I'm a Finalist for the John Preston Short Fiction Award
Rubber Sex
Originally uploaded by Thomas Roche
I am utterly flattered and blown away that I have been nominated as a finalist for the National Leather Association International's newly-created John Preston Short Fiction Award. The nomination comes for my short story "Butterfly's Kiss," appearing in Rachel Kramer Bussel's Rubber Sex anthology, published by Cleis Press.
I'm particularly fond of "Butterfly's Kiss," so I'm doubly pleased. This is really an amazing group of writers nominated -- see the list below. I'm in very good company. It's also flattering to be a finalist for an award named after John Preston, who was an amazing fucking writer. His work published by Masquerade Books represented one of my strongest influences in the years when I was learning to write what I'd have to call "literary porn," and his Flesh and the Word had a big impact on me during my first attempts to erase my own perceived lines between "literature" and "erotica" -- the way Preston helped erase them with his short fiction and his editing projects.
Congratulations to all the finalists. More info here:
(Columbus, OH) -- National Leather Association: International (NLA-I), a leading organization for activists in the pansexual SM/leather/fetish community, announced today the finalists for its recently created writing awards. Named after activists and writers Geoff Mains, John Preston, Pauline Reage, and Cynthia Slater, they are awarded annually to recognize excellence in writing and publishing about leather, SM, bondage and fetishes.
The finalists for the Cynthia Slater Non-fiction Article Award are:
Laura Antoniou, "These Boots Are Made for Buffin; or the erotic power of looking like you know your shit," which appeared on Alt.com.
Jack Fritscher, "Spill a Drop for Lost Brothers: the Legendary Larry Townsend," which appeared in The Leather Journal and Leather Times.
Robert Ridinger, "Wine Gods and Assembly Lines: Leathermen in Detroit," which appeared in Leather Times. Jack Rinella, "Tools for Inner Work," which appeared in Leather Views (http://www.leatherviews.com/ ).
The finalists for the Geoff Mains Non-fiction Book Award are:
Vince Andrews, The Leatherboy Handbook (Nazca Plains).
Jack Fritscher, Gay San Francisco: Eyewitness Drummer (Palm Drive).
Peter Masters, This Curious Human Phenomenon (Nazca Plains).
Shannon Reilly, Creating a Personal Protocol (CreateSpace).
The finalists for the Pauline Reage Novel Award are:
Cheryl Brooks, The Cat Star Chronicles: Slave (Casablanca).
Anneke Jacob, As She's Told (Pink Flamingo).
Joey W. Hill, The Mark of the Vampire Queen (Berkley).
Sasha White, Wicked (Berkley).
The finalists for the John Preston Short Fiction Award are:
Mike Kimera, "Toying With Lily " in Alison Tyler (ed.), Hurts So Good: Unrestrained Erotica (Cleis).
Jeff Mann, "Kidnapping Chris" in Richard Labonté (ed.), Best Gay Bondage Erotica (Cleis).
Thomas S. Roche, "Butterfly's Kiss" in Rachel Kramer Bussel (ed.), Rubber Sex (Cleis).
Xan West, "First Time Since" in Alison Tyler (ed.), Hurts So Good: Unrestrained Erotica (Cleis).
The finalists for the Anthology Award are:
Rachel Kramer Bussel (ed.), Rubber Sex (Cleis).
Rachel Kramer Bussel (ed.), Yes Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission (Cleis).
Richard Labonté (ed.), Best Gay Bondage Erotica (Cleis).
Alison Tyler (ed.), Hurts So Good: Unrestrained Erotica (Cleis).
The winners will be announced at the NLA-I’s Annual General Meeting, which will be held during Spring Iniquity in Houston, TX (April 17 - 19, 2009). For more information about Spring Iniquity, the National Leather Association, and the NLA-I's meeting on Sunday morning, see:
springiniquity.com
nla-i.com