Cecilia Tan
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Cecilia Tan is an American writer, editor, sexuality activist, and founder and manager of Circlet Press, which specializes in science fiction erotica, a once uncommon genre; its publications often feature
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...
themes. She lives in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
. She also writes about
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
, but is not to be confused with a writer of the same name who specializes in Asian cookbooks.


Life and career

Tan first wrote professionally as a teenager. She wrote a monthly column for '' Superteen'' magazine and also wrote features for '' Teen Machine'', two popular teen titles published by the conglomerate Sterling's Magazines. Her aspiration was to be a science fiction writer, and she idolized Roger Zelazny, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and
Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...
. She attended
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
and received her BA in
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
and
cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...
in 1989. Shortly thereafter, she took a job at
Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as Jame ...
in Boston. At the same time, she discovered the leather community via the newsgroup alt.sex.bondage and the science fiction/fantasy fan community through conventions like
Arisia Arisia is a Boston-area, volunteer-run science fiction convention, named for a planet in the Lensman novels by E. E. "Doc" Smith. The name was chosen in response to an older Boston-area con, Boskone, which took the typical ending for a conv ...
and Gaylaxicon. She was one of a group of five people who began hosting
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...
play parties at science fiction conventions (known as "asb parties" after the newsgroup). The first one was at the July 1991 Gaylaxicon in
Tewksbury, Massachusetts Tewksbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population was 31,342 as of the 2020 United States census. History Tewksbury was first settled in 1637 and was officially incorporated on December 17, 1734, from Bil ...
, followed soon after by a party at Philcon in November that drew hundreds of participants. Later, other fans took up the duties and Tan ceased hosting these parties. Tan first published her erotic science fiction on alt.sex.bondage, posting stories and vignettes with some regularity in 1991 and 1992. By 1992 she decided to leave her job at Beacon Press to pursue a master's degree in writing at
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
. On her final day of work at Beacon, she returned home to find her first acceptance letter for the publication of a story waiting in her mailbox. It was for the story "A True Story", which was accepted into the anthology ''Herotica 4'', edited by Susie Bright. Tan played baseball in a women's league in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...
, known as the Pawtucket Slaterettes, but retired after the 2007 season. She holds a black belt in tae kwon do, receiving her second degree (''dan'') in June 2009, and is a certified technician in Okazaki Restorative Massage. She was also a longtime
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...
/ leather community activist, joining NLA: New England in 1991, founding the Fetish Fair Fleamarket in 1992 and going on to direct almost 50 Fetish Fair Fleamarket events throughout New England (Boston, Providence, and other cities) as well as those in Houston, Atlanta, and Charlotte, NC. She served on the board of the New England Leather Alliance (NELA), and was given the Woman Of The Year Award from the National Leather Association International in 2001, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Leather Association International in 2004. She was also awarded the Pantheon of Leather President's Award in 2009. She retired from formal involvement with BDSM community activism in 2013, citing health reasons, but continues to speak, teach workshops and classes, and appear at BDSM and leather/fetish events as a writer and educator. She has described herself as a “Chinese-filipino Irish Welsh
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
”, and as living a polyamorous lifestyle.


Circlet Press

While in graduate school, Tan remained in publishing with her own small press, Circlet Press, Inc. Circlet's first book was a
chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...
of Tan's erotic science fiction stories, entitled ''Telepaths Don't Need Safewords''. ''Mate'' by Lauren P. Burka soon followed, as did a host of small anthologies like ''SexMagick'', ''TechnoSex'', and ''Worlds of Women''. Tan received her master's degree in professional writing and publishing in 1994 from Emerson and devoted herself to writing and running Circlet Press full-time thereafter. By June 2009, Circlet Press had published over fifty titles, most of them erotic science fiction with occasional forays into related genres. Circlet branched into digital publishing in 2008, and released nearly 100 ebook titles between 2008 and the end of 2013. As editorial director of Circlet Press, Tan was the creator of the press's later imprints, Clasp Editions to publish sf/f erotic romance, and Gressive Press, for exploring sexuality outside the "big binaries" (gay/straight, male/female) with themes of bisexuality, transgender issues, and other sexualities not easily labeled.


