Why did you feel there was a need
for Eroticon?
I came up with the idea of Eroticon
just before I was going to a conference for parent bloggers. I knew that there
were other adult bloggers going and felt that while most people are open to the
genre there can still be issues at an event of mixed interests and
agendas.
I saw a need for an event that was
dedicated to the genres of erotica and sex blogging so that writers could meet
their peers and discuss their craft without fear of judgement or derailing
anyone else’s learning experience.
At the UK event I noticed that there
was a balance between writers, industry experts and interested laypersons (which
is probably not the best choice of word given the context).
Was this balance
deliberate?
The balance of content and speakers
is very carefully thought about as the content of the sessions available, to
some extent, dictates who will be attracted to attending the conference, so if
there is a good mix of attendees it means I’ve done a good job with the
schedule.
At Eroticon 2014 I wanted to have
three broad categories of sessions; writing skills, blogging skills, education
and diversity.
The challenge for me is always to
broaden the appeal of the conference without losing its core values in terms of
being an event for writers and framing sessions such as education and diversity
in a way that makes them integrated into the conference.
My goal for the conference is that
every delegate should walk out with a new skill, idea or connection to move
their writing forward, that they leave at least one step ahead of where they
were when they walked through the door.
Is this something you hope to
achieve with the US edition of Eroticon?
I’m intrigued to see how Eroticon
USA will pan out. I think the split is about half and half sex bloggers to
writers, which is great as that suggests I’ve managed to put together an event
that is attractive to my core audience, which is obviously quite important for
an event organiser!
Do you feel this balancing of
interests gives Eroticon a unique perspective?
Definitely! Eroticon has a unique
perspective not only because of this balance or interests but because it is the
only event of its kind. There are many literary festivals, writing workshops,
blogging conferences and sex positive events but there are none that pull all
of these aspects together.
The other great strength of Eroticon
is that the delegates have really taken it to their hearts, with many talking
about a sense of belonging that they get at the event, which is incredibly
humbling for me but also satisfying as that is one of the things I was hoping to
achieve.
What have been the highlights of
Eroticon in the UK?
Nothing will replace the opening
moments of Eroticon 2012 – the sense that I’d actually done it and here were all
these people that had taken a leap of faith, parted with their hard earned cash
and turned up.
At 2013 I loved Maureen Scott’s
session about mobile publishing and Ether Books and it was fantastic to have
Cindy Gallop contribute via Google Hangout for the closing plenary on the
Sunday.
It is wonderful to be able to bring
such women with foresight to speak at the conference and share who and what
inspires me with others.
What do you anticipate being the
highlights of US Eroticon?
I think the opening and closing
sessions will be the highlights because those “I did it!” moments are instances
of overwhelmingly personal of achievement. There will of course be dozens of
moments to laugh and learn throughout the day and of course so many people to
talk to and meet.
To find out more and buy tickets
for Eroticon USA and Eroticon 2014 visit http://www.writesexright.com
The conference for sex bloggers and erotica writers
Find us on Twitter: @writesexright
