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

Let’s Check In With Smudge

Our RTL mascot, Smudge had his very first rabies shot yesterday.  He is 18 weeks old and 5.5 pounds of sleek, sturdy, willful young kitten.   He is busy learning many things.

He helps me keep track of monsters in my online game.

And writes down my stats. See his single white whisker?

He is a big help to Aunt Tilly in the office.

He is learning computer repair. "This fan needs to be plugged in."

An afternoon nap, like Uncle Skuffy, is common.

Dont need no silly spine! How can he sleep on that loud fabric?!

And to bed in the evening. G'nite all.

Sweet Afters – 1000+ and counting

ReadTheseLips.com, the project that could, has given away more than a thousand copies of Sweet Afters – the third anthology in the RTL series – in just over a month from release. (We would’ve posted this sooner but we had technical problems)

Thank you to everyone who’ve supported us. Please tell your friends, and do look up the authors who’ve contributed to our free anthologies.

Writers’ news

We’ve added a page to link to news and updates from our contributors.

Writers:  if you don’t have a website or blog yet, email us your news and we’ll pop them up on here.

E-books you can’t resist

We’re so pleased to share that Bedazzled Ink sponsored the prize for our Name the Kitty contest. They came up with the offer all by their lovely selves.

Check out their cheaper than chips e-books. How can you resist at those prices!

Now before y’all overrun their e-bookstore at http://bedazzledink.com/bbp/, please note that they are in the midst of revamping their main website, where you can see upcoming releases and yes, buy print books too.

And the Winner Is……

We have a winning name for our wee kitten!   From some 115+ suggestions including:

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Edgar,  Hades,  Mephisto,  Smokey,  Imhotep,  Obsidian,  Spike,  Dakota ,  Harley,  Baron,  Mr. Hym,  Nightcrawler,  Shadow,  Loki,  Cocoa,  Chuave (suave),  Bogart,  Edgar,  Wisp,  Eliot (T.S.),  Pitch,  Ninja,  Rorschach,  Ares,  Sable,  Kiss-o,  Spartacus,  Diablo,  Zane,  Monochromatic,   Bandit,  Dusty,  Stardust,  Badger,  Jynx,  Mica,  Licorice,  Saxton,  Black Beauty,  Genghis,  Kip,  Jet,  Gus,  Rudder,  Ace,  Bailey,  Reese,  Midnight,  Sebastian,  Berry,  Stan,  Lightning,  Zeus,  Wishbone,  Kodak,  Kota,  Spotlight,  Jack Daniels,  Flicker,  Bagheera,  Pixel,  Koli (Icelandic),  Passepartout,  Sherlock,  Jackson,  Dobby,  Chessy,  Mongoose,  Alabaster,  Swat,  GoBaby,  Bacchus,  Tar,  Luther,  Voodoo,  Zorro, Bilge,  Indigo,  Storm,  Oilslick,  Wrecker,  Ruckus,  Goblin,  Coal,  Sammy,  Inkspot,  Elvis,  Creeper,  Rocky,  Soot,  Lucky,  Pyewacket,  Keel,  Demon,  Night,  Casper,  Gargamel,  Thunder  and Johann Sebastian Black.

Whew!

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A bunch of really great names!!       Can you say:  “Close your eyes and throw a dart.” ?

Submitted by Chris Limbach from New York City, our winner is Smudge!   Congratulations to Chris!

Chris said she is tickled to be our winner and looks forward to reading her e-copy of Year’s Best Lesbian Fiction 2008 from Bedazzled Ink.

Little Smudge is thriving  and very busy … most of the time…

Thanks to all of you for participating.

We Have a Winner!

We have a Kitty Name Winner!
But Im not gonna tell you!
Yet…. 
We want to get in touch with our winner first, but no doubt in the next few days, we will make the official announcement.
Stay Tuned!

The wee one is overcome with excitement….

Name the kitty closing soon

We’re loving the name entries, folks.

