Until April 10th, we'll accept responses to the For Your Journal writing prompts posted in January, February, and March. We'll offer our feedback on each response privately before the end of the month and post our favorites to the LM Blog. Please email your responses of 400 words or less to lmblog (at) literarymama (dot) com with the words "For Your Journal submission" in the subject line. Submissions--up to two per person--should be in the text of an email; please do not send attachments. If submitting two responses, please submit in separate emails.
Here's a recap of the writing prompts:January
~~ Write about a time you watched your child "walk in another's shoes." Read the entire prompt here.
~~ What's your family's favorite board game? Read the entire prompt here.
~~ Do you have house rules about television? Read the entire prompt here.
February
~~ Write and illustrate a story with your child about a household object. Read the entire prompt here.
~~ Describe a mess your child made. Read the entire prompt here.
~~ Make a list of five books you want your children to experience. Read the entire prompt here.
March
~~ Create a word. Draw it. Then, list 10 words that rhyme with it. Read the entire prompt here.
~~ Write about your family's religious life. Read the entire prompt here.
~~ Write about the challenges and the rewards of learning a new skill while your family watches. Read the entire prompt here.
CALL FOR PAPERS
Demeter Press
is seeking submissions for an edited collection on
Queering Maternity and Motherhood:
Narrative and Theoretical Perspectives on Queer Conception, Birth and Parenting
Editor: Joani Mortenson Publication Date: 2012
Deadline for abstracts: March 31, 2011
This anthology will explore the continuum of queer mothering, through conception to birth to parenting. Understanding the process and material effects of being 'othered', the containment within a patriarchal system of discourse and the lack of cultural representations of lesbian/queer mothers are some of the issues explored and problematized in this polyphonic text. By addressing the socially and discursively articulated norms which govern what form families must take in a culture of compulsory heterosexuality, this anthology will also consider more fundamental and political questions of identity and performance; such as who is viable and counts as intelligible in Western patriarchal society. This text will discuss the implications of these issues in the everyday lived experience of queer parents, in particular focussing on the questions of what makes a 'liveable life' and what makes a 'grievable life'.
Suggested topics include, but not limited to:
Lesbian and bi-sexual mothers, Curious parents, Queer mothers living with disability, Transgendered and Transexual parents, Queer conception stories, Butch and Femme Mothers, Queer pregnancy, Queer birth culture narratives, Counter-narratives to compulsory heterosexual conception and parenting, Constructing Queer identity construction through mothering, Lesbian mothers and co-mothers, Gender identity and the social construction of motherhood, Queer mothering with in-laws, Queer maternity and midwifery, Queering fertility services, Breastfeeding queer mamas, Sperm banks and known donors, Genderqueer parents experiences, and Attachment parenting in the queer family.
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts should be 250 words. Please also include a brief biography (50 words).
Please send to joanimortenson@gmail.com
Deadline for Abstracts is March 31st, 2011
Accepted Papers of 4000-5000 words (15-20 pages) will be due September 1, 2011
and should conform to MLA citation format.
Demeter Press
140 Holland St. West, PO 13022
Bradford, ON, L3Z 2Y5
http://www.demeterpress.org info@demeterpress.org
CALL FOR PAPERS
International Conference on Mothering, Motherhood and Education
featuring an embedded conference on
Motherhood Studies:
Developing and Disseminating a New Academic Discipline for a New Century
October 20-23, 2011, Toronto, ON, Canada
Deadline for abstracts: April 1, 2011!
We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, workers, artists, mothers and others who work or research in this area. Cross-cultural, historical and comparative work is encouraged. We are open to a variety of types of submissions including academic papers from all disciplines; presentations by community activists, health care professionals, and social service workers; creative submissions (performances, films, storytelling, readings of poetry and fiction, visual arts displays); workshops; and other alternative formats.
