Spirited Smut on Holy Hill + Sex Workers' Writing Workshop this Weds 9/16 + SWWW Fall/Winter Sked!

Friends! I am teaching a smut-writing workshop in the east bay on Wednesday through the Center for Lesbian & Gay Studies in Religion & Ministry at Pacific School of Religion. CLGS is the groovy non-profit I worked at before starting grad school, and I am tickled to be going back there to teach for an afternoon. I know that many of you work during the day &/or are students who have classes then, but if you know any folks (esp. in the east bay!) who might enjoy my workshop, please feel free to pass this note on to them. Then, right after the workshop at PSR, I hop over to SF and teach Sex Workers' Writing Workshop at the Center for Sex & Culture. I think Wednesday can officially be called a Writestravaganza. :) In other news: Grad school is eating my brain, but in a good way. I am pretty much busier than I have ever been in my entire life (and for someone like me, that is really saying a lot). But it's a good & joyous kind of busy. Also! I've got some gigs upcoming in Boston in October! Stayed tuned for more about that, and tell yr east coast friends! Love to all of you, Gina -- FIRST! Come write spirited smut with me on Holy Hill this Wednesday! :) "Erotica for Fun & Justice" (their title) Presented by the Center for Lesbian & Gay Studies in Religion & Ministry Workshop facilitated by Gina de Vries Pacific School of Religion 1798 Scenic, Berkeley, CA Wednesday, September 16th 3:30 to 5:00pm Room Mudd 103 at PSR Workshop Description: Writing about sexuality can be joyous, transformative, political, spiritual, or just plain fun -- but erotica can very easily turn more laughable or flat than sexy. How do we write sexually-explicit work without overdoing it or boring the reader? How do we write about politics and sex, or spirituality and sex, without getting too dry or heavy-handed? In this erotic writing workshop, we'll learn some of the basics of writing erotic fiction. We'll do a series of exercises that will jump start us in writing erotic work: how to avoid cliches, how to write about what's hot and interesting for us (not what we think will be hot or interesting for the theoretical reader), and how to create believable settings and characters. Some notes: 1. No writing experience is needed for this class. Bring something to write with and an open mind. 2. This is an erotica writing workshop. We will be talking about sex and using sexually-explicit language. Please be comfortable with that. Remember that you are not obligated to share unless you want to. 3. If you want to engage in a debate about whether politics, spirituality, and/or sexuality are related, or whether erotica can be artistic, etc, etc, etc, this is NOT the workshop for you. BIO: Gina de Vries is a widely-published queer femme Paisan pervert, author, activist, and writing instructor. Her work has appeared dozens of places, including Revolutionary Voices, Dirty Girls, TransForming Community, That's Revolting!, Bound to Struggle, Visible: A Femmethology, The Revolution Starts at Home, Curve magazine, make/shift magazine, Go magazine, and $pread magazine. Gina has performed, taught, and lectured in chapels, living rooms, leatherbar backrooms, and the halls of the Ivy League. She's currently pursuing her MFA in Fiction Writing at San Francisco State University. She believes in the transformative spiritual power of writing, and enjoys political discussion as foreplay. Find her online at (the embarrassingly outdated but soon to be updated) ginadevries.com --- SECOND!: Sex Workers' Writing Workshop Sex Workers' Writing Workshop Wednesday, September 16th, 6:30pm-8pm **Note that we are starting at 6:30, NOT 6pm!** Center for Sex & Culture, 1519 Mission Street, San Francisco (cross street 11th -- it's the building with the pink awning) Sliding scale $10-$20 *more if you can, less if you can't, nobody turned away* Workshop facilitated by Gina de Vries **In general,** Sex Workers' Writing Workshop is now the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of the month, from **6pm-8pm.** However, because I'll be coming from another gig, I'm having us start at 6:30 this Wednesday ONLY. Blurb: This is a writing workshop for current and former sex workers to share their writing and get honest, non-judgmental feedback. Workshop participants are not obligated to write exclusively about sex work, but writing about work in the sex industry (as well as writing about other topics) will be welcomed. This is a place where people can write and share about their sex work experiences without having to censor themselves or explain every detail. Beginning writers are encouraged to attend along with more seasoned wordsmiths. In case you need it, here is Sex Workers' Writing Workshop Fall & Winter 2009 Schedule: 

Wednesday, October 7th, 6pm-8pm, CSC Wednesday, October 21st, 6pm-8pm, CSC Wednesday, November 4th, 6pm-8pm, CSC Wednesday, November 18th, 6pm-8pm, CSC Wednesday, November 18th, 6pm-8pm, CSC Wednesday, December 2nd, 6pm-8pm, CSC Wednesday, December 16th, 6pm-8pm, CSC