LONDON, UK—Eroticon, the sexual authors' and pleasure products expo, previously held in Bristol, is moving to its new home in Camden, London, and will have sessions that range from advice on blog promotion and working with adult industry companies, to panels and workshops on writing and campaigning. The speakers so far reflect the breadth of topics that will be covered at the event.
- Myles Jackman is the obscenity lawyer helping to drive the UK’s fight against porn censorship. He’ll be speaking about the current landscape of censorship in the UK and how writers can help to join the fight.
- Paisley Gilmour will join a panel comprised of writers and editors from the mainstream press, giving sex writers tips on how to promote their work outside the adult industry.
- Malin James, erotic writer and essayist, will be giving a workshop on how to write narrative sex,- giving attendees tools and advice to help them write incredible short stories.
- Other speakers include The Big Gay Review, a hugely popular sex toy reviewer who has achieved extraordinary traffic growth in the two years he’s been blogging. He’ll be giving advice on affiliate schemes, and how sex toy reviewers can make the most of them. Ruby Goodnight is dropping in from the States to give bloggers and companies advice on how to use social media. And the ever-popular KinkCraft team will be hosting hands-on workshops for attendees who want to try their hand at crafting their own kinky toys.
Eroticon has always appealed to a broad range of influential writers, but this year the organizers say it will be bigger than ever. Its new venue in Camden, London, can hold up to 200 people as well as provide plenty of space for sponsors to exhibit their products and mingle with the attendees.
As for sponsorship, the first companies to come on board are those who’ve benefited from Eroticon attendance in the past: Doxy, who credit Eroticon with much of their success when they first entered the market, and HotOctopuss, who have seen the huge impact that working with writers can have on reviews and press.
“Winning brand and product recognition among the attendees has allowed our small enterprise to compete on an equal basis with established industry names," said William Garland, director of Doxy. "We couldn't be happier that our association with Eroticon will be continuing next year.”
“When we launched as a small start-up just three years ago, the sex blogging community welcomed us with open arms," noted Adam Lewis, co-founder of Hot Octopuss. "It was sex bloggers’ support that made it possible for us to make such a mark in the sex toy world when we were completely new to it and had very little marketing budget, and it was the feedback of sex bloggers (among others) that helped us develop PULSE II. The sex positivity of the community also helped inspire our ongoing #SexNotStigma campaign.
“2017 is going to be a huge year for us because we have three new toys coming out, so we also couldn’t possibly miss the opportunity to show off these products to some of the most important influencers in the sex toy world. We can’t wait to find out what you all think!”
Eroticon's new organizers—Molly Moore (who runs the hugely popular Sinful Sunday project as well as her own blog mollysdailykiss.com), Michael Knight (Molly’s partner and tech guru for over 50 sex bloggers), and Girl on the Net (ETO erotic journalist of the year), explained that their focus for this year is on accessibility:
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to attend. Alongside our new venue, we’re also running a ticket pool for writers who couldn’t otherwise afford to come, and discussing ticket sponsorship options with companies who want to help out. There will also be more day tickets available, so that those who can’t come for the whole weekend can still drop by to take part in the talks and meet sponsors. It’s working so far; we sold out early bird tickets within 24 hours of making them available.”
For more info about the event, go to Eroticon.co.
To discuss sponsorship options, email [email protected].