This conference will explore the relationship between mothering, motherhood, and education, examining the countless ways in which women have been affected by, view, and/or challenge existing educational ideologies and policies and/or develop new theories, practices, identities, and meanings from the multiple locations of teacher, learner, and mother/othermother/surrogate mother.
Topics may include but are not restricted to:
Normative & disruptive discourses about motherhood and education; pedagogical othermothering & midwifery; mothering in the academy; teaching & learning from mothers at the margins (mothers of color, teen mothers, First Nation/aboriginal/Native American mothers, low-income mothers; adoptive mothers, queer and transgendered mothers...); maternal pedagogies; empowered mothering & teaching; mothering, education, & disability; education & infertility; men, mothering, & education; mothering & homeschooling; mothering, education, & activism; education & the public/private split; mothers' historical experiences of education; teaching one's actual or surrogate children; navigating cultural expressions of "good" and "bad" mother/ing; second/third shift responsibilities & education; transmitting maternal knowledges; motherhood & online teaching; problematizing the motherly teacher; literary/artistic/pop cultural representations of motherhood & education; teaching and/or learning parenting skills; educating public policy makers about mothering/motherhood; challenges to patriarchal and/or imperialist educational ideologies and practices; motherhood, education,& health; feminist motherlines & education; teaching/learning about mothering/motherhood through new media
Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
Kim Anderson, University of Guelph, author of Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood
Nancy Naples, University of Connecticut, author of Feminism and Method: Ethnography, Discourse Analysis and Activist Scholarship
Jane Ward, University of California, Riverside, Respectably Queer: Diversity Culture in LGBT Activist Organizations
Other Keynotes TBC
If you are interested in being considered as a presenter, please send a 250 word
abstract and a 50-word bio by April 1, 2011 to info@motherhoodinitiative.org
One must be a member of Motherhood Imitative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) to submit an abstract for this conference.
http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org
Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI)
140 Holland St. West, PO Box 13022
Bradford, ON, L3Z 2Y5 (tel) 905-775-5215
http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org info@motherhoodinitiative.org
Call for essays: Breadwinning Broads: stories from women who bring home most (or even all) of the bacon
The topic of wives out-earning their husbands has received a lot of attention recently. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a third of all wives earn more than their husbands (2003). The Breadwinning Broads project wants to hear about life from the perspective of these meal-ticket mamas. Our hope is to shine a light on the shifting roles in modern marriages or relationships and how women feel these changes have impacted their identity as a wife, girlfriend, partner, mother, daughter or woman.
The Breadwinning Broads project is seeking first person essays of 2000-3500 words from wives, girlfriends, or partners, who earn, or once earned, most or all of the household income. Rather than social commentary or man-bashing rants, we are looking for stories focusing on unique perspectives of being the breadwinner.
Here are some questions that may help spark your essay:
1. As the breadwinner, how to do you see yourself? How do you think others see you? Has been the breadwinner changed you? What have you learned about yourself?
2. Does being the breadwinner feel liberating or confining? How and why? What are your hopes? What are your fears?
3. How has being a breadwinner impacted your role as a daughter? Was your mother a breadwinner, as well? Has your role as the provider affected your relationship with your mother or father?
4. How do you feel about your work outside the home? Are you passionate about it? Hate it? How do your feelings about your job affect the way you see yourself as the breadwinner?
5. How might your role as breadwinner impact your daughter(s)? Son(s)? Does being the breadwinner shape your feelings about motherhood? How? Why?
6. What about your marriage or relationship changed, improved or deteriorated as a result of your breadwinning status? Did you willingly enter into your role or did circumstances require you to take it on? If your marriage or relationship did not last, was it due to your role as the provider?
Above all, we are looking for writing that moves us, makes us laugh, surprises us and gives us unique insight into life as a breadwinning broad.
Please submit essays to breadwinningbroads@yahoo.com by May 31st, 2011.
We look forward to hearing from you.
The Fine Print:
Submission of an essay does not guarantee publication in the book. Several factors will be considered when determining which works will be selected for publication by the editor and publisher.