Just a reminder that unless you email your suggestion to info@readtheselips.com you won’t be in the running to win.

Name the Wee Beastie-continued

Wow!  We have received a big bucketful of name suggestions for our little pal!  Keep em coming!  Email your suggestion to info@readtheselips.com

Little kitty’s Uncle Skuffy is very good to the baby…tussles with him but uses soft paws. He usually just hold him down and bathes him, which the baby just HATES!  LOL!

Sweet Afters Prints

Photographer JRen is offering to sell prints of the covers of Sweet Afters

that she photographed for us, as well as her other lovely pictures in Sweet Afters.

You can buy them and more at http://www.jrenphotos.etsy.com

See more of her work at  http://jrenphotos.wordpress.com/ and  http://www.jennren.com/#/home/

Name the kitty, win a copy of YBLF

To celebrate the launch of RTL on Facebook, we’re giving away an e-book of Year’s Best Lesbian Fiction 2008.

To win a copy, we’re looking for a name for this little fellow. Send in your suggestions (one entry per person) to info@readtheselips.com by midnight 2 August, to be in the running. The winner will be notified by email.

Some names already in the hat are:

Coal

Elvis

InkSpot

Rukus

Rocky

Sammy

Pyewacket

Gargamel

Creeper

Whitey

Zorro

Sweet Afters: Read These Lips, Volume 3

It’s here!

Sweet Afters from ReadTheseLips.com is our third collection of distinctive stories from talented lesbian authors. Joan Nestle—co-founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives and iconic lesbian activist—honoured us with a fascinating story of one lesbian’s joyous life celebrated by those who shared it. Janis Spehr sent in a breathtaking narrative of a housewife struggling to escape a dead-end life. J.E. Knowles, Georgia Beers, JD Glass and Amy McDonald each gave a glimpse into the complexities of significant relationships. Vicki Stevenson reminded us that happy beginnings can happen anywhere, and poet Natasha Carthew offered three short but intense poems for all who have longed and loved. For the first time, we are featuring a photographic exhibit by JRen, who also shot this issue’s beautiful covers.

Sweet Afters is about the last course, the indulgent pleasure afterwards. We hope this issue of Read These Lips satisfies in the best way.

Now available for download from ReadTheseLips.com.
Enjoy the book.

Evecho and Linda Lorenzo

Editors,  ReadTheseLips.com

Year’s Best Lesbian Fiction

Congratulations to the authors from Second Helpings: Read These Lips, Volume 2, Ovidia Yu and Lois C. Hart, and our resident Copy Editor and Bibliographer extraordinaire, Renée Strider.

Year’s Best Lesbian Fiction 2008
Fran Walker, editor

The first annual collection of lesbian short stories published in 2008, selected from over eighty nominations by Fran Walker, author of Lavender Ink: Writing and Selling Lesbian Fiction and judges, Lynne Pierce, moderator of lesfic_unbound and Joan Opyr, author of Idaho Code.

This year’s stories originally appeared in Read These Lips: Second Helpings, Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades,  Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures,  Khimairal Ink, Toe to Toe: Standing Tall and Proud, and Ewaipanoma by Nebula Winner, Mary A. Turzillo.

• “Sweet Baby Dyke” by Renée Strider
• “Silent Journey” by DeJay
• “One Horse Town” by Melissa Scott
• “The Abomination of the Blue Hibiscus” by Ovidia Yu
• “Gay Day” by Sandra Barret
• “Mind Games” by Tracey Shellito
• “Water Rites” by Mary Douglas
• “Games With Chance” by Andi Marquette
• “Ewaipanoma” by Mary A. Turzillo
• “Kissing on the Ferris Wheel” by Meg White
• “Words Like Candy Conversation Hearts” by Kathleen Bradean
• “To Dance With No Music” by Lois C. Hart
• “The One I Left Behind” by M. Christian

Coming soon

Sweet Afters, the third anthology from Read These Lips.

