It’s that time of year again! Yes, Thanksgiving — but more importantly, time for the Literary Review’s annual Bad Sex in Literature Award. The magazine has released its 2012 shortlist, and the most famous name is none other than one Tom Wolfe, who’s been writing cringe-worthy sex scenes for decades now. Literary Review has, of course, nominated Wolfe for his new novel Back to Blood and, in the course of tweeting some choice excerpts from this year’s cohort, reminded us of this humiliating passage: “Now his big generative jockey was inside her pelvic saddle, riding, riding, riding, and she was eagerly swallowing it…” You can find the full shortlist below, and mark your calendar for December 4th, when we’ll learn who wrote the #1 worst sex scene of 2012 — you know, aside from E.L. James, because 50 Shades of Grey still doesn’t count as literature.
Bad Sex in Literature Award 2012 shortlist: The Yips by Nicola Barker The Adventuress by Nicholas Coleridge Infrared by Nancy Huston Rare Earth by Paul Mason Noughties by Ben Masters The Quiddity of Will Self by Sam Mills The Divine Comedy by Craig Raine Back to Blood by Tom Wolfe