Electronic submissions only, please. Essays will not be returned to the author.
No contributors will receive financial compensation for their work whether or not it is selected for publication. Contributing authors will be recognized in the book and in the book publicity for their published work.
If selected for publication in the book, authors agree to terms in a consent agreement (e.g., permission to publish the work in the book, use in promotional materials, use of name in the book, release of copyright).
Authors affirm that submitted work was not previously published.
The editor and publisher reserve the right to reject any submissions and to edit the stories for grammar, style and space.
Editor: Katie Griffith holds an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Wyoming and has spent the last ten years studying cultural and social trends in the United States. The Breadwinner project began when she and many of her thoughtful friends realized that things had really changed--and they weren't sure they liked it. Katie has worked as a lecturer in American Studies, a young adult librarian, an educator and, of course, a breadwinning wife and mother.
Sara Ruddick--philosopher, writer, peace activist, mothering theorist and legend--has died.
Ruddick, a professor of philosophy and women's studies for nearly 40 years at the New School for Social Research, developed an approach to child-rearing that shifted the focus away from motherhood as a social institution or biological imperative and toward the day-to-day activities of raising and educating a child. She will be remembered for her book, Maternal Thinking: Toward A Politics of Peace, first published in 1989.
Read the entire obituary here.
Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of Muslim Women
Announcing a call for non-fiction/memoir/personal stories by American Muslim women on the search for love. These stories will be published in a book, Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women, by Soft Skull Press in February 2012.
WHY A BOOK ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR LOVE?
There is a stereotype about Muslim women that does not show them as the thinking, feeling, lively people with loving hearts and independent minds that we know them to be. Partially, this is because there just aren't enough real-life stories about Muslim women being told by Muslim women themselves.
The purpose of this collection is to take control of our narrative by telling our own stories, emphasizing the humanity we all share and celebrating the quirks that make us unique. We hope to do that through stories about courtship/dating, because the search for a partner is universal.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Stories must be auto-biographical and written by women who identify as both American and Muslim. We are looking for contributors who reflect a broad range of religious perspectives, from orthodox to cultural to secular.
Write about a transformative episode that defined your courtship/dating experience. Did factors such as religion, ethnicity, race, class, etc. play a role in your story? We want real-life stories not essay-like commentary.
While we prefer that authors write under their real names, we recognize that some topics - including sex, sexual orientation, polygamy, mutah marriages, etc. - are sensitive, so we are accepting a limited number of anonymous submissions.
DIVERSITY: Contributions are welcome from American Muslim women of all racial, ethnic, sectarian backgrounds, sexual orientation, born and convert Muslims, disabled, single, engaged, married, divorced, or widowed.
WORD COUNT: Submissions should be between 1500 - 5000 words, double-spaced and paginated.
DEADLINE: April 15, 2011
DETAILS: Please send your submission via email, as a Microsoft Word document attachment, to relationship.anthology@gmail.com. Also include:
*Your full name
*Age
*Your geographic location
*E-mail address or phone number
*Ethnic/racial background
*Sect
*Whether Muslim by birth or conversion
CONTACT: Feel free to email the editors, Ayesha & Nura at relationship.anthology@gmail.com with questions.
FURTHER INFO: Writers whose work is selected for publication will be notified as quickly as possible. They will be paid a small stipend (TBD) upon publication, and will also receive 2 copies of the book. https://sites.google.com/site/loveinshallah/
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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One winter afternoon, my husband's grandmother tried to teach me how to knit, but it was obvious after about 10 minutes that the timing wasn't right.
"Just watch. You'll get it," she replied when I complained I was confused. But, her fingers held 70-plus years of experience and moved automatically. She didn't need to concentrate or to whisper "over, under, through" in order to complete each stitch. And then, there were my three children. They sat at my feet, watching. They wanted to hold the yarn; they wanted a turn with the needles; they wanted me to be done.
A few years later, my church started a prayer shawl ministry, and the knitters offered to teach anyone who wanted to learn. I decided that this time, no matter what, I was going to learn.
