The Erotic Awards is an annual British event that honours achievement in erotica worldwide.
Founded in 1994 by sexuality campaigner Tuppy Owens, the awards were first called the Erotic Oscars, until the name had to be changed. The awards ceremony are held during the Night of the Senses, an annual event in London that was originally known as the Sex Maniacs Ball. The Leydig Trust organised the awards until 2013 when they were taken over by Juicy Productions. They raise funds for Outsiders, a charity that helps disabled people to find partners.
The 21 award categories include Campaigner, Sex Worker, Striptease Artist, Fashion, Academic, Writer, and Film. Nominations come from the public, and three finalists in each category are then selected by the Grand Jury of Conspicuous Sensualiy. The winners are announced during the Night of the Senses, where the finalists' work is also exhibited and performed.
Past winners have included film director Derek Jarman, American pornstar Annie Sprinkle, the Australian website abbywinters.com, human rights activist Peter Tatchell and Madam Becky Adams who, when she realised her book had won rather than "Smut" by Alan Bennett burst into tears and, looking at the Outsiders website and vowed to come out of retirement to devote her life to disabled people enjoying a good sex life .
Famous quotes containing the word erotic:
“No hand has been allowed to touch
The rose I hide,
Though eyes have looked upon it and desired it.”
—Unknown. The Thousand and One Nights.
ErPo. Erotic Poetry; the Lyrics, Ballads, Idyls, and Epics of LoveClassical to Contemporary. William Cole, ed. (1963)