All classes are assumed to take 90 minutes unless otherwise noted. Most are lecture-style and require no white boards or special equipment. There are no handouts.
Basic requirements: travel/hotel/two passes to the event plus $200/class. Minimum 2 classes, maximum 4 over a weekend. Please don’t book a class before 10 in the morning if at all possible. If you would like to schedule a reading (or two) in addition to classes, there is never a charge.
Contact: LAntoniou(at)aol(dot)com
Get Your Freak On With Your Geek On
Designed for the huge geeky/kinky crossover.
Never Too Short for a Stormtrooper: Role Playing, Geek Style
Break away from the naughty boy/girl scenarios and leatherman cosplay! Embrace the Nerd Side, where we have a much wider range of clothing options and roles to play. Date night with the Slytherins, superhero take-downs, Klingon Rite of Ascension? Why not? You ship Ramsey/Theon? Go for it, you sick mofo. Why look like everyone else at the con when you can rock your Ming the Merciless garb? Counter tales of old-Euro-TPE training by introducing your padawan or your new …ward. Yes, ward. Definitely not a juvenile crime fighter.
A Balanced Party Wins the Boss Fight
Tank, healer, rogue, mage – they’re not simply jobs, they’re roles. When a party is missing a key element, a weakness develops and villainy finds a way in. But unless your poly family actually has at least five different specialists, you should identify which areas of expertise you can claim, and know how to call upon them in times of trouble. Use gamer strategy consciously to maintain the health and fun in your relationships and recognize your individual talents and passions. Know when to go light and clear away trash issues versus when to pop your pots and mods and go all in with a mighty Leeeerooooy Jeeeeeenkins! Bonus feature: when figuring out your weaknesses, you will know where you and your partners might need to do some work to help strengthen your relationship.
Dungeon Masters FTW: Scripting Kinky Adventures
The Dungeon (or Game) Master seems to be the grand controller of the universe, inflicting trials and challenges upon helpless victimized players. But any DM worth a d6 knows they are there to serve the players by providing exactly the sort of environment they need/want, with puzzles, goals, thrills, danger – and rewards, of course. Sound a little familiar? It should. Dig into the skill set of a DM and use tools you already have – story and encounter structure, planning and foresight, drama and suspense building – and borrowing from professionals and outside resources of course! – to create brief or episodic playtime scenes, or even the path of a relationship. You do not need to be a top/dominant partner OR an experienced DM to engage this topic, because the best, most creative plans are nothing without cooperative and collaborative players.
Be The Hero You Need
Are you holding out for a hero in your life? The swashbuckling, clever, all-powerful paragon of virtue who will save you from boredom, mediocrity, despair and loneliness? The magical one who will complete you, fly away with you, give you a kingdom, remove your curses? Guess what? This is not going to go the way you think. Villains of all sorts can possess matching kinks, physical attraction and deliver hot sex, so it’s important to be your own hero to escape their seductive clutches. As a bonus, you will develop and show yourself to be exactly what heroes love the most – another hero. Top, bottom, DS, pup, freestyle kinkster – it doesn’t matter what your other identities are. You are all potentially heroic. Absolutely for people in relationships as well as those on the hunt, because more heroes = better world.
What’s Your Super Power?
It’s hard to feel sexy & fun when so much is out there sapping your energy and reminding you how challenging and awful the world can be. But as any decent story reminds us, we all have powers unrecognized or untapped. But how do you know which are yours? How do you develop them, share them, find adventures where you can shine, rewards worth earning? What gives you energy, focus, inspiration, and pleasure? What skills and talents do you bring to a table or partnership, and who might value them the most? Come in with an open and compassionate mind for yourself. If you can, bring a friend who knows you well. Also – learn to identify your kryptonite factors – those things that make you feel weak, sad, or lost. Avoiding them might be the first step in finding out just how strong you really can be.
Call Me Villain McVillainface: Using the Evil Overlord Career Guide for Your Kinky Relationships
Look, there’s a reason why you like to wear black leather with spikes and studs, or intimidating uniforms with gleaming jackboots. You’re a goddamn villain, the Ultimate Evil, the Big Bad, the Wicked Fiend or Conniving Vizier, etc. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a working empire of evil, allowing for enterprising partners and underlings to prosper in your company. You just need a rule book.
Good thing there is one.
So come join your fellow malevolent beings as we plot to take over the galaxy – er, work through some of the best advice from a relationship workbook designed just for us.
