In case you didn’t know, a month ago the Leather & LGBT Cultural District announced that I had been hired as the new host for the Erotic Storytelling Hour! Bicoastal Beth left some mighty big shoes to fill, and Cal Callaghan, the new District Manager, picked up most of her job. Now, Cal, David Hyman and I are the crack team hosting the Erotic Storytelling Hour every other Tuesday from 8pm to 9pm.
Last night was a first, as all of the readers agreed to be recorded! We were so fortunate as to have Jewelle Gomez, author of the double Lambda Award winning Gilda Stories, as our guest of honor. Also reading were Tristissima Et Alia, Ev Joy Lokadottr, Dominique Leslie, and mrPam.
Missed it? Well, luckily, it was videotaped!
Our next reading is September 15, 2020
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 8 PM – 9 PM Public · Hosted by LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Online Event San Francisco’s LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District presents a special, 18+ only, online event: The Erotic Storytelling Hour! Come hear some provocative, graphic, sexy, titillating, and funny stories (and more) from selected writers of our community! Be 18+ Hosted by Sumiko Saulson, David Hyman, and Cal Callahan Featured Readers: Danny Thanh Nguyen Element Eclipse Patty Overland Sumiko Saulson Special Guest Reader: Rawiyah Tariq Rawiyah’s most recent published work can be found in “The Politics of Size” co-authored with Juana Tango and edited by Ragen Chastian and their journey documented in interviews in Nia King’s “Queer and Trans Artists of Color”. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85654652578?pwd=M0pSM1VpanJtY1laeW1SVWZLTEZHdz09 Meeting ID: 856 5465 2578 Password: 007266 Or call 1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) and enter meeting ID: 856 5465 2578 and password: 007266 (Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcdjuCNy9C ) Want to be a reader for a future event? contact: manager@sflcd.org The event is free; want to thank us? Donate to Bay Area Leather Lifeline: https://ball.leatheralliance.org/ Or become a member: https://join.sflcd.org/ Check out our Website: https://sfleatherdistrict.org
SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire is an anthology of vampire stories from the African Diaspora. Mocha Memoirs Press is proud to present SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire — a revolutionary anthology celebrating vampires of the African Diaspora. SLAY is a groundbreaking unique collection and will be a must-have for vampire lovers all over the world. SLAY aims to be the first anthology of its kind. Few creatures in contemporary horror are as compelling as the vampire, who manages to captivate us in a simultaneous state of fear and desire. Drawing from a variety of cultural and mythological backgrounds, SLAY dares to imagine a world of horror and wonder where Black protagonists take center stage — as vampires, as hunters, as heroes. From immortal African deities to resistance fighters; matriarchal vampire broods to monster hunting fathers; coming of age stories to end of life stories, SLAY is a groundbreaking Afrocentric vampire anthology celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the African Diaspora.
Alledria Hurt
Alledria Hurt is an African-American author of multiple works. She has appeared in the anthologies: Black Magic Women, Like a Woman, and Deadly Bargain with upcoming appearances in SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire and Devil’s Due. She is best known for two series: The Fate Circle Saga and the She Becomes Death series. She is also known for her novellas such as “A Doll’s Life”. When she isn’t written, she’s a full time cat momma and part time actress. Find her many places on the interwebs through http://linktr.ee/alledria.
Interview with Alledria Hurt
Q. What inspired your story in SLAY: Tales of the Vampire Noire?
A. I knew I wanted to tell a family story. That was really all I had was the idea that it would be a family story of two sisters. I’ve written of the two sisters throughout my writing career, either at odds or working together, but it always seems to be 2 sisters.
Q. What do you think makes your story different than other vampire stories?
A. Though they can and do drink human blood, the life source comes from a special gourd which is hung above the Master’s sleeping place.
Q. Did you learn anything new about African Diaspora vampire stories while you were working on your story or coming up with ideas for SLAY?
