool things independent bookstores are doing. You can follow me there so you don't miss anything, and I'm now working on January 2021 articles and beyond, so if you're a book publicist, editor, agent, bookseller, librarian or book club organizer or anyone else doing something new and unique in the book world, feel free to pitch me (rachelkb at gmail dot com with "Forbes" in the subject line).

Having this beat has totally changed my freelance writing career and given me a great way to focus my interests, and cover books for other outlets like Publishers Weekly and Washington Post Book World.

Here are two articles I hope you'll appreciate. You can nominate someone to WIN A BOOK A MONTH FOR LIFE from London, UK bookstore Heywood Hill through Sunday, November 8, and you can donate a book to a child in need with Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, New York, either in person or online. More details in the pieces.

"Why UK Bookstore Heywood Hill Is Giving Away A Book A Month For Life"





"Bookstore’s Book Angel Program Ensures Kids In Need Receive Books For The Holidays"

See you Thursday in Chicago and Friday in LA for my Best Women's Erotica Galentine's and Valentine's Day book tour!

A reminder that this week I'm doing two Best Women's Erotica of the Year events as part of my February book tour: Thursday, February 13 (Galentine's Day), 7 pm in Chicago at Women and Children First (there will be a photo booth, book cover cookies and hot chocolate plus free stickers and lube and sex toy giveaways) and Friday, February 14 at 7:30 pm (Valentine's Day) in Los Angeles at Skylight Books! Free! Open to all genders! See you soon! Can't make it? Tell your friends. This is my last hurrah book tour before I become a homebody next year so I'm going all out!

Want a FREE I read sexy books sticker? Come and get 'em on my Best Women's Erotica book tour!

I got these beautiful new I read sexy books holographic stickers made just for you and will be giving them away at all my book events this year and in my February newsletter. If you're not subscribed, get on my mailing list so you can enter to win!



Here's where I'll be handing them out next! If you're not in these cities but know anyone who is, let them know and they can snag a sticker for you. We will even have a PHOTO BOOTH(!!!) by Glitter Guts at the Chicago reading and party! I've included the Facebook event pages for Chicago and LA as well as the bookstore links in case you want to easily invite anyone.

2020 Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5 Book Tour
sponsored by überlube and Le Wand

February 13, 7 pm, free
Best Women's Erotica Chicago reading and Valentine's party

Join editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors to Best Women's Erotica of the Year Volume 4 and 5 Kathleen Delaney-Adams, Lauren Emily, Jayne Renault, Sierra Simone and Suleikha Snyder for a pre-Valentine's Day reading and book signing at feminist bookstore Women and Children First. Free book cover cookies and stickers will be given out. Party with PHOTO BOOTH to follow! Lube and sex toy giveaways by sponsors überlube and Le Wand. Open to the public. Wheelchair accessible. Refreshments will be served.



Women and Children First, 5233 N. Clark St. Chicago, Illinois, 773-769-9299, wcfbooks at gmail.com
Facebook event page

February 14, 7:30 pm, free
Valentine's Day Best Women's Erotica Los Angeles reading

Join editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Joanna Angel, Lauren Emily, CD Reiss, Jayne Renault and Sabrina Sol for a Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5 reading and book signing in LA (Los Feliz). Free stickers will be given out. Lube and sex toy giveaways by sponsors überlube and Le Wand. Open to the public.

There is a paid public parking lot behind Skylight Books, and street parking. There are no stairs whatsoever to the event space and Skylight Books has a one-person, gender-neutral restroom. Should guests attending the event require any additional disability access such as ASL interpretation during the event, please email events at skylightbooks.com with those needs and they will be happy to accommodate them.

Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, 323-660-1175, events at skylightbooks.com
Facebook event page



September 12, 7:30 pm, free
Best Women's Erotica of the Year reading

Series editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors to Best Women’s Erotica of the Year Volumes 3 and 5 Alexa J .Day, Kathleen Delaney-Adams, and Annabel Joseph will read, answer questions and sign books.

Charis Books & More, 184 S. Candler Street, Decatur, GA, 404-524-0304, info at charisbooksandmore.com

Read my new Forbes article if you dream of opening a bookstore

In case it relates to your New Year's plans (or future business plans or retirement plans), I wrote about how to open an independent bookstore over at Forbes.com. I interviewed owners of four recently opened independent bookstores, including two going the popup store route, about their career paths, steps and advice.



