Deadline: June 15, 2012
Entry Fee*: $30 (Canada), $42 (International)
* Includes a one-year subscription to Canada's oldest literary journal by and about women

Calling all women writers: Room magazine is currently accepting submissions for its 2012 annual Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Non-Fiction Contest.

First prize in each category is $500, 2nd prize $250, plus publication in the summer 2013 issue of Room. Judges are: Cathleen With (fiction), Miranda Pearson (poetry), and Kathy Page (creative non-fiction).

Click here for complete contest details.

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Hope you can join these Literary Mama editors this weekend.
They'd love to meet you!

California
Saturday, May 12th
3rd Annual Mothers Day Comedy Show
Winslow Center
2590 Pleasant Hill Rd, Pleasant Hill
7 - 9 p.m.

Literary Mama Columnist Cassie Premo Steele is heading to San Francisco as part of her book tour for The Pomegranate Papers. She will reading from her book.

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Illinois
Friday, May 11th
Women and Children First Book
5233 N. Clark St.
Chicago
7:30 pm

Wisconsin
Saturday, May 12th
Workshop
Boswell Book Company
2559 N. Downer Ave
Milwaukee
1 - 3 p.m.

Literary Mama Literary Reflections Editor Kate Hopper will be in Chicago and Milwaukee promoting her new book, Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers.

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Due: June 1, 2012

Proposal packets should include a 500-word abstract (or a full essay, if appropriate) and a brief c.v. Final essays should be around 6250 words, including notes and Works Cited, although shorter pieces will be considered. Send to Michelle Massé at mmasse (at) isu (dot).edu AND Nan Bauer-Maglin at nbauer-maglin (at) gc.cuny (dot) edu.

Details
Tentatively titled Staging Women's Lives in Academia, this book will focus upon nodal points of professional (graduate school, pre- and post- tenure, mid- and later- career, and retirement) and personal life for women in academia. There are two key premises: that choosing not to continue down the traditional path of academic life stages is as significant as following it, and that the usual conflation of academic and age-specific life stages is deeply gendered. The book is under serious consideration at Rutgers University Press for its new Higher Education Studies series.

The design for the collection outlines professional life stages, including:

• finishing the degree (who chooses to write or not write the dissertation)


• seeking academic or other employment post-Ph.D.


• beginning and then remaining in the profession (publishing, promotions, moving into administration or not)


• leaving academia once employed (whether in a full-time or part-time, pre-tenure or post-tenure position)


• deciding to retire or to continue working

Essays are encouraged from women who have followed a traditional career path, but also from those who've travelled other roads (for example, a graduate student writing about the decision to get the Ph.D. but not pursue academic employment, an adjunct writing about mid-career parenting decisions, an administrator writing about being "stuck," or an associate professor talking about the decision not to seek promotion to full professor). Parenting, elder-care issues, and general assessment of "professionalization" values can also lead to priorities other than those usually counseled through professional advice venues.

Although contributors are encouraged to draw upon personal experience, writers should also theorize and concretize their essays. Think about some very basic questions that could help others, such as: "Do/did you discover that your experience was typical, but nonetheless didn't expect it?" "What would you point out as the key features of this stage to a colleague just beginning it?" "How do you think your experiences were shaped by the kind of school you worked at and where your school was situated?" and, everyone's favorite, "What would you do differently if you had it to do again?"

Besides these basic questions, there are many others that could be considered, such as: "What is gendered about your career path, your career experience?" "How did race/ethnicity, age, class, sexuality, and culture affect your academic experience at each stage?" "How did your academic work feed into, enhance, or distract from other parts of your life?" "Or how much of your personal life intersects with or clashes with your work life?" "Has your work changed over time?" "Have you changed over time in terms of your enthusiasm for, and interest in, your work?"

Contributors should be frank, but should also encourage "best practice" discussion and serve as references for other women. Because responding fully to some of these topics may be difficult, proposals or essays by written by several people in dialogue with each other or authors writing under a pseudonym or anonymously will be accepted.

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Today, a guest post--and the chance to win a book--from Kate Hopper, writing instructor, LM Literary Reflections Editor, and author of the newly-released Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers.

The contest: Submit up to 600 words in response to the writing prompt and submit it to lmblog (at) yahoo (dot) com by Friday, May 18th. Please put "Use Your Words writing prompt" in the subject line. The winning entry will receive a copy of Use Your Words and be forwarded to Kate. The month-long contest's overall winning entry (chosen by Kate) will be published here, on the Literary Mama blog; the winner will receive a one-hour writing consultation with Kate via phone or Skype.
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Here's an excerpt from her book:

Chapter 4: Our Children As Characters

Sometimes when I mention that I'm working on character development with my students, someone will say, "I thought you were teaching nonfiction." There is an assumption that because the people in a work of creative nonfiction really exist, there is no need to concern ourselves with character development.

But nonfiction writers need to write believable and three-dimensional characters precisely because these characters are real people; writing them accurately is a way to honor them. We also need to think about character development when we are writing about ourselves. How does the reader know us? How do we reveal who we really are?

One of the wonderful things about writing about our children is that we, as writers, get to decide how the reader first "sees" them. What do you want readers to notice first about your child? How do you get readers invested in your children as characters? Keep these questions in mind as you write about your children.

Writing Prompt: Character Sketch
Think of your child (or one of your children if you have more than one). Try to convey his personality by using dialogue, gestures, and facial features. Ground your writing in detail. It may help to think in terms of objects -- what your child eats, what he likes to play with, his hobbies. What does her face look like when she is absorbed in a task? Write as if you are watching your child from the other room. What does she look like when she doesn't realize that you're watching?

Writing babies can sometimes be challenging because they don't do that much. So if you have a very small baby, you might choose to describe her while she's sleeping, or crying, or gnawing on her hand. Or you can try this exercise with another person in your life.

Note: Some of my students who have twins have found that they cannot write about one without writing about the other. If you have multiples and feel this way, go ahead and write them together in a scene. Think in terms of differences and similarities. When are they most alike, most different?

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The contest: Write up to 600 words in response to the writing prompt and submit it to lmblog (at) yahoo (dot) com by Friday, May 18th The winning entry will receive a copy of Use Your Words and be forwarded to Kate. The month-long contest's overall winning entry (chosen by Kate) will be published here, on the Literary Mama blog; the winner will receive a one-hour writing consultation with Kate via phone or Skype.

We look forward to reading your submissions!

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It's a thought as tempting as chocolate itself: devouring that entire box of Ferrero Rocher in your second trimester not only helps you de-stress but sweetens your baby's temperament too. Could it be true? To find out, you'll have to read Jena Pincott's new book, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? And after you savor the chapter on chocolate, you'll discover the science behind morning sickness, mamas boys, daddy genes -- and every other question you might have about pregnancy.

Pincott holds degrees in Biology and Media Studies and formerly worked as senior editor for Random House. She has published several books including Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes? and contributes to Psychology Today and the Huffington Post.

Pincott was expecting her first child throughout the research and writing of Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? The book begins with the symptoms of early pregnancy and ends with "postpartumology." In the intervening chapters, we follow Pincott through her own pregnancy and first few months of motherhood, share her firsthand experience -- "I've been eating like a truck driver" -- and her fascinating synopsis of scientific studies. Pincott explores every facet of the journey, not the what or how-to, but the why.

Why do pregnant mothers crave nachos and not steamed veggies? Why do skinny women have more girls? And why on earth does labor hurt so much?

Pincott gives her readers credit. We have Mommy Brain, shrinkage during pregnancy, neuronal growth postpartum, and both help us to remember what's important. New mothers aren't ditsy, they're incredibly focused. So Pincott doesn't dumb-down her writing. She wields words like epigenetics and orbitofrontal cortex and expects us to keep up. At the same time, she spices up the science with chat room buzz, the wisdom of novelists, and paraphrased comedy routines. Her chapter on sex during pregnancy, while informative, is anything but academic. Pincott reviews books like Healthy Pregnancy and Pregnant Sex. She examines the latest research and questions her own impulses and inhibitions. Her conclusion? "Cowgirls, ride on!"

With its provocative headings, single-sitting chapters, and surprising conclusions, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? is perfect for new and expectant parents who, though short on time, still crave to understand the science behind the wonder of birth.

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Join Literary Mama and Literary Reflections Editor Kate Hopper on a virtual book tour and contest.

Kate will host the book tour for her newly-released book, Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers. Each weekday from Friday, May 4th to Wednesday, May 30th, Kate will write a post about the blog host at her popular site, Motherhood and Words, express her gratitude to her facebook friends, and tweet like a songbird.

Use Your Words is the first book to focus on the craft of writing using motherhood as the lens, but it doesn't just focus on how to fit writing into a busy life. Instead, Use Your Words focuses on the craft of creative nonfiction, and how a blogger can take her stories and experiences as a mother up to the next level and become part of the Motherhood Literati.

The Contest
On participating blogs, submit up to 600 words in response to the writing prompt. The host site will select an entry and forward it to Kate. The winning entry from each site will receive a copy of Use Your Words. The overall winning entry (chosen by Kate) will be published in early June, here, on Literary Mama's blog, and the writer will receive a one-hour writing consultation with Kate, via phone or Skype.

The Tour
Monday, May 7: Extraordinary Ordinary

Tuesday, May 8: Literary Mama

Wednesday, May 9: Ivy League Insecurities

Thursday, May 10: Sellibut Mum

Friday, May 11: Love & Diapers

Monday, May 14: 5 Minutes for Mom

Tuesday, May 15: A moon, worn as if it had been a shell

Wednesday, May 16: 6512 and Growing

Thursday, May 17: 17 Sirens

Friday, May 18: Bump Life

Monday, May 21: The Princess and the Pump

Tuesday, May 22: Cami Checketts Books

Wednesday, May 23: Chubby Chicks Run Too

Thursday, May 24: Mom's Own Words

Tuesday, May 29: Mama Sweat

Wednesday, May 30: Breed 'em and Weep

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Description of Anthology:

There is no essential "Tao" or "way" of parenthood. This literary anthology of personal essays by and about writers of Asian ancestry will try to capture the multitude of perspectives on the impact of Asian culture, heritage, and identity on your experience as a child, on raising children, or on deciding whether to have children.

While Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" was a single narrative about a specific family, this anthology aims to open up the conversation. We are seeking stories to expand the perspectives of Asian parents and childhood within and beyond the American context. We welcome men and women writers with ancestry from Asia, Southeast Asia, Central and South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan). We also welcome those who are not of Asian descent, but are raising children of Asian descent or adoptees that have grown up Asian.

This unique collection of literary essays, memoirs, and short creative nonfiction will reveal the diverse experiences of Asian writers worldwide.

Who Should Submit An Essay:

Writers from various perspectives are welcome to submit essays of all forms. Anyone self-identifying as Asian or mixed heritage Asian in any way is invited to submit their first person essay. This is an inclusive collection and seeks to highlight as many true stories as possible. We hope to hear from various generations, parents, grandparents, extended family members, nontraditional families, and biological and adoptive adult children. Also, those who are considering parenthood or those who have chosen not to become parents or those experiencing fertility challenges. We would like to hear from as many voices of experience as possible.

The essays must be true stories exploring some aspect of Asian culture and parenthood.

Kinds of Essays We're Interested In:

Tell us a unique story about growing up Asian or raising Asian children. Break a silence. Speak a truth. Our primary criterion is that the narrative be engaging, true, and well-written.

Were you raised or affected by an Asian parent? Are you an Asian parent today? Are you raising an Asian child(ren) from an adoption? In what ways has Asian identity, culture, or heritage influenced your perspective towards parenthood?

You might interview your parents and write this up. (See StoryCorps examples at http://bit.ly/yvbHST and sample: http://tiny.cc/9plsq)

You may write on anything related to the topic, but if you're looking for ideas, here are some questions that may help you begin.

1. What did you appreciate about your Asian parent(s)? What did you despise? How have these perspectives changed over time?
2. What impact does Asian culture or ancestry have on you as a parent?
3. Was there a specific cultural revelation about your parent(s) or child(ren) that has informed how you approach parenthood?
4. If you have decided against becoming a parent yourself, do any factors have to do with how you were raised in connection to cultural heritage?
5. What culture clashes occurred between you and your parent(s) or child(ren)?
6. Would you like to interview your parent(s) and whether their Asian cultural knowledge or experience impacted how you were raised?

SUBMISSION DETAILS

DEADLINE

Submission deadline is June 15, 2012.

FORMAT

Email your 750-3000 word essay (first person personal essay, memoir, creative nonfiction) for consideration as a Microsoft Word file (DOC, DOCX), PDF, or text file to (replace (at) with @) along with a brief email introducing yourself. MLA-format preferred (12 pt Times New Roman, double spaced, page numbers, title, name).

Unpublished work is preferred, but your previously published work is welcomed if rights have reverted back to you and you can supply a text file. Expect a decision within 3 months of submission. Simultaneous submissions accepted, but please withdraw the piece as soon as it is accepted elsewhere.

We're looking for true stories: creative nonfiction, literary essays, memoir, autobiographical comics, or other innovative forms. The work must be in English or translated to English.

Publication Details

We do not have a publisher yet, but we are seeking publication by April of 2014. At the very least, we will pursue print-on-demand and e-book format. We would like to pay our contributors, but at this point, this is a volunteer effort and we hope to raise enough money to offer contributor copies.

