When I first posted the call for submissions for _Queer: Four Decades after Stonewall_ (_Queer: Four Decades after Stonewall_ has been replaced with the title _Queer Shorts_ in an effort to create the best possible presentation of all selected submissions) back in May 2005, I never imagined just how many submissions would come in. I received tons of great stories! (Really, don’t be shocked if you receive an email from me asking if I can use your submission in a future book if it was not selected for this one.)

I’m excited to announce that _Queer Shorts_ will feature the following selections:

Evelyn by Gayle Lloyd
Key West by Jeff Mann
Sun, Moon, Stars by William Reichard
When Gay is the New Straight by Nairne Holtz
Room for Rent by Ethereal
Leaving Indiana by Alan Witchey
Dear Tiger by S.G. Reichen
The Power of Hair by Monica Dulberg
The Lover and the Patient by F.I. Goldhaber
Finding Room by Jen Burke
Portrait of an Artist by Sally Bellerose

_Queer Shorts_ will be available via Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, QueerShorts.com (live soon) and other major book outlets. Stay tuned for more updates!

[Edited 7/28/06]

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER (GLBT) EROTICA NIGHT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21 at 8 PM AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET (B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

This Gay Pride month, come celebrate queerness in all its rainbow of colors with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender erotica at In The Flesh! Delight in these lusty tales by Cheryl B. (Coming Out of the Closet Again, Small Spiral Notebook), Trebor Healey (Through It Came Bright Colors, Sweet Son of Pan), Gena Hymowech (Afterellen.com, First-Timers, Black Table), Sam J. Miller (Best Gay Erotica 2006, Velvet Mafia), Scott Pomfret (Romentics, Hot Sauce), Scott Whittier (Romentics, Honcho, Friction 7), and Jane Vincent (Educated Slut blog, Everything You Know About Sex Is Wrong), and host Rachel Kramer Bussel. Rachel will be celebrating and signing copies of her latest anthologies, First-Timers: True Stories of Lesbian Awakening and Glamour Girls: Femme/Femme Erotica. Books will be given away as door prizes and free candy and mini cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted 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 Village Voice sex columnist and 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. Future themed nights include “Revenge of the Sex Columnists” (September 2006) and erotic memoirs.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is a New York City-based author and editor. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a Contributing Editor and columnist for Penthouse, writes the Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice, and conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com.
Her erotic stories have appeared in over 60 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited her own collections, including Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2, Up All Night, First-Timers, Glamour Girls, and the forthcoming Ultimate Undies, Sexiest Soles, Secret Slaves, and Caught Looking:
Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, Time Out New York and Velvetpark. http://www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Cheryl B. is an award-winning poet and writer. Her work appears in dozens of print and online publications including; BLOOM, Small Spiral Notebook, The Guardian, Reactions 5, and Pills, Thrills, Chills and Heartache. She has received a fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts and has been a resident at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She curates and hosts the monthly ATOMIC Reading Series and she is the creator and producer of
PVC: The Poetry vs. Comedy Variety Show. Cheryl is the editor of the forthcoming anthology Coming Out of the Closet Again: Queer Women on Loving Men (2007, Suspect Thoughts Press). She lives in Brooklyn and online at http://www.cherylb.com.

Trebor Healey is the author of a novel, Through It Came Bright Colors (Harrington Park Press, 2003), and a book of erotic poems, Sweet Son of Pan (Suspect Thoughts Press, 2006). His work has appeared in Best Gay Erotic 2003, 2004, 2006 and Best of Best Gay Erotic; the Bad Boy Book of Erotic Poetry; Queer Dharma; Holy Titclamps; Van Go’s Ear; and dozens of other anthologies and journals. He wrote the hit single “Denny” for the Queercore band, Pansy Division.
http://www.treborhealey.com

Gena Hymowech is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in over 20 venues, including the New York Post, Time Out New York Kids, Complete Woman, Black Table and AfterEllen.com. Her first anthology work will be appearing (under a pseudonym) in First-Timers: True Stories of Lesbian Awakening. She used a pseudonym for that essay because the event happened at one of her last jobs and she really doesn’t want to be sued. If you get her drunk enough at the In the Flesh event though, she might tell you where it occurred, among other things. She lives in Brooklyn.

Sam J. Miller is a community organizer. His writing has been published in Velvet Mafia, Smut!, In The Fray, and Best Gay Erotica 2006, among others. He lives in the Bronx with his partner of four years. When he’s not writing or organizing poor people to fight for social justice, he’s binging on old movies and punk rock. Drop him a line at samjmiller79@yahoo.com.