Hope you find it useful (and if so, I'd love if you shared it). I have lots more articles in the works relevant to authors, such as a few about how to get book deals (here's one I already did about getting published based on your Instagram account), so stay tuned.

You can follow me at Forbes after you make an account there to receive an email when a new articles posts. I write 5-7 per month. This has been a wonderful addition to my freelance writing, especially since I started in November after a year in which I had very few other writing gigs. I get to learn from authors, editors, publishers and bookstore owners, and generally geek out about books. If you're an editor, publishers, publicist or literary agent with an idea for an article you'd like to pitch me, or a standout title and why it's newsworthy, email me at rachelkb at gmail.com with "Forbes" in the subject line. Note that I cover publishing news and trends, and generally not individual titles or series unless something about them makes them stand out, like you can draw on the covers.

Bookstores' Most Wanted Books for 2019

For Forbes.com, I wrote about the 10 books that independent bookstores are most excited about for 2019. They include new work by Margaret Atwood (the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, Marlon James, Pam Houston, Helen Oyeyemi and debuts by Dana Czapnik and Stephanie Land, among other books. Obviously, I didn't have time or room to survey all indie bookstores but I tried for a good cross section of ones across the U.S.

See you tomorrow February 13 at our Galentine's Day Washington, DC Best Women's Erotica reading

I've been remiss in posting here due to a rush of deadlines and getting ready for my Washington, DC reading. It's tomorrow night, Galentine's Day, Tuesday, February 13 at 7 pm at bookstore Politics and Prose at The Wharf. There's also a Mardi Gras parade at 6 at the Wharf you can check out beforehand. If you know anyone in DC, please please please let them know! Here's an easy to use Facebook event page where you can share the details.



You may not be aware but readings take up a lot of time and energy and money (though thankfully in this case I had points for Amtrak and my hotel room). That's why as of now it's my only one for this book so I am hoping with every fiber of my being that we have a big turnout. That's also something I feel I owe my authors, several of whom are reading for the first time ever. Just typing that takes me back to my first reading way back in 2011!

I wish I were independently wealthy and could do readings everywhere in the world my authors are located. But in the real world, I do what I can, and doing at least one reading for each of these Best Women's Erotica books, aka, the highlight of my erotic editing career, is what I can offer. I truly believe that erotica isn't just meant to live on the page, but to be alive in the way it can only be by being heard out loud. So that's what we'll be doing tomorrow, along with dishing about writing and publishing. I'll even be sharing the theme for Volume 5, so if you attend you'll know it a few weeks in advance! See you soon! p.s. I no longer drink so will probably be a bundle of nerves, but I'll be wearing red to mask them (and because it's the night before Valentine's Day). If you can't make it, follow bestwomenseroticaofyearseries on Instagram for photos and stories throughout the day and evening (yes, I'm a superstar in choosing social media handles - NOT).

See you soon in Baltimore, New York and Jersey City for the Best Women's Erotica book tour!

This past week I've been home after our wonderful Best Women's Erotica of the Year book tour kickoff in Los Angeles has flown by, so I'll keep this short and sweet: I'm hitting the road again Thursday in Baltimore at sex toy store Sugar, then heading to amazing Lower East Side bookstore Bluestockings in New York on Saturday (where I organized my very first reading for my very first short story way back in either 2000 or 2001 - it's been so long I can't remember!) and then Monday, Galentine's Day, our panel on women, writing and erotica at WORD Bookstore in Jersey City. You'll get free baked goods in Baltimore, the first 24 people will get a free cupcake from my favorite NYC bakery Sugar Sweet Sunshine, and at WORD on Monday we will be raffling off a bag full of sexy goodies from Brooklyn sex toy store Shag! All the details are below - plus at each we will be dishing on the inspiration behind our stories and answering all your burning questions about how to get published, pseudonyms and anything else you want to ask! And we will sign your book to you (or as a gift) if you are looking for a sexy Valentine's Day present.

