GWNN is pleased to announce LAURA ANTONIOU as our keynote speaker.
Known to many as the author of THE MARKETPLACE series of erotic novels, and many short stories,
essays and rants cleverly disguised as speeches. In 2011, Laura won the prestigious John Preston Short Fiction Award from the
National Leather Association, for her short story, "That's Harsh," which appears in the e-book edition of The Slave. In addition,
she is the co-author (with her wife, Karen) of a ritually correct Leather Passover Seder, Avadim Chayanu (Once We Were Slaves).
As a presenter, panelist, and keynote speaker, Laura has appeared at dozens of conferences over more than twenty years, both
entertaining and delivering an occasional verbal indictment. She has also appeared at colleges and universities, including NYU,
Rutgers, Columbia and the University of Washington. She received the NLA: International's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011
and 2011 "Worst Camper" award at Dark Odyssey:Fusion.
Laura travels from NY quite a bit to share time with her wife Karen and her Daddy, Kim Attica, when she is not teaching, reading
and ranting somewhere on the kink circuit. She is currently working on book 6 of the MP series, a mystery titled The Killer Wore Leather,
several anthologies and other projects.
Serious Players; Taking Responsibility for Your Choices:
is about becoming aware that every decision made in your place in the scene has consequences. Laura covers things like how to determine
your weaknesses and boundaries, how to judge the relative social, physical or emotional costs of any choice you make, and how to deal
with a bad or unconsidered outcome. Yes, that includes judging whether to play "dangerously" but it also covers how to determine how
"out" you want to be, how to conduct yourself in social media, whether to devote time, energy and talent to a relationship, scene,
organization or event, whether to cheat on a partner, etc. It's also more or less a rant about whining; there's a lot in there about
being an adult and taking ownership of when you fuck up, whether you are a Top or a bottom.
Reading and Book Signing
Laura will also be giving the BASH XIX Keynote Address on Saturday at lunch. In addition she will do a reading and book signing at the Cookout on Sunday at the Community Place.
Master Stephen was our keynote speaker last year, and his talk was very well received, so we have invited him to be our
Opening Night Speaker this year. Master Stephen will speak at the Friday Night Formal Dinner.
Master Stephen writes : I am a philosopher by nature and a scientist by nurture, having got my start as an artist, then a writer,
spent several years as a practicing Qabalistic mage, had decade-long rush of 7 different obsessions/majors running from English
Composition to Astrophysics, and currently seem to be a Physicist/Educator. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?
I have a Physics Masters degree in Biophysics and Pedagogical Science with a strong academic interest in Mesopotamian history
and cognitive evolution. (Perhaps that is too limiting... anything historical or science-y is fair game!) The bottom line is that
I am interested in nearly everything, but have (as of now) settled on half-a-dozen or so things for which to specialize.
