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Writing sex scenes is notoriously challenging. Longing, desire, fantasy, and erotic acts themselves can come across as cheesy, overly mechanical, superfluous, or just plain cringy. And yet, sex is often a part of the story, and in fact, sometimes a crucial tool for a character’s epiphanic awakening. Here, we’ll think about how the erotic encounter induces epiphany, illuminates power struggles, and stands in as an embodied proxy for that which may otherwise be inarticulable. Authors considered might include: Susan Choi, Kate Chopin, Raven Leilani, James Baldwin, Sharon Olds, Miranda July, Alexander Chee, Melissa Febos, and Adrienne Rich.

TESSA FONTAINE is the author of The Electric Woman: A Memoir in Death-Defying Acts, A New York Times Editors' Choice; A Southern Living Best Book of 2018; An Amazon Editors' Best Book of 2018; A Refinery29 Best Book of 2018; A New York Post Most Unforgettable Book of 2018. Tessa spent the 2013 season performing with the last American traveling circus sideshow, the World of Wonders. An essay about the sideshow won the 2016 AWP Intro Award in Nonfiction. Her writing can be found in Outside online, The New York Times, Glamour, The Believer, LitHub, Creative Nonfiction, The Normal School, Seneca Review, DIAGRAM, New Orleans Review, and more. She won a Tin House residency to work on her novel, Red Grove, published by FSG in 2024.