Welcome, and thank you for your interest in my book BDSM – A Guide for Explorers of Extreme Eroticism.
This is a private page containing the basic information about the book you may need for your review or post. If you need more, or maybe a full-blown interview, just get in touch and I’ll gladly do my best to help you.
The form to request your review copy is all the way below.
The key specs – This is the first English-language edition of BDSM – A Guide for Explorers of Extreme Eroticism. It is available both in digital and paper format.
The paper edition is 572 pages long and features 230 photos.
The ebook has 150 photos only, to keep the file small enough for all devices to manage.
The previous editions – This book was originally published in Italy in 2004. It quickly and unexpectedly became a best seller, appreciated both by the general public and by academics and professionals (sexologists, psychologists, etc.). It has been updated five times since: the English-language edition is based on the latest version.
The publisher – The author revoked the publishing rights from the original Italian publisher, allowing the project (now a fully independent endeavor) to reach beyond the national borders.
The author – Ayzad is a reformed journalist and the leading Italian educator on unusual sexualities. He writes for several magazines including the Italian edition of Wired and you can read a brief biography here.
Kink-wise, he has been practicing BDSM for 30 years now and is very active on the Italian scene.
The photos – All the photos and illustrations featured in the book are not pornographic and they are original works by leading Italian fetish artists including Roberto Baldazzini, Hikari Kesho, Giuliano Grittini, Marcello Mangano and many more.
The selection and layout are the work of famed book designer Paolo Prenestini.
The translation and adaptation – Don’t worry: the book is much better written than this page, since it went through two translation and editing passes by professional translators and a final revision by a mother tongue editor.
Since the original text contained many references to the Italian kinky scene, it has been adapted in several places for the international market, in an effort to keep it relevant for a global audience. The biggest difference with the Italian edition was the excision of a series of two-to-three pages contributions from prominent Italian kinksters that closed each chapter as a sort of comment on the topic. This is why the international edition is 48 pages shorter.
What’s inside – You can read the full index and see a preview of the inside here. The guiding principle of the book was to collect all the information required to fully understand what BDSM is: from “did you know there is a thing called like that?” to “this is how 24/7 BDSM couples really are”.
The book structure goes from the simplest concepts and practices to really exotic ones, always framing them in a realistic, nonjudgmental and impartial way and particularly stressing the safety aspects. The latter chapters are about the BDSM scene, discussing topics such as shopping for toys, finding a partner, the Internet and kink, professional domination, public events and more.
What’s online – Some resources lists that were included in the first Italian editions of the book had grown so large with time and they were modified so often that they are now better hosted online, as parts of the www.ayzad.com website. There you can find a huge list of suggested online resources, a BDSM glossary, and a large selection of books expanding on the topic and more.
You can help this project – BDSM – A Guide for Explorers of Extreme Eroticism is a self-funded work. There was no crowdfunding, no sponsorship, no support at all beyond the time donated by many great people who wanted to see it reach an international audience as much as the author does.
Your review, news, post or simple mention will greatly help this underdog – so thank you in advance for the time you’ll dedicate to this book.
And talking about advance stuff…
If you are a journalist, book reviewer or sex blogger, and you intend to review the book, Just drop Ayzad a request for a review copy using the form below, and you’ll get it by email right away.