Scott Pomfret puts fun and romance back into gay erotica with his funny, tender yet still smokin’ hot stories. Together with his real-life boyfriend (also named Scott), he writes the Romentics series of romance novels for gay men (www.romentics.com). His stories have appeared in Best Gay Erotica, Playguy, Honcho, In Touch for Men, Hot Gay Erotica, Alyson Books’ Friction series, Best Gay Love Stories 2005 and 2006, and numerous other anthologies. For more information, see http://www.scottpomfret.com.

Jane Vincent is a sexuality educator, smut writer, and certified sex coach who holds a BS in human sexuality. She has published diverse works ranging from A Baby Dyke Learns to Score to Gonorrhea – Questions & Answers. As the educated slut, she takes it to the streets and the sheets and lives to blog the tale at http://educatedslut.blogspot.com. She currently practices her unique blend of sexual activism in Houston, TX.

Scott Whittier, 31, a native of Poland, Maine, is an advertising copywriter. His commercial work has appeared on radio, billboards, TV and in print media internationally and has won top honors in the Healthcare Advertising Awards and Admission Advertising Awards. He has published fiction in Children Churches and Daddies, Playguy, In Touch, Honcho and Alyson’s anthologies Just the Sex, Ultimate Gay Erotica and Friction 7. With his boyfriend Scott Pomfret, he is co-author of the Romentics series of gay romance novels. http://www.romentics.com

Paula Gregorowicz of Coaching4Lesbians, who will be hosting the 8/10/06 Carnival of Bent Attractions, currently has an article featured at Lesbianation.com. Read it here.

It’s almost time again for another edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions. Wow, time is flying!

The next edition of the carnival will be hosted at 2sides2ron on June 10th. Submissions are due by 12:01am on June 2nd, so you’ve still got a week to submit!

Read the current edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions here.

The current edition of Lesbian/Gay Law Notes features “Federal Court Finds Employer Non-Discrimination Policy Unenforceable,” a report by Professor Arthur Leonard of New York Law School on the sexual orientation discrimination claim filed by John Petrucello against Telefax Automotive Group.

Because of a disclaimer included in Telefax Automotive Group’s Code of Ethics, the Code was found not to be contractually binding last month, and John Petrucello lost his sexual orientation discrimination claim against the company.

Teleflex issued the Code of Ethics to its employees in 2003, stating that the company respected “cultural diversity” and “does not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation.” John Petrucello, a gay man, had been employed by the company since 1988. In 1994, he had signed an employment agreement that acknowledged that he was employed “at will.” He was discharged on June 21, 2005, he claims without just cause, and he alleges that he received a smaller severance payment than
similarly situated non-gay employees would receive. He also claims he was discharged for being gay, although he concedes that management had known he was gay throughout the duration of his employment with the company.

The disclaimer Telefax Automotive Group included in their Code of Ethics “was in bold-face print in the same type-face as surrounding text, so the court rejected Petrucello’s argument that the employer had tried to conceal it by burying it in fine print.” The court also found that Petrucello did not show reliance in his claims. “Petrucello sued on their breach of implied contract, misrepresentation, negligence, promissory estoppel, equitable estoppel and unjust enrichment, but got nowhere with the court,” writes Arthur Leonard.

“Federal Court Finds Employer Non-Discrimination Policy Unenforceable” can be found on the ninth page of the May 2006 edition of the Notes.

Comment moderation is temporarily in use. Comments will appear as soon as they are approved. If your comment does not show immediately, it just means that I am not at the computer. Please do not submit a comment twice.

Scottish schools will be expanding their sex education guidelines to include health lessons on same-sex sexual relationships.

The plan has the support of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council.

“If we don’t give young people the right information, they will just get the wrong information,” said spokesperson Eleanor Coner. ” They will go to the internet or to their friends. It is far better that they are given the proper information than none at all.”

But the Catholic Church has condemned the move. In a statement the church in Scotland said the plan was “appalling, outrageous and utterly unnecessary”.

The Scottish government is hoping these new lessons will begin in August.

Feministing is looking for a new Interviewer, Reviews Contributor, and General Contributor. Read all about these positions and how to apply at Lusty Lady.

Laura Bush has campaign advice for Republicans:

Some election-year advice to Republicans from a high-ranking source who has the president’s ear: Don’t use a proposed constitutional amendment against gay marriage as a campaign tool.

Just who is that political strategist? Laura Bush.

The first lady told ”Fox News Sunday” she thinks the American people want a debate on the issue. But, she said, ”I don’t think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously.”

”It requires a lot of sensitivity to just talk about the issue — a lot of sensitivity,” she said.

1. Plane tickets for Femme 2006 trip purchased!

2. Femme film featuring Guinivere Turner, Jewelle Gomez, Meliza Bañales, Leslie Mah and Bitch that I’m dying to see: FtF: female to femme

3. Ethereal’s new songs “Persephone” and “This Is Rome” can he heard here. And you can download “Persephone” for free.