Surviving Your Relationship With an Evil Overlord: Things They Left Out at Minion School
Oh, sure, join up with a sexy evil mastermind and you think your life is set, right? Wrong! Drafted into anonymous Legions of Doom, sent first into the airshaft, perfectly understandably distracted by harem cuties or the Evil One Themselves, delivering the wrong message at the wrong time – it’s hard to be a henchmench in these troubled times! Good thing there are guides. Gather with your fellow cunning viziers, loyal lieutenants, mad scientists, captive monsters, scheming heirs and wry, laconic voices of reason to get the insider dirt on how to be the best underling, detail dude, cultish true believer, wily sycophant or any other Companion to Evil. Open to any orientation on the power and authority scales, because minion ≠ submissive.
Put The Old Porn Down: Finding New Erotic and Relationship Inspiration in Geekdom
The problem with porn as inspiration – says the porn author – is that characters have a ludicrous amount of stamina, an exceptionally low refractory period and oh, yeah, IT’S FICTION. So trying to live up to the stories will always be disappointing because no real people are doing those things. However – IF you do find some inspiration from stories, AND you’re a big nerd/ geek …there is so much more smut!! Just ten seconds on AO3 will clearly illustrate we geeks can imagine EVERYONE in genre works having sex, even when it would be physically impossible, illogical, illegal, unethical, trash, or OMG MY EYES MY SOUL.
So it’s not the explicit sex. That’s Old World Porn. It’s what interests us to begin with, what catches our imagination and breath and then leads to sexy. Come ready to share the geeky inspiration for your fantasies and relationships. *No limits, no warnings, some discussion might be really offensive because that’s how I ship it.*
You Don’t Have To Be The Healer – Learning to Love Your Geeky Kinkster
Just when you think you might have found a treasure you’re ready to keep, they turn around and hit you with a string of jargon you suspect has to do with some science fiction show or movies with people in spandex or comics or games of some sort. Or they own costumes that weren’t from Mr. S and toys that are not only not designed for sex, but seem to have never been opened. You might have fallen for…a geek. Or a nerd. OR BOTH.
Sure, you can fake it in the short term with some discreet google-fu and an open mind, but sooner or later, you’ll have to figure out how to keep your geek without feeling left out or bored. If you get the joke in this class title, you probably don’t need the class – but you are welcome to come and share your tactics for engaging your special geek without being untrue to yourself or sacrificing your relationship needs.
(And one class for gamers about gaming, just because.)
Smash the Patriarchy With More Inclusive Gaming
Level up your RPG by adding contemporary identities and making up new ones! You’re a modern adult, acknowledging more than a gender binary, more than heterosexual monogamy, so much more than a patriarchy complete with sexism and racism. So why is your RPG yet another pseudo-medieval world with all of those things? (If it isn’t, yay! Go read something else.) Even D&D has reached, creaking and struggling, into a world where it’s not assumed some jobs are meant for men or women, or that the darkest folk around happen, by some strange coincidence, to be evil or monsters. If your campaign is, then it’s time for a cataclysm. (Or for a new world.) Get some tips on designing a more interesting a diverse culture from the start, or introducing new elements in an existing universe. There is no reason why the fantastic world you play in can’t have elements like plenty of genders, multiple partner relationships, kinky identities, you name it.
Designed for gamemasters in particular, but players are welcome! Diversity doesn’t just start from the top down – sometimes it takes a player to raise the flag.
Other New Class for 2019
Kinky, Schminky! Jewish Perspectives on That Thing We Do
Oh, sure, you’re way into kink. You know all the old stuff, fancy words, fancy techniques, ceremonies and flags, you’re know it all, right?
Not so fast. Do you know where to find the oldest recorded lifetime collaring ceremony? How to make a contract spelling out goals, responsibilities, rights and break-up instructions – in one page? Does moderation make the heart grow fonder? Can you name a minimum of 6 genders without consulting Tumblr? What happened when the rabbi cross-dressed and hid in a brothel to escape some bad guys?
The Jews have been discussing this stuff for literally centuries. Want some really OLD wisdom, humor, advice and quandaries made for generations of arguments, compromises and survival against the odds? Then what are you waiting for, bubbelah? Come on in, have a nosh, learn some Torah. There are worse things to do with your life.
Returning Favorites
Ask Me If I Care; Tough Love for the Kinky
Created in response to the informal (and sometimes impromptu) Q&A sessions after readings, this is an interactive opportunity to talk with the author of the Marketplace series. Ask anything you want – about the scene, relationships, play-styles, trends, whatever. But don’t expect sugar-coated answers: this is Tough Love for tops, bottoms, couples and/or other groupings. Dear Abby can take a hike; Laura may not care, but she respects the community enough to tell the truth formed of 30 freaking years of experience and far too many confessions. Questions may be taken in advance or submitted anonymously at this discussion.
