Press Releases

December 22, 2006: Gay E-zine Writings Honored in Rauxa Erotic Literature Awards | Links to the Writings.

Four gay, bisexual, and transgender writings published in True Tales: An Erotic E-zine of Masculinity and Power have been honored in the 2006 Rauxa awards for erotic literature.

The Rauxa Foundation announced on December 17 that "The Deformity Lover," by Felice Picano, was a runner-up for the Rauxa Prize for erotic poetry. "Spontaneous," by Dusk Peterson, was a runner-up for the Rauxa Prize for erotic fiction.

Two other works published in True Tales were also honored. "New Orleans Nos 1 to 9," by Master Sade, was a finalist for the Rauxa Prize in the poetry category. "Mardi Gras," by Max Verga, was a finalist in the fiction category.

Felice Picano's "The Deformity Lover," which was originally published in 1978, also appeared in a 1986 disabilities issue of the gay erotic magazine Drummer. The poem explores a non-disabled man's fascination with disabled men.

True Tales reprinted "The Deformity Lover" as part of an August 2005 retrospective on the Drummer disabilities issue. Mr. Picano, who is a former member of the famed gay literary circle called the Violet Quill Club, contributed a historical note to the retrospective issue, explaining the origins of the poem.

Max Verga also contributed to the Drummer retrospective issue by True Tales. Under his pen name of Michael Agreve, Mr. Verga wrote erotic fiction for Drummer in the 1980s. He is currently bear correspondent for BENT, an e-zine on gay men and disabilities.

"Mardi Gras" is part of Mr. Verga's unpublished novel The City That Care Forgot, set in New Orleans, which the author visits annually. He completed the novel in August 2005, the same month that Hurricane Katrina devastated that city. "Mardi Gras" appeared in True Tales's October 2005 issue on regional works, which includes a section devoted to New Orleans.

Eleven days after Hurricane Katrina's arrival, Master Sade began posting poems about his native city of New Orleans at the e-mail list for New Orleans Bondage and Leather Enthusiasts (NOBLE), a pansexual group. True Tales reprinted the entire sequence of poems, along with a final poem commissioned for the regional works issue.

"Spontaneous," by True Tales editor Dusk Peterson, also appeared in the regional works issue. Evoking imagery of lime gelatin with marshmallows, the story provides a humorous yet searching look at leather life in suburbia.

True Tales: An Erotic E-zine of Masculinity and Power - http://truetales.org - was founded in 2005 in Greenbelt, Maryland. It is currently based in Annapolis. The free online gay magazine publishes fiction, narrative nonfiction, narrative poetry, drama, book excerpts, and blog reprints. It links to art, photography, and videos.

The Rauxa Prize was created by Susannah Indigo as a celebration of erotic writing, and is administered by the Rauxa Foundation. The foundation reports that it received almost one thousand entries to the Rauxa Prize this year.

Below are the summaries and URLs for the True Tales writings that were honored.

Runner-up for the Rauxa Prize for erotic poetry:

The Deformity Lover. By Felice Picano. A man searches for what others pass over.

Runner-up for the Rauxa Prize for erotic fiction:

Spontaneous. By Dusk Peterson. Can an Old Guard top survive in a world with safe words?

Finalist for the Rauxa Prize for erotic poetry:

New Orleans, Nos 1 to 9. By Master Sade. Gay, straight, gender-bending . . . Master Sade's poems explore a New Orleans that many misunderstand.

Finalist for the Rauxa Prize for erotic fiction:

Mardi Gras. By Max E. Verga. It was the best Mardi Gras ever: Owen had found a tattooed woman who gave him everything he could have dreamed of. Then the boyfriend came home.