And I do have a favor - these readings are funded and organized entirely by me, and while they are something I hope to continue in future years, I can only budget for that if we get good turnouts. So if you know anyone in the Washington, DC/Baltimore or NYC/Jersey City areas who might like an evening of free sexy entertainment as we lead up to Valentine's Day, please let them know. All the details and links are at bweoftheyear.com/events or the individual store links below. I'm thrilled that I get to hear my amazing authors and support these wonderful independent stores.

February 9, 6:30 pm
Best Women's Erotica of the Year reading
Join Best Women's Erotica of the Year series editor Rachel Kramer Bussel along with contributors to Volumes 1 and 2 including Abigail Ekue, Annabeth Leong, Jordan Monroe, D.R. Slaten for a rousing reading, followed by a Q&A and book signing. You'll hear some of the sexiest stories around starring women characters who travel the world in search of satisfaction, and find out what it takes to be successful in the thriving erotica genre. Light refreshments will be served. Free. Wheelchair accessible.
Sugar, 1001 W. 36th Street (corner of 36th and Roland Ave.), Baltimore (Hampden), 410-467-2632
Facebook event page



February 11, 7 pm
Best Women's Erotica of the Year Volume 2 reading
Join editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Ella Dawson, Abigail Ekue, Annabeth Leong, Stella Watts Kelley and Vierra Lai for a rousing reading from hot new anthology Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2. The authors will participate in a Q&A and book signing immediately following the reading. Free. Wheelchair accessible. Free cupcakes to first 24 guests.
Bluestockings, 172 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002, 212-777-6028
Nearest subways: F to 2nd Avenue, J/M/Z to Essex Street, B/D to Grand Street
Facebook event page




Can you really resist a free cupcake?

February 13, 7:30 pm
Galentine’s Day women, erotica and writing panel
Join editor Best Women's Erotica of the Year series editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and BWE Volume 2 contributors Abigail Ekue, Stella Watts Kelley, Vierra Lai, and Annabeth Leong for a fun Galentine's Day panel on erotica, writing and culture. We'll chat about what makes a story sexy, the writing process, how to get published, and the cultural impact of writing stories that reflect a wide range of women's experiences. Free. Wheelchair accessible. Win a sexy Temptation bag from sex toy store Shag in our raffle.
WORD, 123 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ, 201-763-6611
Facebook event page



One lucky winner will take home a prize worth $56 from Williamsburg, Brooklyn sex toy store Shag, which contains Temptation bag (see below), Shag mini massage candle, clothespins for sensation play, Shag coffee mug and a $10 gift certificate to Shag.

Visiting 4 Boston bookstores in 24 hours

After my brief but fun August family trip in Cape Cod, I tacked on a 36-hour trip to Boston. Mainly, I wanted to visit bookstores. Why? Two reasons. One, I love books, and two, I wanted sing the praises of the Best Women's Erotica of the Year series, both supporting the bookstores that have stocked Volume 1 (Volume 2 pubs December 13th) and asking other stores if they would consider carrying it.

My original plan was to visit 6-7 Boston area bookstores but with my limited time, I wound up going to four: Porter Square Books and Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, Brookline Booksmith in Brookline and Papercuts J.P. in Jamaica Plain. All of them I follow on social media, but that doesn't tell you precisely what it feels like to walk around a bookstore, to take in its energy and color and arrangements. I got to see how they shelved their romance and erotica and other categories and simply got a feel for what books they value. I can say with certainty that if I lived in Boston, I would shop at all of these stores on a regular basis. I'm so glad I got to browse and shop at these stores; I bought one or two books at each, because I think I have a much better chance of getting a store to listen to me if I'm also a customer, not to mention the fact that they all had amazing books.

When I'm going to have time for my giant to read stack, I'm not sure, but I will find the time by the end of the year. I sometimes walk around my neighborhood with a book in front of my face so I can multitask (yes, it's safe, I don't go in areas where there's lots of car traffic). During my trip, I also saw some wonderful art at the ICA museum. If I go back, I'll visit some of the ones I missed.

Here are the stores in the order in which I visited them.

Porter Square Books was a wonderful Cambridge bookstore that had an interesting Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump display. I bought the essay collection Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole.







