A collection of stories -- some straight, some gay, some funny, some very dark indeed -- by such erotic luminaries as Cecilia Tan, Susanna Moore, and Robert Olen Butler. Tan's "Pearl Diver" is a short but stunning tale of autoerotica. Fans of pagers and cellular phones will enjoy Amelia Copeland's sly story, "His Little Plan Backfired." David Shields plays merrily with a fetish in "Girls Who Wear Glasses." Aaron Travis' "The Hit" is raw and violent. There's something for every taste here.

From Publishers Weekly
Bright has outdone herself in putting together the latest edition of this annual series. You won't find one dud in the two dozen stories she's chosen. As in previous years, she's plumbed all the available resources?magazines, books, journals?to showcase new writers as well as established ones. These intoxicating stories, so diverse in style and content, are as surprising as they are satisfying. For those who like it dangerously rough there is the erotic horror of Lucy Taylor's "Choke Hold" and the feral "The Hit" by Aaron Travis (aka Steven Saylor). On the literary side is Cecilia Tan's "Pearl Diver," a sensuous celebration of womanhood, and Bonny Finberg's "Light," whose infant narrator exudes a stunning erotic sensibility. The sweeping current of skin-tingling drama that barrels through this anthology is tempered by a healthy dose of playfulness and humor. Robert Olen Butler offers the unforgettable, "Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot." And hilarious stories like Lars Eighner's "The Trade," in which a gay man finds himself turning straight against his will, and Joel Dailey's "Progressive Lightning," whose narrator was born "with the largest phallus on record," will make you laugh until it hurts. This very literary, Epicurean collection is guaranteed to stimulate both hormones and funnybones. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Advocate, Robert L. Pela
If Bright collected pennies as efficiently as she collects sexy stories, she'd be a zillionaire.

Simon & Schuster
The Best American Erotica 1996 is the ideal collection for all lovers of first-rate erotic literature. Edited by Susie Bright, whom the Utne Reader calls "one of the leading thinkers and visionaries of our time," this fourth annual edition of a best selling series brings together the most outstanding erotic writing of the year - including peculiarly dark and dangerous takes, as well as cutting-edge forays into the world of cybersex.

About the Author
Susie Bright Susie Bright is an author, editor, activist, performer and mother. Through her books, lectures, and film shows, Susie has inspired a new public discussion on eroticism and sexual politics, particularly in the areas of the changing roles of women and men, sexual liberation, and erotic identity in the 90s. The New York Times Book Review says, "Ms. Bright is the voice of sweet reason and literacy," in the field of erotica. The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog calls her, "a national treasure right up there with the Grand Canyon, the battlefield at Gettysburg, the Okefenokee Swamp, and the Smithsonian's Nancy Reagan Memorial Dress Collection." Bright is the pre-eminent feminist sex writer, called "the goddess of erotica" (Boston Phoenix) by some, the godmother of contemporary erotic fiction by others, and even the "Pauline Kael of porn." In Susie Bright's Sexual Reality: A Virtual Sex World Reader (Clefs Press, 1992), Susie Sexpert's Lesbian Sex World (Clefs Press, 1990), and SexWise (Clefs Press, 1995), she has collected extraordinary, explicit essays on sex, power and culture. Her photo anthology, Nothing But The Girl: The Blatant Lesbian Image (Cassell, 1995), is the first portfolio and history ever published of lesbian erotic photographers. Susie is also the editor and founder of the most talked about collection of women's erotic fiction ever -- Herotica, Herotica II and Herotica III. An outspoken advocate since adolescence, Susie's involvement in sexual politics has continued to grow and shape her career. In 1981, she began working at Good Vibrations, San Francisco's one-of-a-kind vibrator and sex toy shop, where she created the first progressive feminist erotic video library. Her work there led her to become the first person -- let alone woman -- to write real criticism of porn movies. Bright first came to national attention as the co-founder and editor of On Our Backs (from 1984 to 1990), the first sex magazine invented and published by women. A magazine for the "adventurous lesbian," it changed the course of lesbian and feminist publishing. Bright's insight into contemporary sexuality is also in demand in the Hollywood film world: she co-wrote a script with Lizzie Borden for the feature film, "Erotique," and most recently she worked as the sex consultant on the film "Bound" (where she also provided a cameo appearance). Susie currently lives in the Bay Area with her six-year-old daughter Aretha.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Best American Erotica 1996 is the ideal collection for all lovers of
first-rate erotic literature. Edited by Susie Bright, whom the Utne Reader calls
"one of the leading thinkers and visionaries of our time," this fourth annual
edition of a best selling series brings together the most outstanding erotic
writing of the year - including peculiarly dark and dangerous takes, as well as
cutting-edge forays into the world of cybersex.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly