A writer pal of mine sent this to me. She’s not as plugged in blog-wise as I am, (This has since changed: see here) so I thought I’d post it for her. Just wanted to add, she said she didn’t want “Chicken Soup” style stuff!
(This is one of only two snapshots, the only photo images I’ve got, of my own mother, who died in 1979. That feels inconceivable in this age of digital photography, where I rattled off several shots of my cats today alone.)
GENERAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Dear All,
We (Marion Witz and Carol Krenz) are creating an anthology entitled Lessons I Learned From My Mother, a collection of stories, anecdotes, plays, notes, essays, poetry and assorted vignettes that recall various pieces of wisdom and observations we absorbed from our mothers in early childhood and well beyond.
The book will document personal thoughts and memories that touch on humour, drama, compassion and other aspects of the mother-child experience and we invite you to share your stories with us.
Our focus is based on the unique ways people learned from their mothers, often without even realizing it, or perhaps, in typical rebellious fashion, how they rejected many lessons in youth, only to rediscover their merits later on.
We welcome stories (real or fictional) that illustrate how those lessons made an impact – how they changed or coloured lives for the better. Regardless of the complex relationships we have with our mothers, how did we emerge? Perhaps by examining our mothers’ challenges and the arcs of their lives, we developed compassion, humour, kindness and patience in living ours.
Lessons I Learned From My Mother will contain the accumulated wisdom of hundreds of daughters and sons and provide real-life observations from first-hand accounts that are uniquely inspiring.
Contributors are encouraged to write about any subject. Our chapters include such topics as: VALUES, HONESTY, LOVE, KINDNESS, LEADERSHIP, DISCIPLINE, FAMILY, MORALITY, STRENGTH, HUMOUR, PRACTICALITY, COURAGE, PARENTING, SEX.
All contributions are strictly voluntary. Your work will be fully credited (byline) and listed in the Acknowledgements. Additionally, each contributor will receive an author’s copy of the book.
Our sincerest thanks,
Marion Witz and Carol Krenz
GUIDELINES AND DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS:
1. Submit one or two stories, vignettes or essays (about 800 words each to max. 1500) – you may suggest longer works, subject to editorial review.
2. Manuscripts may be double-spaced in Word format, or pasted into the body of your email, with your name, home address, phone number and email address on the upper left corner. Your age is not mandatory, although we’d welcome it.
This call for submissions is open to everyone over the age of 18.
DEADLINE is December 1, 2010
3. If your work is accepted, we will forward a Permissions slip for signature.
4. ** Send electronic submissions and documents to:
Carol Krenz – carolkrenz@gmail.com
** Please write SUBMISSIONS in your email subject header.