Harvard Book Store - I'd been eager to visit this bookstore, in part because I applied to Harvard for undergrad and got rejected, in part because I've enjoyed Cambridge and Harvard Square the times I've visited, and in part because online they seem like they have a lot of erotica. I could have spent much more time here browsing their shelves. I liked that they had romances by authors such as Sonali Dev and Sarah MacLean, among others, and several other Cleis Press titles in their romance classics and erotica section, including my beloved BWE anthology! I bought the YA novel Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy.









Brookline Booksmith - this was a store I also wanted to visit because I knew they stocked my book which interestingly enough is in the sexuality section alongside titles like The Joy of Sex, science and sex book Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski and The Ultimate Guide to Solo Sex by Jenny Block. I loved the layout and design (and it's right down the street from Good Vibrations and pizzeria Otto, which I know from my Portland, Maine visits). I bought the novel Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck because it's set in Berlin and I'm planning to make my first trip there next spring. After the sex books are some funny titles they had by the counter, including Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores and the excellently titled Women Who Read Are Dangerous.













Papercuts J.P. - I took an Uber from Brookline to Jamaica Plain and was so excited to visit Papercuts I forgot to take a photo of the outside of the store. This is a small bookstore, which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. I've been following them avidly on Twitter and was excited to check them out, especially because they have a podcast and their very own anthology. What was very cool is that even though it's a small store, it's super welcoming and even has a couch!

I wound up buying two books, breaking my one book per store rule (because my shelves at home are bursting), because while I bought their The Papercuts Anthology: What Happened Here, Volume 1, which includes work by authors who've read at the store during their first year, which I think is an awesome idea. I did see it at other bookstores but obviously had to buy it where it originated. I wound up also buying An Exaggerated Murder by Josh Cook, who actually works at Porter Square, because as a frequent mystery reader, I loved the idea of such an over-the-top concept and also the Chinatown reference, which cropped up last year in the play my boyfriend wrote, where he not so subtly shamed a character who largely resembles me for not having seen classic movies. As I told him, I finally get the joke on the page from the book pictured below.

Your favorite bookstores, according to my newsletter subscribers

On Friday, I sent out my December newsletter with the subject line, "What's your favorite bookstore and why?" 38 of you responded (and are getting a free book as a thank you!). Some said that independent bookstores in their area have closed, some favorite Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The others from around the world listed these as their favorites, many of which I've heard of and in some cases, shopped at, many of which were new to me. The list also includes sex toy stores which sell books as well. I didn't plan to write a blog post about this, but I was so impressed with the store names and the stories behind them; readers are attached to their bookstores, and have passionate things to say about why they like their favorites.

I'll be reaching out to them about stocking what I think is the best book I've ever edited, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1. Want to receive my January newsletter, full of news and giveaways and other fun stuff? Subscribe on my website at rachelkramerbussel.com (left-hand side).

Do you have a favorite bookstore that's not listed here? Or a place that sells erotic books? Leave the name in the comments and I'll look into them too! (The free book offer is now over, but there will be more giveaways to newsletter subscribers next year.) Whatever you're reading, I hope you enjoy it.

Favorite bookstores according to my newsletter subscribers

A Cappella Books
Amazon.com
Bargain Books
Barnes & Noble
Bonnett's Bookstore
Bluestockings
The Book Exchange (Manteca, CA)
The Book Nook
Book Review
Book Soup
Books Inc.
The Bookshop on Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
Borderlands
Browse About Books (Rehoboth Beach)
Bureau of General Services -- Queer Division at the GLBT Center (NYC)
Busboys & Poets
Cupid’s Closet
Doctor John's Lingerie Boutique
Doylestown Bookstore
Early to Bed
Fireside Books
Half Price Books
Iliad Books
Kramerbooks and Afterwards
Liberty Bay Books
Loot
Modern Times
Passional
Politics & Prose
Powells
Powerhouse ARENA
Purple Passion
A Room of One’s Own
Strand Bookstore
The Tattered Cover
Unabridged Bookstore (Chicago)
Vroman’s
A Woman’s Touch
Women and Children First
Word Up

The crowdfunded romance only bookstore that won't stock Fifty Shades of Grey

I interviewed Bea and Leah Koch, book-loving sisters who are crowdfunding via Kickstarter to open The Ripped Bodice, a romance only bookstore, in Los Angeles. Check it out to read about why they want to overcome stereotypes about romance readers, how the bookstore will function as a community space, and why they won't be carrying Fifty Shades of Grey.