Update

Hello folks
We’ve been pretty quiet on the blog but behind the scenes, we’re furiously working on the next collection of stories and graphics for Read These Lips, Volume 3, subtitled  Sweet Afters.

This issue’s style will be a departure from our previous releases. It’s all very exciting. Stay tuned.

Freebie: The writer’s guide to making a digital living

Free download (2.7 megs, PDF)

The writer’s guide to making a digital living was developed through the Australia Council’s  Story of the Future project in 2008 to explore the craft and business of writing in the digital era.

This report looks at writing, collaboration, copyright, marketing and distribution and business models, and how to develop projects from concept to commerical takeup. It includes case studies from Australia’s rising generation of poets, novelists, screenwriters, games writers and producers who are embracing new media and contains audio and video content from seminars and workshops, as well as extensive references to resouces in Australia and beyond.

The writer’s guide to making a digital living is published under a non-commercial, remix, share-alike Creative Commons licence. You may embed, download, distribute, remix, share alike and above all enjoy.

Made possible by Australia Council for the Arts.

(Excerpt)

Who should use this guide

Interview on Chroma

We are very pleased that Chroma : a Queer Literary and Arts Journal in the UK, has an interview with Evecho on their blog. It gives insight into the inception, concept and philosophy of ReadTheseLips.com.

Gill McKnight conducted the interview.

To read the extended chat, go here: Interview for Chroma (2008)

Stand up for your love rights

Last week, during the US Presidential election, lesbian and gay Americans in three states of the USA were denied the right to marry their same-sex partners. The biggest blow occurred in California, a traditionally liberal state, when a referendum known as Prop 8 overturned two Legislative votes AND a State Supreme Court decision that recognised same-sex marriages.

Well, the LGBTQ community and friends are not going to take it quietly. Already appeals are in process and the fight continues. Demos against Prop 8 will hit cities nationwide this Saturday, 15th November.

Join Fight The H8 this Saturday (complete with rainbow fist and catchy slogan) at a location near you – if you live in the US of A – to protest Prop 8 (boo hiss!). It’s not just a California problem, it affects every gay person. So come out for a day, an hour, with your queer mates and show your pride.

To find your nearest location – http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com

To learn what is Prop 8 and why we must stand up to it go here – http://www.noonprop8.com/about. Scroll down the page for information in Spanish, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese.

Edited 20-11-08: The Supreme Court of California has given leave and will hear the challenges to Prop 8.

Open for business

Time for this editor to put her pens in her pocket, fish out the moleskin notebook and check out interesting writers for Read These Lips, Volume 3.

Our new submissions guidelines are up.

Evecho

Most disappointing

The Lambda Literary Foundation (LLF) has released nomination guidelines for its 2008 awards. Heading the new changes are that reprints and second or later editions are not eligible for consideration, then some vague breakdown of categories for bisexual and transgender books, then more confused, discretionary breakdown along sexual orientation or gender for warranted categories.

Basically, only first-print dead tree books published and available in US bookstores are eligible.

E-books are unequivocally excluded from the awards. Again. Can someone explain why? Are ebooks not literary enough? Isn’t literary merit a matter for the judges to decide per submission rather than wholesale format exclusions? Is Amazon or any eretailer considered a bookstore for these purposes? If a supermarket has a book section, is it a bookstore?

These and other questions perplex me.

Sadly sadly sadly, the Award Guidelines Committee has again failed to take the opportunity to grasp the emerging impact of ebooks on LGBT literature. Instead of being progressive, of understanding that many brick-and-mortar bookstores don’t even stock LGBT books, of ignoring the impact that the internet has on LGBT life, of not accepting the diversity of media that LGBTs have always excelled at, LLF prefer to expand on genre (21 categories!) so that a book can be nominated in more than one category.

The complete market exclusion of LGBT books published outside the US is stunning in its arrogance. In this day and age, that such an restrictive, protectionist stance is still advocated AND acceptable from a major literary body that professes to celebrate LGBT
literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians – the whole literary community, is frankly, ironic.

Evecho