And Then It Shifted: Women Open Up About Leaving Men for Women (Seal Press, 2010)
2,000-4,000 words
Payment: Upon publication. Amount will vary, depending on experience and other variables ($50 and up). Please include a list of any previous publication credits with your query or submission. Contributors will also receive two copies of the published book.
Deadline: December 1, 2009. That said, we strongly encourage you to send us a query well beforehand, so that we can review it, give you helpful feedback, and have a good sense of what will be coming our way that month. If you are able to submit the piece earlier, we prefer that you do.
Editors: Candace Walsh and Laura André. Candace Walsh is the editor of the recently released anthology Ask Me About My Divorce: Women Open Up About Moving On.
As Dr. Lisa Diamond’s recent groundbreaking book Sexual Fluidity makes clear, women’s sexual desire and identity are capable of shifting. Cynthia Nixon, Carol Leifer, Wanda Sykes, Portia de Rossi, and countless others have left the fold of heterosexual identity to enter into or pursue same-sex relationships.
Although this book will evolve as we receive submissions, we welcome first-person essays from women
1) who were aware that they had always felt robust same-sex desires, but wanted to try to make it work in the straight world, and also
2) who identified as heterosexual at one time, but found that the situation they were in just naturally led to embarking on an intimate romantic relationship with a woman.
We seek a diversity of voices, and welcome submissions from a variety of perspectives.
We also welcome essays from women who don’t fit precisely into the above descriptions.
Here are some questions that we’d like answered in your piece. It may be one of the questions, or you may touch on most of them, and throw in some extra, great stuff that didn’t even occur to us. Please don’t feel like this is an essay question test and that you have to cover them all—we want the format of your essay to feel organic and not be explicitly dictated by our questions.
How did you come to your moment of truth?
Did your perception of yourself change?
Do you feel that others’ perceptions of you changed? Did they surprise you with either an unexpected positive or negative reaction? How did this affect you? Did their reactions change over time?
Do you feel like you surrendered heterosexuality or elements of heterosexual privilege? Do you feel like your new life with a woman has yielded rewards? What were the rewards you expected and which ones were surprises?
What do you miss? What do you not miss? Everything from in the bedroom to out at dinner, at a wedding, as a parent, as a family member, at the gym, in the workplace, on a picnic—whatever comes up for you.
What is this journey like, in general and for you? How did you feel as you were setting out on it and how do you feel now? How do you mark your progress? Were there stages? Illustrative moments? Looking back, do you feel like you went through certain phases?
What is it like to shift your identity? What about you is the same and always will be? What about you has changed or altered?
How did you feel as you began your relationship with a woman? Did you get flak from individuals who second-guessed you? Did you feel like you had to prove yourself? How did you keep your internal balance?
How did your socialization as a straight woman prepare you (ill or well) for pursuing a woman or being in a relationship with a woman?
How did your cultural/religious/racial/ethnic background shape your experience?
Do you like, or are you attracted to certain things that your partner or girlfriend, or gay women do that are traditionally labeled as masculine? Feminine?
How do you define yourself? Do you feel like the current “labels” work for you or that what you are is not yet defined by a word or phrase? What paradigm do you imagine?
Are you still with the woman you left your previous relationship for? Was she just a catalyst, or a rebound, or something else, or “the one”?
As editors, we value specificity, detail, “showing, not telling,” honesty, epiphanies, clean, polished, yet real and un-prettied-up writing, and the sharing of insights.
Please send your submission (Word document, double-spaced), along with a short bio and full contact information to: andthenitshifted@gmail.com
Website: And Then It Shifted
Kate Haas, creative non-fiction editor, has released issue #19 of her 'zine.
In this issue:
The Clothes Off Her Back - Vintage garments. So hip, right? Not when they’re maternity clothes. Your mother’s maternity clothes.
Rochambeau – A new town, a first job, a whole mess of uncertainty.
Frivolous – True confessions: I love the New York Times wedding announcements. And so does my nine-year-old boy.
The Tintin Effect – how a series of classic comics can give a kid a very odd outlook on life.
The Passion – The good teachers had it. I did not.
Plus, the Motel of Lost Companions encounters a Ghost; lots more book reviews; Mama’s Stray Thoughts (featuring hipsters vs. hippies, the toddler love of sticks, just how well my son knows his mother, and an April Fool joke you really shouldn’t try). Also, things overheard in the blueberry field and an excellent recipe for challah.
$2 per issue. For ordering information, go to Miranda.
Multi-Culti Mami columnist Violeta Garcia-Mendoza is offering two online courses beginning in October, 2009. For more information or to register, contact Violeta directly.
Writers Recharge Class
October 12- November 16, 2009
Are you missing the spark you started writing with? Do you feel like you're in a rut? Blocked? Or just not as energized and inspired as you once were? Violeta's Writers' Recharge will help you get over the hurdles, reconnect with your love of reading and writing, unearth your spark, and bring it back to the page.