Indie bookstores and sex toy stores where you can buy Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica

On comeagainbook.com, I have links for the main online sites you can buy Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, my latest sexy short story pride and joy.



But I also wanted to share the local shops that are so important to me as a reader, consumer and book lover, especially because I don't think I'll have an indie bookstore near me in Atlantic City, and I sure wish I did. If I ever win the lottery, I'd love to open a bookstore, because how fun would that be to be surrounded by books? Well, I'm actually surrounded by books pretty much all the time, given how many I own, even with giving away at least a thousand during this move, but still. That's a crazy dream I have, but supporting real live bookstores is not crazy. It's important.

Also, most of these stores have 1 copy of the book; a very small handful have more. So this makes your support of my books all the more important. Buying local sends the message: readers want erotica. If you don't make that clear, these stores don't know. In general, many indie bookstores don't have an erotica section, some don't have a sexuality section, and some don't even have any erotica books, so for these stores to go out on a limb for my book means they believe in it. My dream is to edit another book of sex toy erotica with all new authors, but for that to happen, this one has to knock it out of the park. This year especially, my sense is that my books are being put to a test: will you do well enough to make it worth our while to keep working with you? I dearly hope the answer is yes!

Here's the list I've been given, and I'd love to add to it! Know of a store that carries the book not listed? Email me at rachelk at comeagainbook.com and I'll add it. Want to stock it? Email me you're info and I'll connect you with my publisher, Cleis Press. I missed Independent Bookstore Day earlier this month, but really, isn't every day Independent Bookstore Day? THANK YOU to all of these places for stocking my book. Trust me: it matters, especially for someone like me who gets by with a lot of help from everyone who's ever purchased my books. I hope to keep on doing this for a long, long time, and your support helps make that happen! Already have the book or can't purchase it? Tweet about it and tag @comeagainbook or mention us on Facebook. I'm also going to work on getting the most ancient bio of mine around updated to something more modern; I've one a lot since those early, early days. Up All Night was the first anthology I edited, and I actually co-edited that one. This year, I think I'll hit 60 anthologies! While that is something I'm very proud of, I'm far more interested in what the next book will look like, and which authors I can publish for the very first time.

Bookstores (in no particular order)

Powell's Books (Portland, Oregon) Joseph-Beth Eagle Eye Book Shop

Women & Children First (Chicago)

Books Inc.

Antigone Books (Tucson, Arizona)

Bluestockings (NYC)

Boulder Bookstore

Red Emma's

Gallery Bookshop (Mendocino, California)

Book People (Austin)

City Lights (San Francisco, I don't see it on their site, but am told they've stocked it)

Elliott Bay Book Company (Seattle)

Sex toy stores (This list I'd especially like to boost since I think it's such a natural fit for a book of sex toy erotica to appear alongside sex toys)

Good Vibrations (San Francisco Bay Area and Brookline, Massachusetts, I'm not seeing it on their site but am told they've stocked it)

Self Serve (Albuquerque)

Smitten Kitten (Minneapolis)

Happy publication day, Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica

Today is the official release date of Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, which is racking up some great reviews on Amazon! So much work goes into an anthology, from reading dozens of submissions, selecting the stories, which in this case had to balance gender of protagonists and a variety of toys, both the types that exist, fictional ones and household items, then editing, copyediting, cover copy and now the happiest stage, sending books out to reviewers, paying authors and promoting the finished book. I have big dreams for this one, but one book promotion at a time. I hope you'll check it out and spread the word, and I will be sharing all over (@comeagainbook on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook) when I hear of stores stocking it. Right now I know indie bookstore Red Emma's in Baltimore has signed copies, it's on its way to indie bookstore Charis Circle in Atlanta, and Early to Bed in Chicago will be ordering it soon.



You can buy it there in print or at your local bookstore or sex toy store (ask them for it and they will order it if they don't have it in stock), as well as on Kindle, Nook and iBooks. I'm hosting a Facebook book release party online until midnight EST and at the official site, comeagainbook.com there's more info about the book and Q&As with some of the contributors. Happy pub day to my second favorite book I've ever edited!

