Fwd: Call for Submissions for A New Erotica Journal edited by fayemi shakur

Subject: Call for Submissions for A New Erotica Journal edited by fayemi shakur

Would you mind sharing this call for submissions with your contacts?

Thank you in advance.

Much Love,

fayemi shakur

Greetings Friends,

It gives me tremendous pleasure to share with you this call for submissions and introduction to a new erotic literature publication I plan to launch this fall entitled OPEN. For the past three years, I have been privately writing and sharing my erotica work with fellow scribes, publishers and editors. I've sought to learn all I can about sex positive erotica, existentialism and spirituality.

And finally, I've found an answer to this question: When writing erotica how does one differentiate between gratuitous sex and straight up hot?

I've learned three things about erotica writing.

One: Write the story first and put the sex in later. This is the foundation for writing great erotic literature.

It's important to have a sense of who your characters are; to set the scene for what is happening and why. Although it seems people just jump into sex, there is always an undercurrent of thoughts, feelings, and desires that lead to the action itself. It is my desire to explore the latter.

Two: More than just passion and desire, erotica should reveal intense feelings and share a range of emotion. This is sort of an extension of common writer's advice: show, don't tell.

This, to me, is where the real story always lies. Why do you want what you want and how does it make you feel to not have it, deny, repress and ultimately get it?

Three: Love of sex should never be considered taboo. Sex is creativity. Once we find love, how do we keep it from fading and stagnating? Well, we must be creative. Even if we are alone, we must be creative.

I share these philosophies with you because it is my hope that OPEN will encourage a new, open dialogue about love, sex, and intimacy and serve as a platform not only for established writers but also for emerging erotica writers, photographers and other visual artists to share their work and passion for experimenting. I believe passion for experimentation is a pre-requisite for erotica writers/artists.

When submitting stories, I encourage writers to incorporate these three philosophies in their storytelling.

OPEN Submission Guidelines

There are 12 themed issues planned for OPEN. To get the ball rolling, I am sharing the themes for the first four issues and requesting that interested writers and visual artists select two that peak your interest.

Issue 1: The First Time

This issue is all about firsts. Experiences of bliss, innocence, uninhibited behavior and transcendence, first true loves and trying new things for the first time.

Issue 2: Scene

This issue is all about location and atmosphere.

Issue 3: Power

People respect and are attracted to power. For some its physical power and beauty they love. Some love people with professional power or personal power. But really it's confidence and a strong sense of self and identity that are so attractive. And in the bedroom…I'll let you tell that story.

Issue 4: The Cool.

Many books have been written about the importance of detachment in love. Chopra, Osho, Hahn, the list is endless. Some people can play it cool better than others.

How to Submit:

1) Send an email to fashakur@gmail.com to express your interest including the issues you would like to contribute to. Please include a short bio and/or link to your website, or sample of your work.

2) The deadline for submitting to Issue 1 is: August 31, 2011.

3) Stories should be no more than 2,000 words. Original poetry submissions and song lyrics are also accepted and welcome.

4) Images submitted should be high resolution photos or jpeg images of original artwork.

Deadlines for future issues will be announced at a later date.

Please feel free to share this info with others you think might be interested in contributing. I am very excited about this project. I look forward to hearing from you and I encourage you to continue to follow your passions.

Love and Respect,

fayemi shakur

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About the Editor

fayemi shakur first began writing political and cultural news stories for The Source magazine in 1999. Her interviews and published work have appeared in UPTOWN, Essence, Vibe, The Ave and other print and online media. Currently she serves as a Managing Editor of HYCIDE, a photography magazine. (www.hycide.com)