A. I went looking for the right word to be the title of my story and hit upon “UJIMA” the word for Collective Work and Responsibility from Kwanzaa. I myself do not celebrate Kwanzaa, in my family it is still Christmas, but the word spoke to me, so I wanted to use it. Plus it fit with the theme of sisterhood in my story.
Q. Who is your favorite black vampire and/or what is your favorite African Diaspora vampire type and why?
A. I’ve always been a little bit of a Marvelite, so I enjoy Blade.
Q. What is your favorite romantic vampire story?
A. Do movies count? I very much enjoyed the romantic angle in Bram Stoker’s Dracula filmed in the 90’s.
Q. What is your favorite scary vampire story?
A. I honestly don’t find vampire stories all that scary, so nothing comes immediately to mind.
Q. What is your favorite funny vampire story?
A. Bunnicula. I don’t remember the first time I read it, but just the name makes me laugh.
Q. What other kinds of stories and books have you put out into the world already?
A. I have a couple of different genres of work out there, but it’s all speculative fiction. For Horror: Dark King Rising & Shelter | For Fantasy: The Fate Circle Saga & She Becomes Death series
Q. What are you working on that our readers might look forward to?
A. I have a book coming out in October, about the same time as the SLAY anthology called “ALICE”. I am also working on a Cyberpunk novel called “Dreamless”.
Who is in Slay?
Featuring anchor stories by award winning authors Sheree Renee Thomas, Craig L. Gidney, Milton Davis, Jessica Cage, Michele Tracy Berger, Alicia McCalla, Jeff Carroll, and Steven Van Patten.
Additional Contributing Authors: Penelope Flynn, Lynette Hoag, Steve Van Samson, Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald, Balogun Ojetade, Valjeanne Jeffers, Samantha Bryant, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Miranda J. Riley, K.R.S. McEntire, Alledria Hurt, Kai Leakes, John Linwood Grant, Sumiko Saulson, Dicey Grenor, L. Marie Wood, LH Moore, Delizhia D. Jenkins, Colin Cloud Dance, and V.G. Harrison.
The publishers of Black Magic Women are set to release another groundbreaking compendium – SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire. The eagerly anticipated anthology will be the first of its kind: a compilation of vampire tales celebrating vampires of the African diaspora.
After a difficult deliberation, the final stories have been chosen and contracts sent to authors. The list of authors whose works will appear in SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire is as follows:
Authors (in order of appearance):
Sheree Renee Thomas
Craig L. Gidney
Danielle Little
Milton Davis
Jessica Cage
Michele Tracy Berger
Alicia McCalla
Jeff Carroll
Steven Van Patten
Penelope Flynn
Lynette Hoag
Steve Van Samson
Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald
Balogun Ojetade
Valjeanne Jeffers
Samantha Bryant
Vonnie Winslow Crist
Miranda J. Riley
K.R.S. McEntire
Alledria Hurt
Kai Leakes
John Linwood Grant
Sumiko Saulson
Dicey Grenor
Lisa Woods
LH Moore
Delizhia D. Jenkins
Colin Cloud Dance
V.G. Harrision
The anthology will be available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. eBook copies are available for pre-order at: https://amzn.to/2XMTsJF
The publishers of Black Magic Women are set to release another groundbreaking compendium – SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire. The eagerly anticipated anthology will be the first of its kind: a compilation of vampire tales celebrating vampires of the African diaspora.
After a difficult deliberation, the final stories have been chosen and contracts sent to authors. The list of authors whose works will appear in SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noireis as follows:
Authors (in order of appearance):
Sheree Renee Thomas
Craig L. Gidney
Danielle Little
Milton Davis
Jessica Cage
Michele Tracy Berger
Alicia McCalla
Jeff Carroll
Steven Van Patten
Penelope Flynn
Lynette Hoag
Steve Van Samson
Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald
Balogun Ojetade
Valjeanne Jeffers
Samantha Bryant
Vonnie Winslow Crist
Miranda J. Riley
K.R.S. McEntire
Alledria Hurt
Kai Leakes
John Linwood Grant
Sumiko Saulson
Dicey Grenor
Lisa Woods
LH Moore
Delizhia D. Jenkins
Colin Cloud Dance V.G…
I am so excited to be a part of this anthology of African Diaspora Vampire Stories!
SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire
An anthology edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz on Mocha Memoirs Press.
Few creatures in contemporary horror are as compelling as the vampire, who manages to captivate us in a simultaneous state of fear and desire. Drawing from a variety of cultural and mythological backgrounds, SLAY dares to imagine a world of horror and wonder where Black protagonists take center stage — as vampires, as hunters, as heroes. From immortal African deities to resistance fighters; matriarchal vampire broods to monster hunting fathers; coming of age stories to end of life stories, SLAY is a groundbreaking Afrocentric vampire anthology celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the African Diaspora
Authors: Sheree Renee Thomas, Craig L. Gidney, Danielle Little, Milton Davis, Jessica Cage, Michele, Tracy Berger, Alicia McCalla, Jeff Carroll, Steven Van Patten, Penelope Flynn, Lynette Hoag, Steve Van Samson, Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald, Balogun Ojetade, Valjeanne Jeffers, Samantha Bryant, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Miranda J. Riley, K.R.S. McEntire, Alledria Hurt, Kai Leakes, John Linwood Grant, Sumiko Saulson, Dicey Grenor, Lisa Woods, LH Moore, Delizhia D. Jenkins, Colin Cloud Dance, V.G. Harrision
Would you like to participate in the Literary Arts Garden I am putting together for the SecondLife Anniversary? You do NOT have to use SecondLife AT ALL. But the deadline is tight. I have to have the project done by June 14 so if you could send your work in by June 10 that would be great. I would especially like to encourage marginalized writers to apply but everyone is welcome. PIECES MUST BE SAFE FOR WORK, this is on General rated land.
What I need are the following:
1) Short literary art works in the form of a PowerPoint or Google Docs slide presentation. YOUR literary art. Meaning your poetry or flash fiction. You can also send it as a series of JPGs. Should be able to be read from a distance (not too much text per slide) and make sense no matter what order it is viewed in (one poem per slide, for example.) Your name should be clearly visible as attribution on each slide.
2) MP3s of you reading poetry, or a short story. This should be not longer than about 7 minutes in length. You should say YOUR NAME so that the people who hear it know who wrote and read the work. If you need something to record with, I recommend the free to download shareware program Audacity. Please do not make it redline (record it so loud that it is in the red). You need to add a second bit to Audacity to get it to convert to MP3. Feel free to DM me for help with that.
If you ARE in SecondLife you can also show up at the event and meet and greet visitors to the Literary Arts Garden.
You can email your stuff to me at sumikoska@yahoo.com
Scorching erotica to heat up your coldest nights. Darkly seductive poetry. Steaming sexy short stories, and delicious hot romances. Like it rough? Like it slow, smooth and tender? Enjoy the best of both worlds with the second installment of Scry of Lust. Plenty of Kink-Centered stories (like in the first book), more erotic poetry than ever before, and everything from monster porn, to space porn, to faerie, seacreature… well, all the porn! For a good cause: Scry of Lust is a charitable anthology raising money for San Francisco AIDSWalk through the SFGOTH Team.
Zoom Reading May 30, 2020 at 8pm PST
Reading at the Event: Serena Toxicat, Sumiko Saulson, Tristissima Et Alia, Julene Tripp Weaver, David Jackson, David-Matthew Barnes, Lucy Ashwood
Scry of Lust is a charitable anthology raising money for San Francisco AIDSWalk through the SFGOTH Team. Contributors with works totaling 1000 words or more will be given one paperback copy of the book. Contributors who’s total contribution (combined works) are less than 1000 words will receive an eBook copy only.
