LOS ANGELES—Today, Residence 11 announced its first live event, the Residence 11 Desire Summit on Sex and Relationships, set to take place on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, in Los Angeles.
The event, for both singles and those in a relationship, is timed with Valentine’s Day and is meant to foster open conversations and destigmatize taboo topics around desire, intimacy, sex, age, relationships, and more. Attendees will hear from subject matter experts across science, psychology, technology, and storytelling from the most influential sex-themed podcasts, TV shows, blogs, and best-selling books.
Ticket prices start at $35 and include access to all of the panels, author meet-and-greets, lunch, and a cocktail hour, in addition to a swag bag of books, sex toys, and more.
The Residence 11 Desire Summit is sponsored by sex toy companies Fun Factory and Blush, intimate audio platform Bloom, romance novel publisher Avon Books, and yoga teacher training company Ganja Yoga, and will also be available via livestream for a reduced online admission price.
Residence 11 is an online media brand and community that celebrates the future of sensuality, romance, intimacy, and love in a new age of human communication.
“We’re thrilled to bring the powerful conversations about some of the most personal aspects of modern relationships to the forefront,” Residence 11 editor-in-chief Rachel Kramer Bussel said. “There’s no single path people take to finding sexual and romantic happiness, and we will highlight useful advice attendees can take home and apply to their own intimate lives.”
About the Speakers
Speakers at the Residence 11 Desire Summit include writer Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, author of The Sex Lives of African Women, polyamory expert Kevin Patterson, author of Love’s Not Color Blind, sex educator and dating expert Erin Tillman, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling romance author and TikTok influencer Sierra Simone (Priest, American Queen), Mia Hopkins (author of Tanked, one of The New York Times’ best 2022 romances, romance novelist Suzanne Park (The Do Over, The Christmas Clash), and Taylor Hahn, author of swinging novel The Lifestyle, among others. Keynote speakers will be intimacy coach Zoë Kors, author of Radical Intimacy: Cultivate the Deeply Connected Relationships You Desire and Deserve, speaking on "6 Questions That Will Get You Instantly Connected to Anyone," and sex educator Dirty Lola, who appeared as a sexpert on Netflix’s The Principles of Pleasure and was featured in the HBO docuseries Sex Diaries, speaking on "The State of Modern Dating."
Panel topics will range from Erotic Rituals, Navigating Mismatched Desire, Managing Jealousy in Polyamory, Sex and Aging, Adding Kink to Your Relationship, and Writing the Modern Romance Novel, The Future Is Genderqueer, Keeping Long-Term Relationships Hot, Bringing Sex Toys to Casual Dating, 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Audio Erotica, and more.
Kristen Tribby, head of global marketing for Fun Factory, added, “At Fun Factory, we know there’s more to using sex toys than just getting your hands on one. We believe that incorporating sex ed into your personal pleasure is the key to a more expansive life. We’re thrilled to join Residence 11 in a day of conversation and education with the shared goal of making inspiring, sex-positive learning moments a part of our everyday lives.”
Jess Buie, editorial director of Bloom, said, “Sponsoring the Desire Summit was such an easy decision for us to make, especially with how aligned our goals and values are with Residence 11. We’ve been on a mission for the last three years to give people the tools they need to figure out what really turns them on as well as a safe space to develop a pleasure practice perfectly tailored to their unique desires. We can’t wait to share the benefits of erotic audio with the attendees of this year’s Desire Summit!”
Julie Paulauski, senior publicity manager for Avon Books, said, “Avon Books is thrilled to be a part of Residence 11’s inaugural Desire Summit! The books we publish at Avon are stories where love, in all its forms, always wins. And that message is mirrored within the inclusive, diverse, and accepting community Residence 11 is building not only with this conference but with their efforts company-wide. We can’t wait to help bring a #HappilyEverAvon to every attendee!”
In-person and virtual tickets to the Desire Summit are available via Eventbrite.
Companies interested in sponsoring the Summit can contact [email protected].