The focus of the Writers' Recharge is to act as a sort of balm against rejection letters, criticisms, writing blocks, and the general noise of life in order to produce fulfilling-to-you writing. Unlike Violeta's other classes, this 5-week class will not focus as much on craft as it will on being highly personalized as it helps you overcome obstacles to your writing, become inspired, and find community with other passionate writers. Whether you're a fiction or nonfiction writer, or a poet, let Violeta help you rekindle your literary passion, drive, and energy.
Topics will include:
* arriving at personalized inspiring reading list
* writing "cross-training" assignments
* determining the most fertile environment for your writing
* becoming part of a literary community/ making literary friends
* combining the pleasure with the business of writing... while maximizing the pleasure
* personalized tips and positive, constructive feedback on any pieces submitted for Violeta's critique
Class length is 5 weeks, and class size is limited. Cost is $150 and may be paid in installments, if necessary. For more information, or to register, please contact Violeta.
Creative Nonfiction Special Topics Class
October 5- November 16, 2009.
For past students of Violeta's CNF 1 class, or for intermediate creative nonfiction writers, Creative Nonfiction Special Topics provides the inspiration, structure, and community that will take you deeper as a creative nonfiction writer. CNF Special Topics lets you explore a number of different subject matters for your creative nonfiction writing.
Topics will include:
* travel writing
* political writing
* spiritual writing
* food writing
* writing about family & friends
* writing through the dark
The 6-week class will feature a variety of weekly readings and discussion, writing prompts, and in-depth feedback on all the weekly work you submit to Violeta. It will differ from the typical workshop format in that you will not be required to comment on others' work, giving you the ability to focus more intensely on your own work.
Cost is $175 and may be paid in installments, if necessary. For more information, or to register, please contact Violeta.
Thursday, September 24, 2009 * 7 pm *
3rd Annual Mother Words Reading, Open Book, Minneapolis
Please join us for the 3rd Annual Mother Words Reading! Kate Hopper, who coordinates the event, will be reading with the wonderful Kate St. Vincent Vogl (Lost and Found: A Memoir of Mothers, North Star Press, 2009) and Vicki Forman (This Lovely Life: A Memoir of Premature Motherhood, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009). This is the first time that a nationally known writer, Forman, will be flying to the Twin Cities for the event.
Free and open to the public! Bring your friends!!
About the annual Mother Words Reading
So often in our society, writing by a group of people is lumped together and dismissed. This has certainly been the case with motherhood literature. In 1976, Adrienne Rich began Of Woman Born with this: “We know more about the air we breathe, the seas we travel, than about the nature and meaning of motherhood.” Three decades later, we have made some headway: a few literary journals featuring motherhood writing have emerged, motherhood scholarship has found a place in some academic settings, and a number of books about motherhood have been published. Yet, motherhood literature is still largely ignored, and motherhood memoir, christened “momoir,” is routinely dismissed. But like all great writing, literature about motherhood, is, as Patricia Hampl says about memoir, “an attempt to find not only a self but a world.” Motherhood literature is not about motherhood; it uses motherhood as a lens through which to see the world. Kate Hopper launched the annual Mother Words Reading in 2007 as way to showcase literary nonfiction of women writing about motherhood.
Literary Mama friend and mama-writer, Christina Katz, is once again running her Writer Mama Back-to-School Giveaway where she gives away one book or magazine subscription every day in September. On September 25th, stop by for a chance at a big gift: a trio of anthologies edited by Literary Mama editors Shari MacDonald Strong, Amy Hudock and Caroline Grant.
The books -- Mama, PhD: Women Write About Motherhood and Academic Life; The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change; and Literary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined--will be up for giveaway on September 25th. To see a complete list of what you can win, visit Christina’s Writer Mama blog. You can enter every day if you want, so bookmark her site and visit again and again. Good luck!
Course: Mother Words
When: Tuesdays, 1-3 pm, September 15 - December 8 (12 weeks, no class Nov. 24)
Where: The Loft Literary Center, Open Book, Minneapolis, MN
Course description:
Whether you are a new mom or a veteran, whether you gave birth to or adopted your child, in this class you’ll learn how to take birth and motherhood stories and turn them into art. We’ll talk about the use of humor and explore ways to capture funny motherhood anecdotes on paper. We’ll also discuss and write about the heartbreak and loss that are part of motherhood. Weekly writing exercises will focus on telling details, character development, and strengthening your reflective voice. You can expect to generate two to three creative nonfiction pieces. The instructor will provide feedback on up to 10 pages of student writing (typed and double-spaced) in addition to pieces shared and workshopped in class. Course packets will be available for a copy fee on the first day of class.
Instructor: Kate Hopper is Literary Reflections co-editor for Literary Mama. Her writing has appeared in Literary Mama, Mamazine, Minnesota Parent, MotherVerse, nytimes.com, Preemie Magazine, the Minneapolis StarTribune, and is forthcoming in Brevity. Kate is a former Fulbright Scholar and an award-winning instructor who has taught creative writing for eight years.