Themes: Anything erotic between consenting adults will be considered. We welcome LBGTQIA+, kinky, and paranormal erotica (including horror erotica or “monster porn”), erotic comedy, and more!
We accept reprints
We accept erotic poetry of up to 100 lines, flash fiction under 1000 words, and short stories of up to 7.500 words.
You may submit up to 3 short stories (total combined word count not to exceed 15,000 words), and up to 5 works of flash fiction or poetry (or any combination thereof).
Submission Deadline: May 15
We are on a tight deadline because the book needs to go to press in plent of time to raise money for San Francisco AIDSWalk, which takes place online this year on Sunday, July 14. Since shelter-in-place makes it challenging to engage in our usual in-person fundraising efforts (which usually start around April 25), we will be using online book readings for Scry of Lust 2 to promote not only the book, but direct donations to SF AIDSWalk through the SFGoth Team!
You do not have to be from San Francisco to submit your work.
Send your manuscript as a Word or Text file to sumikoska@yahoo.com, single spaced, Times Roman 12 Point or similar font.
My grandmother Eleanor died two months shy of her 55th birthday of stomach cancer. She was around my size and looked a lot like me. She kept trying to lose weight by ingesting horrible chemicals and giving herself enemas filled with weight loss remedies. I always wondered if the chemicals caused her cancer. Of course, once she got cancer, she lost a lot of weight.
I was 12 when she died.
Mom, me, and Grandma
I have tried to avoid my grandmother”s feelings of self-loathing over her weight. I used to be very confident about myself. I used to think my grandmother was cute, and that I was cute like my grandma… an adorable woman with a bright smile and round cheeks.
But since Greg died I have more and more people who think it isn’t OK for me to think that I am cute, or look cute, or that I am not repulsive. I used to think that I – and other fat people – looked just like cute baby dolls. But now some people want me to think I look disgusting. And not like a Kewpie doll.
So, my grandma had bulimia. All of her weight loss gimmicks didn’t keep her from gaining weight. Neither did her forced vomiting.
Grandma and Mom
I don’t have bulimia. I just have suicidal ideation when I hear people tell me that being fat means I am lazy, repulsive, undisciplined, etc.. when people act like fatness is a moral failing and ignore my genetic predisposition towards weight gain and the fact that not only do psych meds cause weight gain, but fat shaming is one of the reasons people with metabolic affects may chose to go OFF psych meds.
Psych meds raise blood sugar, but lower blood pressure.
My high blood pressure shouldn’t be an excuse for you to fat shame me. I am on all the meds but I am having so much trouble controlling my weight that I am starting to get paranoid that I have stomach cancer like my grandma, or ovarian cancer like my great-grandma, even though logic dictates that it’s menopause + psych meds making me gain weight again,
P.S. – My grandma used to wear pigtails and little girl clothes, and I do it too. My mom hated it and some people feel it’s desexualizing so I want to apologize if any other people feel desexualized by the idea of looking like a baby doll. It just makes me feel better and I don’t want it to make others feel bad.
[ONLINE] ConTinual: True Blood, Twilight, & the Vampire Diaries June 23, 2026 at 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Poet Laureate at BayCon42 / Westercon 78: The Answer! July 3, 2026 – July 6, 2026
BayCon 42 is proud and privileged to welcome Sumiko Saulson as this year’s Poet-in-Residence. Sumiko brings a distinct voice to speculative literature and poetry. Their presence at BayCon 42 reminds us that meaning can be found in metaphor, memory, and the magic of language. Every year, BayCon welcomes creators, thinkers, and trailblazers whose work reshapes the way…
[IN-PERSON] OakTown Thursdays July 16, 2026 at 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
I will be vending at OakTown Thursdays, which will take over Telegraph Avenue from Broadway to 17th St as well as 16th St from Broadway to San Pablo Ave.
Authors (in order of appearance):
Sumiko Saulson 