Named after activists and writers Geoff Mains, John Preston, Pauline Réage and Cynthia Slater, and the groundbreaking organisation Samois, the awards are given annually to recognise excellence in writing and publishing about leather, SM, bondage and fetishes.

This year, 17 finalists have been shortlisted in the five award categories, which cover non-fiction articles, non-fiction books, novels, anthologies and short stories.

At first glance the shortlisted material may appear to over-represent American authors, given that these awards are made by the International wing of the National Leather Association.

But the NLA would surely argue that this is because, historically, the US produces so much of the most influential fiction and non-fiction in these genres.

The fact, also, that a lot of the best American writing comes from the queer side of the street should not discourage ‘straight’ kinksters from investigating it. The most powerful fetish and BDSM writing has regularly proved itself able to transcend gender preferences.

Below, we list the 17 finalists beneath the categories they been nominated in.

LEFT: Claire Rudy Foster who wrote Super Tight: A Fetish For Restraint. RIGHT: Jack Fritscher’s California Dreamin’: West Coast Directors and the Golden Age of Forbidden Gay Movies

CYNTHIA SLATER NON-FICTION ARTICLE
NLA-I Writing Awards 2018 finalists:
Super Tight: A Fetish For Restraint by Claire Rudy Foster which appeared April 20, 2017 on TheRumpus.net
A Defense of Erotic by Jeff Mann which appeared as the introduction to his book Consent which was released April 28 , 2017 by Lethe Press
California Dreamin: West Coast Directors and the Golden Age of Forbidden Gay Movies by Jack Fritscher which was released in the US in early 2017 after originally being published by Editions Mustache in the UK on December 14, 2016

LEFT: The Big Workbook for Submissives by Rebecca Blanton. RIGHT: Gay Pioneers: How Drummer Magazine Shaped Gay Popular Culture 1965-1999 by Jack Fritscher