(Turning out to be REALLY popular)
Romantic Surrender: Adding Dominance and Submission to Your Sex Life
Romance is the number one reason why people want to incorporate dominance and submission to their relationship and or bedrooms. But when you are just starting out, a bewildering array of rules, assumptions and quality-of-lifestyle measurements can be more intimidating than a cheap pair of fuzzy handcuffs and a satin blindfold. Relax! You don’t need to be 24/7, you don’t need to have your own private dungeon and you sure don’t have to obey someone else’s rules to have a good time and enjoy the sensual pleasure of making kinky dreams come true. Learn to discuss fantasies, negotiate with flirts and smiles and test the waters of deliciously risky play.
(Ideal for newbies)
Creative Disobedience: The Art of Being a Wiseass
Mention SAMs or brats in the scene, and you’ll get either glee or groans, depending on your tolerance for antagonistic scenes and your level of formal dominance & submission. But there is a creative challenge to being just disobedient enough to entertain, divert, and involve a top in playful reactions ranging from a laugh to lighthearted punishment. Learn the basics of what it takes to walk that very fine line between being annoying or amusing; whiny or whimsical. This seminar may be given for bottoms only or for a mixed group.
SUBvert the DOMinant Paradigm –
Alternative Models for D/S Relationships
Mistresses, masters and slaves, daddies and offspring, subs and doms; in a world that celebrates the erotic imagination, it’s funny how limited our relationship models tend to be. Feel like you don’t fit into someone else’s definition? Wondering if there’s a style that suits your desires and needs? Then explore relationship types from other sub-cultures, history, and even pure fantasy. Free yourself from the constraints and labels we already know so you can better describe who you are, what you want and where you want to take your kink. Participants will be encouraged to describe how they see themselves and their relationships and add to what will be an ongoing exploration of identity and self awareness.
That Ain’t Necessarily So – Lies, Exaggerations & Silly Shit You Keep Hearing In the Scene
A true dominant will never bottom. We’re all safe, sane and consensual. Kinky people are smarter & more creative. Safewords are necessary. Verbs are nouns. There are no rules. There are rules. How many times have you heard people state, with authority and assurance, something that sounds absolute and yet maybe a little fishy? How many times have you passed on a fact or truth or rule you secretly question, or realized much later that you had been misinformed? For a scene supposedly based on open and honest communication (hah!) we tell each other – and sometimes ourselves – a lot of things that ain’t necessarily so. Whether you are new and soaking it up like a sponge or an old hand and ready to speak truth to kink, come on in for a look at some of the top deceptions, inventions and whoppers we pass around!
The Way of It: Establishing and Maintaining Protocol Within Relationships
There is no universal, agreed upon protocol for kinky folk. We’re all making this shit up as we go along, stealing from each other when imagination fails. If you want a personal, powerful and effective style of behavior and expectations in your DS relationships, you have to make it – and keep it – on your own. Learn how to build it from the bottom up – no pun intended. Find out what they key aspects of a functional protocol are, and how to avoid cribbing from the wrong sources. This is a mere introduction to issues of etiquette, protocol, and their place within your personal relationships and our community as a whole.
Producers: If you want a more comprehensive overview to protocol, then book it as a two-part class, best given on subsequent days, or morning session/ break/ afternoon session. Because it requires a higher level of participation, it’s recommended this only be booked with a limit on attendees.
Designing A Personal Protocol Two-part class format
A workshop for those in a power dynamic relationship who want to develop and maintain their own relationship protocols. Participants will form the core of a personalized protocol starting from fantasy and imagination and leading to practical solutions for real people in real relationships. Attending “The Way of It” is not required, but highly recommended, as it forms the base upon which this workshop develops. Part one of the class addresses building blocks and the structure of directives. The participants are then given an assignment, and return to part two to discus what they came up with and examine the functionality in a group setting.
Attendees must bring note-taking supplies, regardless of what position they hold in the relationship.
Have a Cookie! Using Rewards in your BDSM Relationships
Establishing and enforcing a system of rewards and punishments can strengthen a relationship dynamic based in dominance and submission. Learn to identify methods of praising and rewarding each other that are personal and reinforce the values you have set for your relationships. Learn the difference between rewards and praise, the importance of consistency and balance, and how to make a little go a long way.
For Your Own Good: Using Punishment in your BDSM Relationships
Explore the reasons for, and effective methods of punishment to enhance and strengthen a relationship based upon authority and obedience. Examine the concept of punishment and its myths, uses, limits, and how to create punishments that are appropriate to the moment. Learn why the words discipline and punishment are not synynoms in this context, and why you must have the former to engage the latter. Punishment dynamics can actually benefit both top and bottom and reinforce the positive values of your relationship – if you know how to do it right.
(Note: This is an enormously popular workshop!)
Service Development: Making Yourself Ready to Serve
When you are ready to go from “I’d like to” to “I will,” when you’ve moved beyond “whatever you like” to being sure about what you’re capable of offering, this advanced class on service is for you. A service resume, the butler book, the art of offering, negotiating service, quid pro uo exchanges – all of these are tools to be used when making yourself useful.