Publishing history

Tan herself has had her work published in a variety of outlets. Her stories have appeared in ''
Ms. Magazine ''Ms.'' is an American feminist magazine co-founded in 1971 by journalist and social/political activist Gloria Steinem. It was the first national American feminist magazine. The original editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Pat Carbine ...
'', ''Penthouse'', ''
Asimov's ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines, which is owned by Penny Press. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac A ...
Science Fiction'', '' Absolute Magnitude'', '' Best American Erotica'', '' Best Lesbian Erotica'', '' Nerve.com'', and many, many other places. Her collection of short stories, ''Black Feathers'', appeared in 1998 from
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
. A follow-up collection of erotic short stories, ''White Flames,'' was published in 2008 by
Running Press Running Press is an American publishing company and member of the Perseus Books Group, a division of the Hachette Book Group. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with many of the corporate functions taking place in ...
. Tan moved into writing erotic romance ebooks in 2009 with the publications of ''Mind Games'' and ''The Hot Streak'' from Ravenous Romance. Her erotic romance novel series known as the ''Magic University'' series was published in ebook form by Ravenous Romance and in trade paperback by Red Silk Editions, an imprint of Red Wheel Weiser. (Weiser killed the imprint after the demise of the Borders bookstore chain and so only two of the four books in the series appeared in Red Silk Editions.) The Magic University series was published in French. In 2013, her first BDSM romance novel from a major publisher appeared. ''Slow Surrender'', published by Hachette/Grand Central Publishing, was the first of a trilogy in the newly created romance category of "BDSM billionaire" (created by the publishing industry in the wake of the runaway success of ''50 Shades of Grey'' by E.L. James). The book was nominated for Book of the Year in the erotic category by RT Book Reviews, and Tan herself was nominated by RT for the Lifetime Achievement Award in Erotica. The Struck by Lightning trilogy, including Slow Surrender, was also published in France by Hachette Livre. Another romance trilogy published by Hachette/Grand Central Publishing soon followed, the Secrets of a Rock Star series, which was later published in Germany by Bastei Luebbe. Her baseball works include ''The 50 Greatest Yankee Games'' ( Wiley, 2005) and ''The 50 Greatest Red Sox Games'' (Wiley, 2006, co-authored with Bill Nowlin). She wrote weekly columns for GothamBaseball.com and YankeesXtreme.com and occasional articles for Yankees Magazine, and she continues to produce the online baseball magazine ''Why I Like Baseball''. In 2004 she won an award for baseball research at the national
SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...
Convention, the
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
Sports Weekly award for best poster presentation for her work entitled, "The Women's Baseball Marathon". She has been editing the Maple Street Press ''Yankees Annual'' since 2007. In 2011, Tan became the publications director for the
Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...
, as well as co-editor of the
Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...
Annual with King Kaufman. She and Kaufman presided over the BP annual for two years in the transition from former in-house editor Steven Goldman to the in-house editing team of Sam Miller and Jason Wojchechowski. In 2011 she became the Publications Director for SABR (
Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...
), and in 2022 became the longest-tenured editor in that role in SABR's history.


Honors and awards

Tan has been the recipient of various literary and publishing industry awards. In 2010, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame for GLBTQ writers at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival. That same year her online serial, ''Daron's Guitar Chronicles'', won the inaugural Rose and Bay Award for Crowdfunded Fiction. Her novel ''The Prince's Boy'' was awarded Honorable Mention in both the 2010 Rainbow Awards and the NLA: International Writing Awards. Her novel ''Slow Surrender'' won the RT Reviewers Choice Award in the erotic romance category from RT Book Reviews and the Maggie Award for Excellence given by the Georgia Romance Writers chapter of the
Romance Writers of America Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by inc ...
. Tan was awarded the RT Book Reviews 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award in Erotica. As of 2014, her books have been multiply nominated for the
Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...
, though she has not yet won one. Circlet Press, the publishing house Tan founded and still directs, was co-winner of Bi Book Publisher of the Year at the 2014 Bisexual Book Awards. Tan was given the Woman Of The Year Award from the National Leather Association International in 2001, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Leather Association International in 2004. She also received the President's Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards in 2009. She and Sarah Desautels received the National Leather Association International’s Samois Anthology Award for 2010 for their anthology ''Like a Thorn''. Her baseball writing and research has also earned awards. In 2004, her research presentation on "The Women's Baseball Marathon" won the USA Today Sports Weekly Award. In 2022 she was co-winner of the Tweed Webb Lifetime Achievement Award with Sean Forman for editing The Negro Leagues are Major Leagues.


See also

* Sex and sexuality in speculative fiction


References


External links

* *
New Bedfellows: Sex & Science Fiction
a dialogue between M. Christian and Cecilia Tan
Strange Horizons Interview
by Mary Anne Mohanraj
Mind Caviar Interview
by Jamie Joy Gatto
Ms. Magazine
The "pick three books" featurette
Interview from Hyphen Magazine
by Claire Light
Alternet column/interview
by Annalee Newitz
Interview
with Michael A. Ventrella, May 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Cecilia 1967 births Living people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers American bisexual writers American erotica writers American horror writers American LGBTQ novelists American science fiction writers American women novelists American women short story writers BDSM writers Bisexual women writers Brown University alumni Emerson College alumni Polyamorous people American science fiction editors Science fiction erotica American women erotica writers American women horror writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers