Calling All Leatherwomen!!

I'm happy to announce that I'll be editing several anthologies over the winter and into 2012. In addition to some new projects (keep your eyes out for "Calls for Submission"), I am bringing back my "Leatherwomen" brand.

If you are a writer who was published in one of my original Leatherwomen anthologies, I am asking you to get in contact with me at Antoniouedits (at) gmail (dot) com as I build a "Best of Leatherwomen" collection!

(cue harp arpeggios, musically implying that we are traveling back in time)

Back in the pre-internet 1990's, there was a dearth of fiction available to kinky women written by kinky women. Pretty much all we had was the groundbreaking Coming To Power by Samois, the periodic s/m themed short stories in On Our Backs, and a few writers like Susie Bright, Artemis Oakgrove and a writer I consider my mentor, Dorothy Allison.

I decided to fill that void by editing a series written by and for Leatherwomen of all orientations. So, in the mid-1990's, I put out a call for submissions.

There was only one problem. Pat (now Patrick) Califia and Robin Sweeney were collaborating on"The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader," billed to be the follow-up to the Samois anthology. Every kinky lesbian writer I knew had already promised their work to Pat and Robin.

I persisted, and not only published "Leatherwomen," but even got out "Leatherwomen II (Revenge of the Leatherwomen)" before The Second Coming was published. I then published "Leatherwomen III (Clash of the Cultures)" in the late 1990's.

           

Now, a decade later, I think it's time to bring back the Leatherwomen brand. So much has changed in the kink community since Leatherwomen III was published, ranging from the rise of sex through social media to the increasing fluidity of gender and sexual identity. I think it's time to hear from leatherwomen again.

To launch the return of the "Leatherwomen" series, I am calling all contributors to the earlier anthologies to get in touch with me. Let's bring back those sexy, smutty, kinky, toe-curling stories and introduce them to a new generation of readers. Contact me atAntoniouedits (at) gmail (dot) com.

And for the rest of you: keep your eyes open for additional "Calls for Submission" from me!