Call for Work: Essays for (K)ink: Writing While Deviant, a Series for The Rumpus
All inquiries to:
arielle.greenberg.bywaterATgmailDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )
For a new and ongoing series for the The Rumpus, a website of writing about literature and culture (including sex), I am seeking lively, entertaining, passionate, thoughtful essays of 1000-3000 words about the ways in which the kinky sexuality (of any kind) of writers (of any kind) informs our writing (in any way). In other words, this isn’t a series about writing about kink-as-content: it’s a series about how looking at the world through the lens of an alternative sexual orientation influences the modes and strategies with which we approach our creative work. For example, one might write about how their subject position as a voyeur makes the very experience of reading—and writing about reading, as a literary critic—an erotic practice. Or one might write about how slipping into subspace as a rope bottom is akin to the invisibility of the literary translation work one does. (These are actual, wonderful topics proposed by folks I’ve spoken to about this series!) I plan to write about the relationship between objectification and fetishes and the ways poets treat and toy with images and language.
To contribute to (K)ink: Writing While Deviant, you should be a writer with an active career who self-identifies as kinky: any kind of creative writing (nonfiction, poetry, fiction, playwriting, performance, erotica, etc.) is welcome, as is any stage of career, but you should probably at least have begun publishing in journals, be seeking a degree in a related field, have some kind of public profile as a writer, etc. (I say this mostly for the sake of feeling confident in “outing” yourself via this series: these essays will not be published anonymously.)
Please note that I am looking for any and all kinds of kink-identified writers for this series, including but not remotely limited to sadists, masochists, voyeurs, exhibitionists, bondage people, foot fetishists, latex fetishists, tops, bottoms, non-monogamists, cross-dressers, sissies, submissives, dominants, cuckolds, hot wives, masters, slaves, ponies, puppies, littles, ageplayers, swingers, people into group sex and orgies, people into rope, people into spanking, people into tickling, people into watersports, gainers, feeders, furries, leatherfolk, primals, paraphiliacs, etc.—if your sexuality is considered by the mainstream to be in any way deviant or alternative, and you see a connection between your kinky sexuality and your approach to writing, you are welcome to submit (pun intended). I am especially hoping to receive submissions from people with less common kink identities, since I don’t want the whole series to be about flogging or breathplay or whatever. (N.B. For the purposes of this series, being queer or gay or otherwise LGBTQI does not, for me, constitute kinky sexuality, though you certainly might be LGBTQI and kinky, in which case, yes! Please! Send me something!)
On a related note, I am committed to (K)ink: Writing While Deviant being as diverse as possible, and therefore am especially eager to find queer and trans* writers, writers of color, non-academic writers, writers with disabilities, and writers from otherwise underrepresented communities. (That said, at the moment I also have a shortage of cis-gendered, hetero-oriented men, so I need you, too!) Feel free to forward this call to people you know who might be interested, and post it via your Facebook pages, blogs, writers’ communities, etc.
The call is open and ongoing until stated otherwise. I aim to have the first essays begin rolling out in late summer/early fall. There is no payment (for me as editor or for my contributors), but think of all the potential for subversive fame and glory!
In my fantasy, the essays published in (K)ink: Writing While Deviant will one day become a print anthology (which may also be a labor of love, since I envision publishing it with a small kink-friendly press). You should all know that I’m pretty good at making my fantasies become reality.
I’m the series editor for this, so to submit, please send me a query or abstract with your proposed topic and any questions or thoughts at:
arielle.greenberg.bywaterATgmailDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )
with the subject line “Kinky writer series” (or some such thing). I’d prefer to receive queries before receiving essays, so I can make sure we’re on the same page before you write a whole piece that won’t work for this series.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Arielle
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