Cost: Sliding scale. Visit The Loft for more information.
Registration: Visit The Loft to register. Contact Kate with questions.
To celebrate the publication of her new book, 31 Hours, LM friend Masha Hamilton is hosting a contest:
Email a paragraph or story (500 words max) about when your intuition has been right about your child.
The top five stories—selected by Masha and guest judges—will get a free hardcover book and have their stories featured on the 31 Hours site.
Email entries to Masha AT mashahamilton DOT com
Entries accepted until: September 30, 2009
Winners announced: October 16, 2009
Are you a published author with kids? Pen Parentis seeks short (up to 250 words) essays about writing while parenting for possible publication on their new website (Pen Parentis). Submit an email mss (no attachments please) to submitpenparentis@gmail.com Please include your name, a very short bio (list most important 3 credits only) and number of kids with ages (no names). We welcome rants, advice, humor, calls for help—anything true about the near-impossibility of trying to keep a writing career going while also trying to be a good parent. Include a link to your author website if you wish. We are building a community of published parent writers. Deadline: December 15, 2009 but early submission is a plus. No fee.
By Heather Cori
It's summertime and three of the four women in our Compass Group sit outside at our favorite wine bar with a copy of Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman tucked under our arms. Lu is still wearing her veterinarian assistant's smock and Beth has just finished 11-hour work day as a coach for low income small business entrepreneurs. As we talk, I begin to fill my yellow legal pad with notes.
"First of all, the whole thing about how the author caused such a stir about proclaiming to love her husband more than her children? It never crossed my mind to even think about that," Beth begins.
"It's like how Eskimos have all those words for snow, I just have different definitions of the love I feel for my husband and the love for my child," Lu says.
I chime in, "I think it was pretty ridiculous how other women got upset about that. Like the woman who leapt across the Oprah stage saying 'Let me at her.' It's Ayelet's story. So what? She wasn't saying 'this is how it should be for everyone else."
"I can't say I've ever experienced that kind of viciousness from other mothers," Beth shares, "but I don't doubt it."
Lu nods, "I would often hear disparaging remarks about only children as Emma was growing up."
"I agree there is a big difference between a mother sharing her story and a mother saying 'this is best for you,'" I contribute.
Beth shares how she is allergic to women who launch into "my kid is larger than life" stories.
Lu chuckles, "Yah, I liked Ayelet's comment about 'why isn't average good enough?'"
"So I've been curious to hear what you guys think about the 'who does what' chapter. If there was a more equitable division of household labor, do you think we'd all want to have sex with our husbands more often?" I ask.
Beth says, "I think a lot of what she had to say is true. I mean, what happens to that resentment? Over time it can lead to a parallel existence."
"There again," Lu adds, "It's like she's on mission to 'out' everything in her life and tell it like it is. That takes guts."
"I would definitely say that I wasn't raised or groomed to appreciate motherhood from my own mother," Beth says, "I was more prepared to stand up for myself and be a success in my work than I was to give pieces of myself over to my child. It's still hard."
Lu sums up, "More than anything this book reminds me that you can't look at a person or a couple and really know anything. Everyone has a showcase and everyone has the real story that goes on backstage."
"And why do we work so hard on that showcase?" Beth muses, "Is it because we are all so insufferably insecure?"
"What a piece of work we all are," we say as we clink wine glasses and Lu gets a text from her daughter that indicates she's been out too long and Beth is late to relieve the babysitter and I have three kids at home waiting to pounce with a day's worth of stories and energy.
After reading Bad Mother, I was inspired to create my own definition of a good mother: A good mother is one who reflects on her practice more than she judges others and constantly strives for balance. According to my definition, Ayelet Waldman, a mother who thinks, is a good one.
Jennifer Margulis, former LM Columnist, fields some questions from a new mom about becoming a writer on her blog. Check it out!
Due September 15, 2009
Main Street Rag
We will begin accepting stories for consideration on three new themes again starting in January 2009. We will be reading on these themes until we fill the pages or until September 15, 2009 (postmark date).
Themes for 2009:
The Commute (stories regarding travel including everything from bicycling to busing to driving to riding a horse—getting from here to there)
Food (stories about eating, cooking, restaurants, barbecues, picnics—if food is a centerpiece of the story, it’s eligible)
Coming Home (stories of soldiers returning, people visiting a place that they've been away from for a while, children growing up as well as stories about people overcoming physical and emotional challenges).
Please check the website for specific guidelines.
The Ultimate Christian Living
A book of personal, true stories by and about Christians whose lives have been impacted by their faith. If you have a passion for God, His word, and His people, we invite you to share your stories of faith, including those of service to others, challenges you’ve faced, and spiritual leaders who have helped you in your journey as a Christian.
Submission deadline:
EXTENDED:
August
October 19, 2009
Publication Date:
Spring 2010
Author: Rev. Todd Outcalt
Calvary United Methodist, Brownsburg, Indiana
former working title: The Ultimate Pastor