Service with a Smile: Tactics for Overcoming Temporary Obstacles in Being Your Best
Service can also be a reward in and of itself, either as a pleasurable thing the bottom really enjoys doing, or an experience the bottom wishes to have for a personal reason. But those feelings can only go so far. There are going to be shitty days, challening periods, fucking annoying tops who need a kick rather than a sweet, “Of course, I’ll get right on that.” Develop strategies in overcoming those temporary distractions that keep a service-oriented individual from performing their best. Also addressed are questions of basic needs in a relationship and ways of determining if the relationship you are in is overall positive or negative, whether you have temporary difficulties, or consistent ones. Workshop participants are encouraged to share ways they have discovered to keep a proper service mentality, and to being up the challenges of being servile.
To encourage honesty and open communication, this workshop is limited to those individuals providing service, rather than managing or receiving service.
Beyond Bossy: Making a Place for Service in Your Life
When you’re ready to make “dominate” an active verb, this is an advanced workshop for you. Determine what you really need/want done in your life, how to prioritize it, and what to do when you don’t know what you want done. Understand how to inspire service through dominance, play, discipline, reward/punishment structures, and share real life examples. The workshop will also explore methods on how to push for more, how to expand opportunities to improve or develop service and when you should consider letting the service part of a relationship go.
Too Kinky for Words: Playing Way Off the Edge
Everyone loves to claim they play on the edge, or their style of being kinky is somehow greater than the average pervert. Yet even among the uber-kinky, there are those of us who have fantasies – or play styles – which seem to be beyond what is considered “acceptable.” Is your kink really “OK”? How can you tell? Are there boundaries to fantasies? Should there be? Should we/can we own our most unmentionable ones?
How do you share fantasies with a partner if they make you uncomfortable? This workshop is about the process of identifying, naming, sharing and potentially enacting our scariest fantasies. It’s not about being outrageous to shock others – it’s about fear of community mores, worries about personal responsibility, shameful eroticism and secret joys.
Participants MUST come prepared to write down a fantasy or playstyle (anonymously, if they wish) and turn it in to the presenter. If you think this might “trigger” you, please don’t come. If you want to come to see what the freaks are talking about or shock Laura, please don’t do that either.)
Avadim Hayinu: Once We Were Slaves
Held by Laura Antoniou and Karen Taylor when possible
Slavery, like sex, wasn’t invented in our generation. In fact, over 3,000 years of Jewish tradition requires an annual ritual to address issues of slavery and freedom – Passover. For thousands of years, Jews have built upon the exodus story, creating hundreds of thousands of variations of the tale from many perspectives. Revisit the Passover story from an s/m perspective, drawing from ancient tradition and building new rituals
that speak to us today. Copies of Laura and Karen’s Leather haggadah, Avadin Hayinu, will be available to attendees. There might be snacks. After all, we’re Jews.
Marketplace Maven; A Gathering of True Fans
Because you asked for it – this is your chance to sit down with the author of the Marketplace series and dish the dirt. Get all the inside scoop – how the series was developed, the characters created, the storyline expanded. Ask anything from background details to future plans; share your own feelings about the way things have gone and where you think they will, should and shouldn’t go next. Get a look at the Marketplace Codex and timeline, and review the sometimes hilarious suggestions fans have made for the mythical movie. Then hear an excerpt from whatever MP book is in progress at the time, followed by a noholds- barred Q&A – spoilers ahead!
Writing Erotica Professionally
Ready to take the plunge and see about selling your smut? Laura Antoniou has been writing and selling this stuff for over 20 years, in every sub-genre you can think of! And if there was ever a time to get your sexy writing out there, it is now. While traditional markets like print magazines and paperbacks have shrunk, the e-book world is wide open and looking for quality sex writing, from the gentle erotic romance to the kick-ass, hard edge pervy porn and, of course, dinosaur/shifter/menage. If you’re ready to start submitting some smut of your own, get some tips on how to start, how to prepare your manuscripts, how to submit them and what to expect if someone says yes. Or, when you should just consider publishing them on your own.
It’s a Long Story; Writing an Erotic Series
The Marketplace, the first erotica series featuring a transman in the romantic lead, offering graphic SM alongside melodrama and romance and comedy, didn’t leap into existence overnight, or even over a few years, but has now been over 20 years in the making. Sit down with the author for a discussion on how develop a continuing series. Consider the styles of writing and structure, character arcs, making a codex, the trilogy trap, and the temptation to repeat your first success 20 times. Designed for writers who have already finished and published works, so there will be few basic tips.
Producers: Is there a particular topic you want to see? Ask me about it. It’s possible I can design one for you. No hands-on or how-to on play techniques, though.