See you in Brooklyn Monday night for our New York Writers Coalition reading at BookCourt

Yes, it's insanely cold outside, I'm well aware, but if you're up for braving the cold, New Yorkers, I'll be reading from Best Bondage Erotica 2015 tomorrow, Monday night, February 16th at 7 p.m. at BookCourt, 163 Court Street (between Pacific and Dean Streets), in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, along with Melissa Petro and members of nonprofits SAGE and Ali Forney Center as part of the New York Writers Coalition Writing Aloud Series. You can take the F or G trains to Bergen Street.



I know it's winter and I rarely leave my house unless I have to, which is usually to go to the post office (let's hear it for working from home in winter!), so I get that going outside may not be everyone's top priority in this weather, but if you're near BookCourt and/or want to hear some sex stories for free, definitely check it out, and if you're not in the area but know anyone in the NYC area who might appreciate hearing stories and a Q&A about sex, send them our way. It's my first and possibly only time reading from Best Bondage Erotica 2015, and even though after all these years readings still make me a little nervous, they are a rare treat and I'm looking forward to it, cold be damned. I'll have these bookmarks and postcards to hand out:

Hey Brooklyn, come see me Monday and get Best Bondage Erotica 2015 at BookCourt

I forgot a very important bookstore in my list of stores stocking Best Bondage Erotica 2015 and that's BookCourt at 163 Court Street in Brooklyn, where I'm doing a free reading on Monday night, February 16th at 7 p.m. with Melissa Petro and members of the New York Writers Coalition! I lived in Brooklyn for 13 years but don't get there too often now that I'm a Jersey girl, so I'm looking forward to this. I'll be bringing some of these bookmarks and postcards and giving them out free. Excited to do my first reading of 2015 and see my new book in a store for the first time. That is always a wonderful feeling. If you're not in New York but know someone who is who might like a free reading all about sex, please let them know! You can take the F/G to Bergen Street and if you want to share the news on Facebook (no RSVP required), here's the official event listing there. Want to know more about Best Bondage Erotica 2015? The introduction and table of contents are on the official Tumblr.

Come get these Monday night!

Bookstores where you can find Best Bondage Erotica 2015, or I love the words "on our shelves now"

If you've been to more than a handful of independent bookstores in the United States, you'll know that often erotica is scarce. I make it a point to visit bookstores while traveling and aside from Barnes & Noble (where you can also buy this book and I hope you will because that shows them there's a market for kinky erotica from independent publishers), it's often slim pickings. So I want to give an extra special, you-make-my-anthology-work-possible shoutout to the stores that do carry my books. Please buy from them (not just my books but any books), because that is the way they will know there's an audience for the types of books you like. Plus you can always ask your local bookstore to order a book for you.

Based on the information I've received from my publisher Cleis Press, these stores have ordered Best Bondage Erotica 2015 and should have it in stock. There are surely others, but these are the ones I could check out and link to, and I'm happy to update this if other stores want to get in on this hot book action. They are in no particular order save for the order the list was given to me. To make this totally clear, most of these stores have ordered 1, 2 or 3 copies of the book. I've never worked in a bookstore so don't know exactly how the process wrks, but I imagine if people are buying and asking for the book, they will order more. In the long run, that is what determines if books like these keep getting published. If they don't have it on the shelves, ask for it, and if they do, if you send me at bestbondagerotica2015 at gmail.com a photo of the book in their store along with the store name and city that I have your permission to post online (with credit if you want it), and you also send me your mailing address, I will send you a postcard or bookmark in return!



Bluestockings, New York City (Lower East Side!)

Schuler Books and Music, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Okemos, Michigan

Joseph Beth (they have locations in Lexington and Crestwood Hills, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio - contact individual stores for availability)

Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, Arizona (they also have a store in Phoenix)

Skylight Books, Los Angeles

Unabridged Books, Chicago

Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge, Massachusettes

Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle

Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, Colorado

Powell's, Portland, Oregon

McNally Jackson, New York City

Boulder Bookstore, Boulder, Colorado

Shakespeare and Co. Booksellers, 939 Lexington Avenue between 68th and 69th, New York City (sadly, their website tells me the downtown Broadway store, which I fondly remember shopping in when I lived in the NYU dorms from 1996-1999, has closed. Boo. That's why we need to support indie bookstores.)

Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California

Chaucer's Bookstore, Santa Barbara, California

The Book Loft, Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Left Bank Books (St. Louis, Missouri)

City Lights Books, San Francisco (I'm not seeing it listed on their site, but it was on the list I was given)

Books Inc, San Francisco Bay Area (I'm not sure which locations have it, so call ahead and ask/order)

Self Serve, Albuquerque, New Mexico (it's not in their online store but I know it's in their brick and mortar store)

12 independent bookstores where you can buy The Big Book of Submission

I'll be stopping in at as many of these stores as I can to show them just how excited I am about The Big Book of Submission: 69 Kinky Tales, and adding to this list as well as promoting the sex toy stores selling the book @submissionbook on Twitter and on Facebook and Tumblr. I'm thrilled that BDSM erotica is so popular that even Harvard Book Store (!!) is carrying it. Who knew?



If your favorite store doesn't have it, ask for it and they'll order it for you - then let me know you did at shortsubmissionantho at gmail.com and which store it was and I just may send you a special present.

Long story short - this is a make or break year for my little books, and I'm hoping they make it in a big way! I'm doing everything I can to help them along, though most of it involves luck and magic and who knows what else. But one thing that definitely helps is bookstores seeing that readers want a certain topic. I've learned about the importance of hand selling on my little tour this past week and am hoping this little kinky book connects with readers and booksellers, because I'm very proud of it.

Posman Books (New York)

Bluestockings (New York)

Book Loft (Columbus, Ohio)

Books Inc. (San Francisco Bay Area)

City Lights Bookstore (San Francisco) - I didn't see it on their website but I'm told they ordered it so please ask if you want to buy it from them!

Wicked Grounds Cafe (San Francisco)

Elliot Bay Book Company (Seattle)

Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Powell's Books Inc. (Portland, Oregon)

Boulder Bookstore (Boulder, Colorado)

Tattered Cover Bookstore (Denver, Colorado)

Unabridged Book Inc. (Chicago)

I'm on the "Is Feminism Sexy?" panel tonight at WORD, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Come join me and these wonderful panelists for "Is Feminism Sexy?" at one of my favorite bookstores, WORD, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn tonight, 126 Franklin Street, off the G train. It's my last Brooklyn event as a Brooklyn resident (awww...NJ better have some awesome bookstores!) and hot off the press copies of Best Sex Writing 2013 will be for sale. Learn more at The Sexy Feminist. Here's the official Facebook invite.

[Description] Sexy Feminism’s Jennifer Armstrong will be discussing what feminism means to young women today with erotica writer/editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, The Frisky blogger Julie Gerstein, SexyFeminist.com contributor Britt Gambino, and feminist media activist Jamia A. Wilson.

In Sexy Feminism, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Heather Wood Rudulph offer simple ways for busy, young women to improve every aspect of their own lives by following feminist principles. With dozens of ways to take action, Sexy Feminism explains how feminism helps women get what they want (and does not, contrary to many reports, ruin anyone’s chances at love, success, sex, beauty, or style). It guides young women toward finding their own brand of feminism and using it to improve their lives and the world.

Feminist bookstore I want to move into: Book Woman in Austin

Really: just give me a cot and I'll give up the apartment I can't get home to anyway and move in to feminist bookstore Book Woman in Austin. It is amazing! I went there last night to see my friend Shanna Katz, sex educator and author of Oral Sex That'll Blow Her Mind, give a workshop about sexuality, complete with vulva puppet. She was hilarious and informative and in half an hour I learned a lot and had a lot to think about, like the compliment sandwich. My friend Kambri Crews is reading from her memoir Burn Down The Ground on Friday.