Contact Information:
Please contact Anh Nguyen Merrick (anh.nguyen.merrick@gmail.com) with questions.
Also visit website for info: http://taoparenthood.blogspot.com.au/p/call-for-submissions-for-tao-of.html

About the Editors

Anh Nguyen Merrick immigrated from Vietnam to the U.S. with her parents at the age of 4. Anh majored in English Literature at Bryn Mawr College and completed her masters at Harvard Divinity School. She has a 3.5 yr. old child and has recently immigrated to Australia.

Grace Talusan immigrated from the Philippines to the U.S. with her parents at age 3. Grace was awarded an Artist Grant in Fiction Writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a residency at Hedgebrook, and other fellowships and awards. Her work has been published inSolstice, Boston Magazine, Boston Globe Magazine, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, and TheRumpus.net. Grace teaches writing at Tufts University and Grub Street. Grace is not a mother, but a very active aunt to eight nieces and nephews.

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Do you keep a journal - or wish you could get one started? Literary Mama wants to help.

Three times a month, I'll post a writing prompt. Open a notebook and write for 10 minutes. Don't worry about grammar or punctuation - just write. Then let the writing simmer and your mind wander for awhile.

And who knows? Maybe you'll discover a character for your next short story or a theme for a narrative essay. Or maybe you'll use the idea to create a special holiday card or photo album for someone in your family. However you decide to use your journal entry, I know you'll enjoy re-reading it months--and years--down the road.
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Consider the phrase, "You're just like your mother."
Are you?

Celebrate it!

Journal Entry: Make a list of the qualities you admire in your mom. How has she influenced your life as a parent, partner, or spouse? Write a letter to your mom and send it to her. If she's no longer living, address the letter to your children and describe the role their grandma had in your life.

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Have you read the most recent pieces at Literary Mama?

Columns
We have not discussed bodies placed in the earth that do not biodegrade: substances that degrade. I got a look at these two years ago, when a field near our complex turned into a waste dump. The area, about the size of a soccer pitch, separates our walled parking lot from a Thai primary school, whose students we hear singing patriotic anthems at outdoor assemblies.
Back to the Soil by Avery Fischer Udagawa

All week, I'd been listening, horrified, to NPR news reports of seventeen-year-old Trayvon's murder -- how a self-appointed vigilante gunned him down because he felt threatened by this young black man's presence in his gated community.
Every Mother's Son by Ona Gritz

With varying levels of dedication, I've been an "enviro" my entire adult life. Before we moved to South Africa, before the twins had even turned two, I bought a thick manual called Teaching Green. I intended to continue green living in Cape Town, and I intended to give my children a precocious environmental education. After that morning at the drop-off, however, I knew my lessons would need some revision.
Recycle, Rethink, Respect by Katherine Barrett

I am hardly alone in this: our expat neighborhood harbors many spouses who left a career or went freelance to follow a partner's job overseas. These spouses boast various professional backgrounds--labor and delivery nurse, realtor, designer, engineer, journalist--yet these backgrounds can disappear when their most visible job is being the at-home parent.
High-Res by Avery Fischer Udagawa

This spring, I will turn 45. It is a nice, solid number. A number in the center of midlife. Long ago, as a young wife, still mostly defined by my role as a daughter, I wrote the two poems ...
In the spring, the daughter blossoms by Cassie Premo Steele and its accompanying Reader Response.

Fiction
Her dog, Ike, pulls on the leash attached to Maureen's wrist, as Thomas, her four-year-old, holds on to the back of her coat and her purse slides to the crook of her arm. Maureen feels stretched and off balance.
Unleased by Vicky Fish

The mother swept quickly through the crosswalk, like a duck on a pond, trailing her daughter behind her. She hooked her thumbs under the straps of her backpack, felt the ache lift away, then settle again on her shoulders. What seemed necessary had become a burden: a Thermos of iced water, coloring books, borrowed binoculars, a stuffed unicorn. A day that had to be perfect.
Flight by Elizabeth Maria Naranjo

Literary Reflections
Even for some seasoned readers of prose, picking up poetry can be like choosing a new toothpaste brand. Prose has treated us well, so why switch? It is the sort of life change that only arrives in moments of upheaval or because we have coupons. I admit that I am a novice poetry seeker: a little tentative, perhaps still caught off guard by how many different types of minty freshness there can be, but also willing to take more risks when I reach for the next book.
Essential Reading: Poetry by Rhena Tantisunthorn

When did I make the connection that my love of books was about more than the release they offered from the confines of each day's logistical concerns? The troubles of the flesh?
Of Books and Babies by Julianna Thibodeaux

Poetry
flutter bug swishy fish macaroon
tiger cub sea turtle diver scallop...
Yet to Be Born by Jaime Asaye Fitzgerald

the acacia is singing
trumpeting
bloom
Pregnant by Heather Angier

Nothing is more holy shit than the positive
on our bathroom sink. There is a feeling
beyond pleasure, beyond joy, beyond fear,
that chews me from the knees up...
Testing by Renee Beauregard Lute

Strangers will stare.
They'll hoot and holler
about ice cream for two,
insist on carting your bag,
and wonder
if you can do your job...
Pregnant Lady Be Ready by Deborah Bacharach

This is the week the heart starts
beating.
5 weeks by Brittney Corrigan

They show us a portrait
of four mystic cells.
In a sterile room,
I am the showcase...
Zygotes, Hatched and Delivered by Laurette Folk

Profiles
Mei-Ling Hopgood is an award-winning journalist who has reported on cops, diversity, the Pentagon, transportation, spelling bees, and, most recently, global motherhood. Hopgood, along with her husband and two daughters, lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for four years and just recently moved back to the US Midwest.
An Interview with Mei-Ling Hopwood by Suzanne Kamata

When you think of Erma Bombeck, the word "feminist" probably doesn't leap to mind. Instead, you might think of your mother's well-worn copy of one of Bombeck's ten bestsellers or a yellowed clipping of one of her syndicated newspaper columns stuck to your childhood fridge with a magnet. And, perhaps, that's just as Bombeck would have wanted it, having made a career, as she did, out of lampooning her life as a suburban housewife. But Bombeck was in many ways a feminist.
Erma Bombeck: Feminist Housewife by Kristen Levithan

After several years of reading her columns and blogs, and several more of an email/Facebook/Twitter friendship, I am finally meeting Ericka Lutz. She and I share an uncanny affinity: We are Jewish feminist writer mothers of daughters; we are denizens of corresponding coastal liberal enclaves (she is Bay Area born and bred and now lives in Oakland; I'm from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and live next door in Arlington); we both dislike Paris, Christmas, narcissistic writers, and fey spirituality.
A Profile of Ericka Lutz by Rebecca Steinitz

Reviews
An award-winning author of three poetry collections, Giménez Smith brings poetic impulse to every syllable of her latest work. At once memoir, a book-length essay, and an epic poem (motherhood as heroic quest), Bring down the Little Birds gathers, weaves, and illuminates the multi-faceted complexities of motherhood. I am tempted to label it a "literary nest" spun from fragments of experience, memory, reflection, imagination, pop culture, literature, and language.
The Syntax of Motherhood by Marilyn Bousquin

Thanks to the right mix of message and timing, Planting Dandelions and Radical Homemakers both changed my actions and attitudes for the better. They gave me a new lease on my home life and renewed inspiration to tackle my creative pursuits. What an invaluable gift. These books were just what this mama needed, when I needed them.
Home Is Where the Revolution Is by Erin Walter

Literature was my first love, books my first refuge. In my life before motherhood, I never dreamt that finding time to read would present a challenge. Then I had my son and, with the birth of my daughter a little over two years later, I find myself struggling to find time to sneeze, let alone fall into the pages of a novel. Now, when I do curl up with a book, I want it to count. I want to be transported, transformed, to bask in someone else's experiences or eloquence, or both.
A Time To Read by Erinn Kelley

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Do you keep a journal - or wish you could get one started? Literary Mama wants to help.

Three times a month, I'll post a writing prompt. Open a notebook and write for 10 minutes. Don't worry about grammar or punctuation - just write. Then let the writing simmer and your mind wander for awhile.

And who knows? Maybe you'll discover a character for your next short story or a theme for a narrative essay. Or maybe you'll use the idea to create a special holiday card or photo album for someone in your family. However you decide to use your journal entry, I know you'll enjoy re-reading it months--and years--down the road.
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Every November, the National Toy Hall of Fame recognizes toys that have engaged and delighted multiple generations, inspiring them to learn, create, and discover through play. Anyone can nominate a toy to the National Toy Hall of Fame. Final selections are made on the advice of historians, educators, and other individuals who exemplify learning, creativity, and discovery through their lives and careers. Since 1998, 49 toys have been inducted. The newest inductees are:

Hot Wheels
The Dollhouse
The Blanket

Journal Entry: What toy from your childhood have you shared (or hope to share) with your child? Why is the toy special to you?

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