Prose and Lore: Memoir Stories About Sex Work

Prose and Lore: Memoir Stories About Sex Work #3

by Audacia Ray (Editor), Aphrodite Phoenix (Contributor), Dragonfly (Contributor)

"In this collection of creative nonfiction, people who've tangled with the sex industry write about the complications that arise in the mix of sex and money. From the accounts of love and loss, occupational hazards and tricks of the trade to personal stories of hope, resistance and survival, Prose & Lore is a fiery collection of narratives by people who have walked the walk, and are now telling their tales."
- Daily Loaf, CL Tampa Bay “Top 10 Most Provocative Books”

"The Red Umbrella Project... works to give a voice to those who are in the sex business -- prostitutes, strippers, dominatrix and fetish professionals, porn performers, and anyone who trades sexuality for money or survival…”
- Susan Donaldson James, ABCNews

"...the best reason to pick up Prose & Lore is for the writing, and the stories. Like them or hate them, they are voices we need to hear…"
- Cory Silverberg, About.com - Sexuality

"...it is incredibly refreshing to see that the cover... of Prose & Lore is an amalgam of faces... a small detail that reflects the work that this journal does to humanize those in the sex industries."
- Jessie Nicole, Anonymous Heels

Genres: Memoir, Feminism, Nonfiction, Short Stories, Sexuality, Sex Work

241 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2014

About the author

Audacia Ray (they/them) is a writer and advocate who has thrown in their lot with queers, survivors, nature weirdos, and readers. Dacia has supported community safety planning efforts at Drag Story Hour events since 2021, bikes the Nonbinarian Book Bike around Brooklyn to give away free queer books, has worked at the New York City Anti-Violence Project for the past seven years and is an aspiring naturalist.

A longtime memoir and nonfiction writer, Audacia shifted their writing practice to fiction in 2021.They are a Tin House Winter Workshop alumn with short stories published in The Hopper, Necessary Fiction, Litro Magazine, Superstition Review, and Stone Canoe, and they are at work on a queer, intergenerational novel.

As a sex worker rights advocate Dacia was known for leading sex worker rights campaigns as founding director of the Red Umbrella Project, being an editor of $pread magazine, and hosting the monthly storytelling series the Red Umbrella Diaries (as well as appearing in and executive producing a feature documentary of the same name). Their first book, Naked on the Internet, was published by Seal Press in 2007 and in that same year they won a Feminist Porn Award for Best Bisexual Scene with their directorial debut The Bi Apple.

Reviews

[Chanel Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one! Especially the last story.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of candid stories was an easy, quick read. There were only a couple that were really thought provoking, but the rest were well written and edited. There was one story in particular that I loved the style of. It was really whirling and abstract, towards the end of the anthology. I like that all the stories are from volunteers.

[The Lady Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why reading about this industry is so fascinating, but it is. I found this book by accident and can't wait to read the other collections. Dozens of first hand experiences and fascinating points of view. Loved it.

[Nichole]

Check out my forthcoming review of Prose & Lore in The Review Review.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book for research into the sex work industry, and I am so glad I did. The stories from so many different viewpoints, with no clear thread point, except they all have personal insights into this international way of life, were so well put together that I can't wait to get my hands on more. By the end, I was sad to see how far behind I was since most of this seemed put together years ago.

To be thorough, it wasn't perfect. There were minor editing errors, and I wish the authors' bios followed the pieces rather than being attached to the end.

But, man, I wouldn't want anything more from the content. Thank you for putting this all together, and I hope we can continue this project further.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the work that the Red Umbrella Project does and was not let down when I purchased this book while seeking the writing of Lily Fury. Her words are very emotional and eloquently realistic. This book is full of stories that hit the mark in the aim to "create empathy where there previously was indifference."