In House of the Sleeping Beauty, a short story by Emily Wells (A Matter of Appearance), a young woman reflects on the experiences that led to her fetish for unconsciousness...
The erotic works of Anaïs Nin started out as a freelance job. To support their bohemian lifestyles, Nin and her writer friends earned a dollar a page writing pornography for an anonymous client. The writers hated The Collector, as they called him, for his repeated instructions to “Concentrate on sex. Leave out the poetry”.
The Collector, a new series of short stories published by jouissance, seeks to pay homage to writers, like Nin, who explored the erotic, the taboo and the connection between jouissance and the creative process. It also honours their chosen, but much maligned, genre. By commissioning some of our favourite female writers to compose erotic short stories, we begin what we hope will be an ever-growing collection of compelling and provocative fiction that will inspire conversation, debate and further creative expression.
Munken Pure 80gsm paper publication with red Singer Sewn binding. Featuring an illustration by Emma Rose Schwartz. 138 x 85 mm.
"She could still smell the perfume. As she often did as a teenager, she had spritzed the scent between the pages. The opening of yuzu and blood orange was long lost, but the heart of moist green basil and grassy vetiver drydown remained. It was a scent which always stirred something in her, the first she had chosen for herself, a rebellion against two decades of gifted precious jasmine spritzes and soaps: she was the last of five generations of women born in Los Angeles, the last three named after native flowers – Poppy, Azalea, Jasmine."
We want to write you letters. Sign up to join our circle and receive 10% off a 50ml fragrance.