Call for Submissions: Read These Lips, Volume 4 (June 2010)

Read These Lips is a free e-book project dedicated to lesbian literature. In our fourth year, we are inviting submissions to our anthology series.

We seek multi-dimensional literary writings that speak the possibilities of lesbian lives. We feature popular genre as well as cross-genre works.

Submissions are open from 1 November 2009 to 31 January 2010.  Please read our Submissions Guidelines carefully, and our previous anthologies for guidance.

Early expressions of interest are encouraged.

All correspondence to submissions@readtheselips.com (more…)

Add comment October 28, 2009

GBks Settlement ain’t settled

Bit late with the news  that the Google Book’s  Settlement hasn’t convinced the Department of Justice as we head into the Feb. 18 hearing of the amended settlement.

Add comment February 9, 2010

Hats ‘n’ heels, and a clumsy butch

Mardi Gras is almost upon us. A little later this year (19 Feb-5 March) and for the first time in like forever, the parade and the party will be held on separate weekends. More time for tourists to be forced to visit the state. Heaps of events that look too good to miss – Sarah Waters, Whitney Houston, (George Michael), films, parties, sports – and a real drag race at the racecourse. I think the Pink Stiletto event, a gay day at the races (big horses tiny men), will be fabulous fun. And it’s a fundraiser to boot.

Speaking of hats, you’ve got to give this book a try.

Fedora Walks by Merrilee Moss (Spinifex Press, IPG , Amazon, Book Depository, or any of these)

Firstly, when you see this book on some sites, i.e. Amazon, it has the peculiar sub-title of (Data and Knowledge in a Changing World). I don’t know where that came from but on the book, it actually says A Comic Crime Novel, and that’s exactly what it is. Oh wait, except that it’s more a novella. Less than a hundred pages, sure, but it’s funny.

FW is a lesbian crime story, complete with homicide, a bumbling butch detective and the girlfriend she tries not to lose while also perving after her client. Because the book is so short, I can’t give away much except to say there’s a healthy dose of supernaturalism in the story, enough for me to go ‘huh?’ at some points, but this is offset by the display of millinery and the rather hilarious musings of our PI, Julie Bernard, as she sets out to solve a mystery older than herself by whatever means possible, i.e. on a bicycle.

This story gently satirises the lesbian crime fiction genre by taking itself seriously. It’s not.

What I love about this book, other than that it made me laugh a lot, is the setting (Melbourne) and the editing. FW is a great example of  australian publishing style. I might even keep it nearby as a pocket reference.

Add comment February 4, 2010

Want to be a featured writer?

Just About Write (www.justaboutwrite.com), a resource site for lesbian authors and readers, is calling for authors to submit their bios and news about their upcoming books for JAW’s Featured Author section.

Send along your info thus to Lynne at Sage320@aol.com :

  • Author biography
  • A picture of the author in JPEG format
  • A summary of each book – you can send the blurbs on the back covers
  • A copy of each book cover – again in JPEG format

Add comment February 3, 2010

Our stories our lives

As the editor of ReadTheseLips.com I say that a lot because I am interested in all aspects of lesbian lives. There isn’t much more I can do except to show you, dear reader, that our publications, like all lesbian publications, are important stones towards build a stronger identity and appreciation of who we are and what we (lesbians) do.  Our lives are much more than genre or, for some,  fantasy but how to find the little things that matter, that contribute towards the lesbian persona of  a woman. It is the sum of our parts that we sometimes have to break down to show that they matter in making the whole.

To remind us that we can be as similar and as wildly different, here’s a talk by Chimamanda Adichie about the dangers of homogeneity in literature.

Link.

As an analogy, a quote from this unrelated article which I think underscores the future that will isolate those of us who think queer culture is only acceptable if it’s homogenous.

an ethnically homogenous people who had worked with a common purpose and set of values …were now insular and xenophobic.

Add comment January 28, 2010

Bob the lamington

I know I’ve been quiet lately – or is that my guilty laziness talking? I mean, does anyone look forward to my irregular wee postings? No, I’m not sulking, I’m just I’ve been…you know… busy with happy girlfriend stuff and work. Yes, work. And because I’ve been flat out at work, I get to play, and by play, I mean with my new Le Creuset casserole buffet pan which is only something I’ve been longingly fondling for over a year in the kitchen showroom (for the curious, it is in blue, the same blue as Henri my other enamelled iron pot) and C bought it, Emile, for me as a surprise. Don’t ask me why I name by cookware.

So what about the lamington? Ah, yes, today is Australia Day. How lovely that they’ve let it fall on a Tuesday. C and I are having a rare day at home in the middle of the week. The last time we did this was hmmm at christmas. Yes, rare indeed.