I saw that the Delicious Issue (shouldn't every publication have one?) of Curve is out with an article I wrote about Cupcake Royale owner Jody Hall. I discovered on their new books table two by Naomi Shihab Nye I'm coveting, plus Transfer which I'm already a fan of, and the memoir Not Quite Nirvana: A Skeptic's Journey to Mindfulness by Rachel Neuman, which I obviously need to read, not just because she shares my name. I discovered the very first anthology I was ever published in, back in 2000, Best Lesbian Erotica 2001. I was just in awe of the entire place and impressed that while feminist bookstores have come and gone, this one is around and thriving and putting on amazing events. They had a bunch of my erotica books and a healthy sexuality bookcase too! I'm loving it here so much that am half tempted to try to talk my guy into moving here. So yay Austin!


me with ten of my books (and Suite Encounters was on the shelf below)


Shanna Katz with vulva puppet



If you're in Brooklyn and can get out safely, BCakeNY in Prospect Heights is giving out free cupcakes from 5 to 6 today. I will be giving out free candy to trick or treaters at a friend's in Austin!

Sex diary, sex tip and Best Sex Writing 2012 West Coast and NYC tour dates

A lot of info all at once, and at the bottom, some art I loved at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where I want to go back and spend hours upon hours, it was so incredible, and up top, Valentine's Day appropriate, neon hearts at the restaurant Elsa's in Milwaukee. I'm back, but am planning a return trip to Milwaukee when it's warmer. $98 flight on Frontier Airlines and so much awesomeness. You can read about my erotic writing workshop at Northwestern in The Daily Northwestern. I also did one at The Tool Shed, which has an amazing selection of sex toys.

This week's sex diary involves a busted Hitachi Magic Wand, foreign guys and bad communication, and an expat exploring a new city. (I'm the editor; if you want to write an anonymous sex diary, email me at sexdiaries at nymag.com)

I gave a Valentine's Day sex top to Blisstree.

And in April I'll be going on what is probably one of my last proper book tours unless I suddenly win the lottery or write some kind of blockbuster, so I'm going all out, to old favorites like Powell's, which deserves its own essay about the piece that's only in Best Sex Writing 2012 because of Powell's, Elliott Bay, and Booksmith, and Bookshop Santa Cruz, where I've never been, and the bookstore where I spend the most money and score the most incredible finds, Housing Works. There will also be assorted interviews along the way and hopefully a cupcake meetup in Seattle and attending theater and I'm also reading at Writers With Drinks April 14th. But these are the Best Sex Writing 2012 events, where I'll get to meet a lot of my contributors. And do readings with Susie Bright! See you there. Whether you can or can't make these if you've got a blog, I'd love to have you join the March virtual book tour for Best Sex Writing 2012. These dates are left - email bestsexwriting2012 at gmail.com with "Tour" in the subject and include your URL and mailing address and you'll be assigned a date. Thank you!



Free cupcakes at all readings!

April 6, 7:30 pm
Powell's, 1005 W. Burnside, Portland, Oregon
Free and free cupcakes! Featuring editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Tim Elhajj, Kevin Sampsell and Lidia Yuknavitch. 503-228-4651.
Facebook invite

April 7, 7 pm
Elliott Bay Books, 1521 10th Avenue, Seattle, WA
Free and free cupcakes! Featuring editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Kevin Sampsell and Lidia Yuknavitch. 206-624-6600.
Facebook invite

April 9, 7 pm
Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco
Free and free cupcakes! Featuring editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, guest judge Susie Bright and local contributors Greta Christina, Tracy Clark-Flory and Thomas S. Roche. 415-863-8688.
Facebook invite

April 12, 7:30 pm
Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA
Free and free cupcakes! Featuring editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, guest judge Susie Bright, and local contributors. 831-423-0900.
Facebook invite

April 25, 7 pm
Housing Works Bookstore, 126 Crosby Street, NYC
Free and free cupcakes! Featuring editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Ellen Friedrichs, Lynn Harris, Amanda Marcotte, Joan Price, and Rachel Rabbit White. 212-334-3324.
Facebook invite

Milwaukee Art Museum art:


Nancy by Chuck Close - more info below, and the Nancy Graves piece was adjacent to it




Object Disguised 4 Times by Nancy Graves


St. Dionysus by Kehinde Wiley




Bluffs by Tara Donovan (made of buttons!)


There was sun, snow and water right out the window, and it was beautiful. And below is what I saw when I looked up.



This greets you when you either look down from street level, or right when you walk in from the parking garage: