Truth and Lies Book Launch

Hosted by Sex Workers Union, National Ugly Mugs and Arika

Welcome all to an evening extravaganza celebrating the London launch of Truth & Lies: an Anthology of Writing and Art by Sex Workers

Expect slutty DJs, playful performances, stripper poles, rococo cakes, union broads and intimate readings…

Then party in the name of sex worker liberation!

Event Programme

Doors open @ 7.15pm

7.30 - 11pm

Curtains reveal - speakers from the Sex Workers Union & National Ugly Mugs.

Our MC Venus introduces our fierce readers for the night - anthology contributors:

Marin Scarlett

Lib Lobberson

ZuZu Gabrielli

Followed by a sparkle of:

Maedb Joy

Black Venus

Chao-Ying Betty Rao

Then buy books, chat + hit the dance floor with DJ bogan.bitch

Bar (payment required) provided by Conway Hall

Books will be available to purchase on the night (£15 per copy all proceeds raised going to NUMbrella Lane) or via AK Press (UK) here.

Access:

• Conway Hall Main Hall ground floor section - where the majority of the seating is - is wheelchair accessible. However seating on the upper balcony is only available via one flight of stairs.

• Wheelchair accessible toilets are available close to the ground section of the Main Hall.

• There will be live stage to text captioning - the clearest sightlines for this will be in the downstairs seating area. Live Stage to Text Reporting (STTR) involves the verbatim transcription of dialogue into text form as it is spoken live. Text is displayed as captions on a screen within the space.

• Arika, S.W.U. and N.U.M. share a commitment to the provision of gender neutral toilets. However, Conway Hall currently has separate women and men's toilets. We support all people to use the bathroom facilities that they feel most comfortable using. On the ground floor there are toilets designated as men’s - with urinals and stalls - and women’s - with stalls only. There is also a single room bathroom designed for wheelchair access, designated as suitable for all genders.

• If you’d like to come but something makes that difficult for you, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Cloudberry via [email protected]

• Local travel costs (via bus, subway or train) will be available for people who need. Cash reimbursement will be provided on the night. Approach anyone with a SWU, NUMbrella lane or Arika lanyard.

• There is a limited fund to cover childcare costs (childcare to be arranged by the carer). This will be distributed on a first come first served basis. If you need to access this fund, please contact Cloudberry via [email protected]

• Transport Information can be found here.

• There will be a quiet space available in the Brockway Room - a place with lower lighting, ear defenders and some adult colouring books.

• This event has a Safer Spaces Policy which is available to read here.

• There will be an Active Listener available, offering support during this event. The Active Listener will be identified at the start of the event. The support offered might be to listen and hear what someone wants to share about an experience or to offer brief emotional support if they have been particularly triggered. Personal matters shared with the Active Listener will be held in confidence – more general feedback about the event/s itself will be shared within the Sex Worker Union, Arika and N.U.M. teams and reflected upon.

Artist Bios

Marin Scarlett is a former sex-worker who remains passionate about continuing to fight for decriminalisation and push back against stigma. She works with the European Sex Workers Rights Alliance, National Ugly Mugs and the English Collective of Prostitutes. She has written several articles and appeared on podcasts to advocate for the decriminalisation of sex work and other measures to help end all survival labour. She is also currently working with a start-up aiming to develop a community utility that enables safe and private exchanges between verified, consensual parties.

X/Twitter: @marinscarlett_

Lib Lobberson - a basic bogan bitch, Australia born and raised but Glasgow settled. She has spent the last 10 years divided between her great loves: sex work, art, music and pints. She originally migrated to Scotland for a degree and stayed for love but when that didn’t work out, became deeply immersed in the thriving art and music community. She project-managed various exhibitions and began work in music promotion and management, all funded by the fruits of her pussy. Her work explores the highs and lows of womens’ experiences and aims to demystify the world of sex work. She has previously published work in sex worker zines and has a piece in the Glasgow Women’s Library.

IG: @basic_bogan_badbitch

ZuZu Gabrielli, I’m a 33-year-old Canadian sex worker currently residing in Europe. I’ve been in the industry for over six years and it is my main form of income. I am vocal about sex worker’s rights, but seek to uplift a realistic, non-glamorized vision of the job. Sex work has given me a lot, and it has taken away. Writing is a passion of mine and I hope to eventually complete a book of my experiences. My submission is a fragment of this, with some differing elements. Thank you for compiling this work.

Angelicanoi.com

Maedb Joy is a poet, actor, writer and theatre maker. She trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she graduated with First Class Honours and a nomination for the Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund in the Devising category.

​Often producing, writing, and performing her own work, Maedb has been commissioned by The Barbican, Bishopsgate Institute and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Alongside this she has had her work featured by The BBC, Institute of Contemporary Art, Tour De Moon, Vault Festival and Tate St Ives. Maedb has recently been selected to join the Royal Court Playwriting Group 2023. She is represented by The Queer House.

​Passionate about using art as a tool to impact meaningful change, Maedb is the founder and artistic director of Sexquisite Events, an arts company committed to creating paid creative opportunities for those with lived experience of sex work. Working across cabaret, theatre and nightlife, they host regular sold out events in London and Manchester.

​Alongside this Maedb works in the arts sector across a number of mediums which include: event production, creative facilitation, entrepreneurship mentoring and lecturing.

https://www.maedbjoy.com/

Black Venus is a sex worker, martial artist, writer and performer whose work explores themes of power, subversion, deviance and feminism. She is founder of Sex and Rage, a sex worker and activist organisation resisting stigma and shame through sex education.

https://www.sexandrage.com/

Chao-Ying Betty Rao evolved as a teenage runaway and a high school dropout who started modelling and stripping as a way to keep afloat. Now she is an interdisciplinary artist whose previous experiences in the sex industry heavily influence her practice. Chao-Ying graduated from her BA(Hons) in 2020 from the Glasgow School of Art, in Painting and Printmaking. She holds an MA(Hons) in Philosophy and English Literature from the University of Edinburgh, and campaigns with local organisations for the full decriminalisation of sex work.

www.chaoyingrao.com