My other inward homeward news (for those still reading, hey) is about our recent aquarium acquisition. Some of you may know that our gorgeous freaky oranda Shi-Shi passed away two months ago. I thought she was a crazy looking fish but secretly, I still miss her. Here’s a pic of our new black ranchus. They haven’t been named yet because I can’t tell them apart…yet.

2 comments January 26, 2010

3flaunt: lesbian-ebooks.com.au

The third flaunt
www.lesbian-ebooks.com.au

Call for manuscripts for ‘3flaunt’: Sue Webb, the new editor, is
looking for manuscripts from a wide perspective, fiction to 3000 words,
poetry to any length. If you are unsure if your piece is suitable email
Sue at editor@lesbian-ebooks.com.au Deadline is still to be finalised
but probably around mid 2010. Please note: They are not able to pay
royalties at this time – but they offer a professional
presentation of your work to many thousands of readers, world wide.

If you want more information on 3flaunt you can email Sue directly at: editor@lesbian-ebooks.com.au or sue@lesbian-ebooks.com.au

Add comment January 18, 2010

Schmoozing the cock

After my post about chinese authors unhappy with GBks digitizing their works,  comes news that Google could quit China because it thinks chinese hackers are breaching certain Gmail account, and in the first flurry, Google has relaxed some restrictions placed on its search engine.

And in France, their Prez is considering inviting GBks to scan/share their literary heritage, with conditions of course.

What next in a world of multinationals influencing politics, eh?

Add comment January 14, 2010

Prop 8 case – tweet by tweet

I don’t use twitter and unfortunately, it looks like the decision to post the Prop 8 hearing on YouTube has been stayed, but you can follow updates on the hearing via several links, including this one and this.

And from our own Prof of Law at CUNY, the writerly Ruthann Robson, is a post on the level of scrutiny the court might employ in relation to the arguments.

Add comment January 12, 2010

GBks stepping on the dragon’s toes

Explain me this, GoogleBooks is still in hot water with it’s omni-tude of steamroll vacumning literary works for digitization until individual copyrightholders pip up and say No, you can’t have mine. Considering there are more than 50 million books officially published (who knows how many more unofficially) that does not include magazines, graphic novels and other printable creative works, and you can see the potential of having all that accessible online anywhere in the world, but also the monopoly GBks might have over the literary history of mankind.

If the squakers in the US think the GBks settlement is a bad idea for being passively affirmed until positively opted out of,  know that the proceedings against Google have not stopped the work of the machine. Writers in China are upset that GBks have scanned their works without permission. What does Google do? It apologises and says it will hand over the list of Chinese books it has digitized – not that it will delete them from the database. I hope the Chinese aren’t suckers.

Add comment January 12, 2010

Y’sBLF call for submissions

Bedazzled Ink Publishing are looking for nominations for their next Year’s Best Lesbian Fiction anthology.

Nominations are open for stories with lesbian content to be considered for this year’s Year’s Best Lesbian Fiction anthology. Short stories to 12,500 words featuring significant lesbian content, first published in an edited venue (online, magazine, anthology, etc) in 2009, are eligible for nomination.   Fanfic is not eligible, and erotica stories are strongly discouraged.

This year’s issue will be edited by Fran Walker and Andi Marquette and published by Bedazzled Ink Publishing.  Authors whose stories are selected for inclusion by the editors, and whose reprint rights are contracted for this anthology, will receive a $25 payment and one contributor’s copy.   The anthology will be published in print and e-book form in June 2010.

If you published one or more lesbian stories in 2009 that you feel would be of suitable quality and content and that you would like to nominate, please email me the date and venue of original publication and a copy of the story, preferably by 31 January 2010.  Alternatively, if you could forward this information to your authors, they can nominate their published stories themselves. Info on last year’s issue can be found here:  http://bedazzledink.com/?page_id=150

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions; please also feel free to forward this call for nominations to anyone you think might be interested.

many thanks,

Fran Walker

(franwalker@ihug.co.nz)

Add comment January 11, 2010

Previous Posts


Evecho’s newsy bits

News, updates and links from the lesbian and publishing ‘verse that interest me, my current projects, keeping up with authors and sharing musings on middle-class life, gourmet adventures and comparisons between East/West perspectives. My opinions will likely be linearly logical and gayly bent, as they tend to be.

Recent Posts

Archives

ebooks

Interests

LesLit

Short Story sites

Tags

art Australian same-sex rights Awards best of the week blogs Chromajournal comics ebooks ebooks on iphone editors Facebook Feminist Porn fish Food foodie news free e-books Gill McKnight Google Books historical archive Intellectual Property JD Glass Judy Francesconi Lee Lynch Lesbian lit LLF No to Prop 8 pet goldfish porcine news prop 8 Pulitzer prize accepts online journalism Queer lit Read These Lips ReadTheseLips.com recipe review same-sex equality same-sex rights sci-fi/fantsay seasons sex and sexuality short stories short story competition SWF Where the Girls Are: Urban Lesbian Erotica zucchini