As many of you know, I’m a previous winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Leather Association, a leading organization for activists in the pansexual SM/leather/fetish community. Right now I remain active by helping to judge the nonfiction entries for the annual writing awards. I just got the press release announcing the finalists for the 2013 entries and I’m pleased to notice that two books published by Circlet Press have made it onto the lists! House of Sable Locks by Elizabeth Schechter is a finalist for the Pauline Reage Novel Award, and No Safewords edited by Laura Antoniou is a finalist for the Samois Anthology Award!
Winners will be announced this fall at the NLA-I general assembly (date/place TBD).
Here’s the full list of finalists:
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2013 NLA-I WRITING AWARDS
(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 annual writing awards. Named after activists and writers Geoff Mains, John Preston, Pauline Reage, Cynthia Slater, and the groundbreaking organization Samois, 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:
“My tantric ‘awakening’ turned me off sex,” by Janet Hardy, appeared March 15 in Salon (www.salon.com)
“‘Feminist’ Backlash Against BDSM” by I.G. Frederick, appeared in FEMALE FIRST on October 15 (www.femalefirst.co.uk)
“What Some Women Tops and Bottoms Have in Common” by I.G. Fredrick, appeared October 12 in BDSM Book Reviews(www.bdsmbookreviews.com)
The finalists for the Geoff Mains Non-fiction Book Award are:
The Artisan’s Book of Fetishcraft: Patterns and Instructions for Creating Professional Fetishwear, Restraints and Sensory Equipment by John Huxley (Greenery Press)
The Kinky Feminist by F.R.R. Mallory(self-published)
Biker Bar: Bikes, Beer, and Boys – a playful look at the roots of the leather bar by Thom Magister (Perfectbound Press)
The finalists for the Pauline Reage Novel Award are:
The Killer Wore Leather by Laura Antoniou (Cleis Press)
The Blacksmith’s Daughter by Chris Bellows (Pink Flamingo Publications)
Tales from the Arena Playing for Keeps by Elizabeth Schechter (Smashwords)
House of Sable Locks by Elizabeth Schechter (Circlet Press, Inc.)
Dangerous Affairs: DANGEROUS SUBMISSION by Lori Toland (Loose Id LLC)
The finalists for the Samois Anthology Award are:
Hell On Wheels: Disabled Dominants, ed. Raven Kaldera (Alfred Press)
Kneeling In Spirit: Disabled Submissive, ed. Raven Kaldera (Alfred Press)
Leather Ever After: An Anthology of Kinky Fairy Tales, ed. Sassafras Lowrey (Ravenous Romance)
No Safewords, ed. Laura Antoniou (Circlet Press)
The finalists for the John Preston Short Story Award are:
“Mr. Smith, Ms. Jones Will See You Now” by D. L. King, from the anthology Ageless Erotica, ed. Joan Price
“Imperfect Journeys” by Peter Masters, self-published
The winners will be announced at the National Leather Association’s Annual General Meeting, which will be held this fall, date to be announced.
For more information about the awards, please contact the award committee chair, pyxy, at nlai.awards@gmail.com
Finalists announced in the 2013 NLA-I Writing Awards
The NLA I book “awards” seem to be a contradiction since each year the books and stories which receive the recognition are always from an incestious small group of self serving folks that want to pretend they are receiving an award. This contest is a complete joke! I would be ashamed to admit involvement in something like this that has no credibility. Too bad! Quit pretending these are legitimate writers and books and participate in the real world.
Sorry you feel that way, Billy. I’ve been part of the awards committee, always as a judge in the nonfiction category, since the awards were founded some years ago. We consider the books that publishers, authors, and NLA members nominate. Every book that is nominated is considered. In nonfiction we typically get 10-15 nominees per year. The publications come from everywhere, from small publishers and indie authors to New York publishing houses like HarperCollins and university presses like University of Nebraska Press. The publications we have read have included biographies, autobiographies, sociological monographs, how-to manuals, photography books, political treatises, memoirs, and psychology dissertations. If that’s not the “real world,” then I’m afraid the real world isn’t being published in books.