CALLING ALL WRITERS!

CALLING ALL WRITERS!

Read Dirty to Me is a literary zine that deals in the naughty aspects of language and writing: narratives of sexuality, sensual storytelling, queer erotica, hardcore smut, kinky poetry, romantic prose, pornographic short fiction and any other sexy literary exploits you can imagine.

After receiving the first batch of amazing pieces to be considered for Read Dirty's event at this year's London Ladyfest, we have decided to open up the call for submissions again, this time to be included in the next issue of the zine in January 2011.

The topic we are asking our potential contributors to engage with is that of the sexual woman in literature. Recall the feminine archetypes in writing through the ages - mother, virgin, saint, goddess, temptress, whore - and let your modern imagination run wild in reclaiming, reworking, enforcing, subverting, deconstructing and thus creating a contemporary counterpart.

Send your pieces to readdirty[at]gmail[dot]com until December 25th. We look forward to hearing from you.

Those of you you have already submitted your creative outpourings, we will be in touch in the coming weeks about who made it into the zine and when it will be ready for publishing.

Best,

The Read Dirty-Team

You can pick up your own copy of the first edition of the Read Dirty Zine for £2 at
Speedie's
81 Redchurch Street
London E2 7DJ
Open everyday 11 am to 7 pm
Each zine comes with a unique and exclusive print of a photoshoot by The Itch.

See the online edition at 

www.readdirtytome.blogspot.com. 

Read Dirty To Me - Zine No. 1

Just in time for Ladyfest 10 last Saturday, the first edition of the Read Dirty to Me Zine featuring a selection of pieces from the contributions for our first event in June 2010 was ready! Although about half of the limited editions sold at Ladyfest, there are still a few left.

You can pick up your own copy for £2 at
Speedie's
81 Redchurch Street
London E2 7DJ
Open everyday 11 am to 7 pm
Each zine comes with a unique and exclusive print of a photoshoot by The Itch.

For those who can't make it down to Speedie's, take a look at the online edition of
Read Dirty to Me Zine No. 1

Open publication - Free publishing - More the itch

RDtM interview for Ladyfest 10

Read Dirty to Me was invited to host an event at Ladyfest 10 in November 2010. Leading up to the event, the three minds behind the project were asked to answer a few questions. The interview, originally published under www.forbookssake.net :

1. Tell us about yourself and your work?

The idea for Read Dirty initially came up at the beginning of this year. Laura J had just launched her adult photography website 'The Itch', Laura T had recently completed a degree in English literature and was working as a musician. Josephine was in the midst of writing a dissertation about William Burroughs. Consequently, sex, pornography, sensuality, bodies and gender were very much on the forefronts of our minds, and many discussions were had about the fusion, co-existence and significance of sexuality in high and low art. Working on the Read Dirty event gave us an opportunity to bring together our individual areas of expertise and create a stimulating event and environment where we invited others to join in and bring their talents and opinions to the table.

2. What can we expect from your event at Ladyfest Ten?

We're interested to see how literature-loving and -creating women today write and feel about their sexual and sensual self. For Ladyfest, we asked our writers to recall classic feminine roles, such as the mother, temptress, virgin or whore, and think about their contemporary counterparts.

3. One of the main aims of Lit at Ladyfest Ten is to promote and celebrate writing by women. What advice would you give to women finding it tough to carve out their own niche?

If you're passionate about what you do, keep carving! Anything else will feel like bowing to defeat and will not fulfill you.

4. What has your experience been as a woman working in your field/in the industry?

We've found it helpful to have a wide network of open minded and creative people available in London. Within those communities, where gender and sexuality aren't set in stone but open to be questioned and played with in an intelligent way, gender seems less confining.

5. How important is sex, sexuality and gender to you and your writing?

It's a core piece. We believe that sex, sexuality and gender are fluid attributes, free to be discussed, explored, and thrown over board if necessary. This, of course, doesn't contradict the fact that they are categories by which people are judged in a very basic way. Going against the grain and refusing to take on the sex/sexuality/gender attributed by society is still considered an affront. For this event, we've encouraged writers to be as creative, queer and subversive as they wish, offering a platform to women of all genders.

6. For our audience who might not be able to make it to Ladyfest Ten, what authors and projects are you into at the moment that they can investigate instead?

We're really into Kitty Stryker's blog and the events she helps put on. Check out www.purrversatility.blogspot.com and www.kinkysalonlondon.co.uk

Jen Calleja is involved in some great projects, have a look at her website 

www.jencalleja.com

We also had the pleasure of young poet extraordinaire Jack Underwood reading at our last event: 

www.faber.co.uk/suthor/jack-underwood

One of our favourite queer spaces/event organisers are Queer Invisible Academy: www.queerinvisibleacademy.org.uk

Last but not least, read Karley Sciortino's blog, it's rude, bold, sex-positive and not to be missed: 

www.slutever.org

Welcome to... Read Dirty to Me

Read Dirty to Me is a literary forum that celebrates the inexhaustible exploration of sexuality in and through literature.
It is a platform for young and old, yet to be discovered and already recognized unique literary voices and artistic talents to come together and share their musings on and inspired by the sexual, physical, erotic, kinky, sexy, dirty, naughty, fetishistic, masculine, feminine, queer [...].

Literature is a medium infamous for its problematic history when writers designated sex and sexuality as their aesthetic and topical motivator. Much sexual literature has been condemned, tried, censored, some banned altogether, often on grounds of so-called obscenity or indecency.
In absolute and passionate support of sincere, uncompromising, and, if indeed necessary, obscene creative expression, Read Dirty to Me encourages and urges its contributors to retaliate and celebrate the ability to express their thoughts and feelings of and on sexuality as boldly and daringly as they wish, no matter how non-normative, smutty, abstract, conceptual or experimental, as long as it is done with a desire for innovation and intelligence.

Contact Laura J, Laura T and Josephine at readdirty[at]gmail[dot]com for more information or to get involved.