"We'll start with this scrap yarn before we go to the good stuff," my teacher, Ethel, said. "OK, now watch. Under the loop, around the needle, and back through the loop. Under, around, and back through. Under, around, through. Here, you try."
I grasped the yarn and attempted to weave it around my fingers, but the yarn snagged and the needles dropped to my lap. I picked them up and tried again. And again. And again. For an hour, Ethel sat next to me, guiding the needles when my fingers got in the way and encouraging me to keep at it. Gradually my clumsiness disappeared, and I completed 20 stitches. Then, two rows.
Ethel and I talked several times during the following weeks, while I continued to practice. Finally, I felt confident enough to use the good yarn.
The prayer shawl was a bigger project than I expected. I stitched while I waited for kids after school and in between conversations at their Saturday morning basketball games. I worked on it, snuggled between children and husband, during our Friday night movies. My family teased me with silly songs they made up that combined the hard-k sound of my name with the soft-k sound of "knit," but I kept going.
And then: Six months after casting on my first stitch, I bound off my last. With three skeins of yarn, I'd created a fringed piece that was five feet long and 22 inches wide. I knew it wasn't perfect, but Ethel was full of compliments.
"I can't believe how nice it looks," she gushed. "Whoever gets it won't notice that you added a few stitches here and there. They'll appreciate your effort."
My kids were proud, too: "Wow," said one.
"Cool," said another.
And then, the praise that pleased me the most: "Can you make one for me?"
Journal Entry: What new project have you attempted since becoming a mom? Write about the challenges and the rewards of learning a new skill while your family watches.
Literary Mama is looking for a part-time (4-6 hours/week) software guru to help keep our site up-to-date.
Technical Requirements
- Experience with web design (HTML, CSS)
- Intimate knowledge of Movable Type (versions 4.3 and 5.0) and/or WordPress (versions 3.0 and up)
- familiarity with all publishing features (entries, pages, categories, users)
- experience installing plugins
- template language experience a plus
There is no compensation -- we are all volunteers here -- but the title is negotiable and we offer the support of a tremendous community of writers and editors worldwide. Literary Mama attracts a growing audience of over 30,000 readers a month, and has been named one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers.
Contact editor-in-chief Caroline Grant (carolinemgrantATgmailDOTcom) to apply.
Suzanne Kamata, Literary Mama's Fiction Editor, was wondering what she could do to help Japan's evacuees. Read about it here.
Whenever I case a new location, look at friends' vacation photos, or watch travelogues, I wonder about wheelchair accessibility. I wondered the same thing on Friday afternoon, watching disaster coverage on TV with my eleven-year-old daughter in Japan.
Read more of Suzanne Kamata's story here: Beacon Broadside.
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 this information about the religious beliefs and practices of Americans, based on a survey conducted in 2009 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life:
- Seventy-two percent of those surveyed attend religious services at least a few times a year. Of those, 38 percent attend at least once a week and 34 percent attend once or twice a month.
- Of those who attend services at least once a week, 39 percent attend at multiple places and 28 percent go to services outside their own faith.
- Of those in religiously-mixed marriages, 43 percent say they seldom or never attend religious services, twice as many as those who are married to someone of the same faith.
Journal Entry: Write about your family's religious life. What role does your childhood background play? Your spouse's?
CALL FOR PAPERS
Demeter Press
is seeking submissions for an edited collection on
MENNONITE MOTHERING
Co-Editors: Rachel Epp Buller and Kerry Fast
Publication Date: 2012/2013
Deadline for abstracts: May 31, 2011!
This collection of scholarly essays will explore the connections between mothering / motherhood and Mennonite religion and culture, broadly defined. There are thriving Mennonite communities in Canada and the United States as well as in many pockets of Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Religious traditions, cultural stereotypes, and societal (mis)perceptions all contribute to varied understanding of maternal roles in Mennonite life. Rhoda Janzen's bestselling memoir, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, which played heavily upon traditional gender roles, recently brought much mainstream attention to Mennonite culture. We invite papers from a wide range of disciplines that speak to historical and present-day perceptions and expectations of Mennonite maternal experiences. We especially encourage papers that address mothering in old order communities of North and South America and in other Mennonite contexts around the world.
Suggested topics may include but are not limited to:
Nonviolent mothering; activist mothering; transnational mothering; perspectives of young Mennonite mothers; intergenerational mothering; mothering in the mission field or in relief and development work; gender roles in a Mennonite context; Mennonite mothering and the arts; mothering in historical Mennonite communities; shifting socio-cultural perceptions of Mennonite mothering; lesbian mothering in a Mennonite setting; religious expectations of mothers; Mennonite relationships with the sacred maternal; Mennonite mothers and domesticity; mothers as purveyors of religious-cultural heritage; and more.
Submission guidelines:
Abstracts: 250 words. Please include a brief biography (with citizenship information).
Deadline for abstracts is May 31, 2011
Please send submissions to both:
Rachel Epp Buller, rachel@ddtr.net and Kerry Fast, kfast@chass.utoronto.ca
Subject line: Mennonite mothering abstract
(and please include citizenship information with your submission)
Accepted papers of 4000-5000 words (15-20 pages) will be due December 1, 2011
and should conform to MLA style.
The Sustainable Arts Foundation, a non-profit supporting artists and writers with families, is now accepting applications for 2011 awards. Find out more and apply at http://www.sustainableartsfoundation.org.
Brand new documentary series is currently looking for passionate and dedicated PTA, PTO & Parent Group Members.
* Do you believe that parent volunteers have the power to make a positive difference in the life of the children in your community?
* Is your PTA or parent group made up of colorful, opinionated characters that aren't afraid to confront issues head on - even if it causes conflict within the group?
* Does it feel as though your organization is frequently struggling to find a middle ground on day-to-day issues, even though both sides feel they have the group's best interests at heart?
* Would your group do whatever it takes to advocate for the well-being of your kids?
If so, we want to hear from you!
We will be looking to document the relationship dynamics within a PTA, PTO or parent group - the ups and downs, the internal struggles and external conflicts, and everything in between! We are looking for a lively group that is packed with big personalities and a lot of passion.
For more information and to speak with a Casting Producer, please email PARENTCASTING@GMAIL.COM with your name, location, a brief summary of your organization and contact information. We look forward to hearing from you!
Serita M. Wesley
Casting Producer
Leftfield Pictures
http://www.leftfieldpictures.com/
212.564.2607 ext. 2437
Serita.Wesley@leftfieldpictures.com
Literary Mama is proud to participate again in World Read Aloud Day, March 9th. Get a jump on your read alouds with our Essential Reading list of favorites.
If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, join us on Wednesday, March 9th for a Pajama Party reading at Books, Inc. in Laurel Village, from 6 - 7 PM. LM's editor-in-chief Caroline Grant will be reading favorite picture books with LM contributors Lisa Harper and Nicki Richesin. Guests who donate $10 (or more) to LitWorld will be entered into a drawing to win one of two sets of hot chocolate cubes. Bring the kids for a fun evening outing!
For more information, and to find events in your area, please visit the LitWorld website.
Tell Your Story
We would love to hear it.
There are lots of places online to read blow-by-blow descriptions of the physical process
of giving birth. What's harder to find is descriptions of what these experiences meant to
the women who had them.
We crave your deepest stories.
Tell us your joy and sorrow, your pain and bliss. Tell us your trauma or grief, and tell us how you have healed it. (And if you haven't, please find someone compassionate--a therapist or a trained coach--to talk to. No one deserves to live in pain.) Tell us how amazing you were, or how afraid you were. Tell us what it was like to go to the abyss and come back with a baby. Or just tell us about your stitches or your fantastic placenta--we're not afraid of gory details. Blood and transcendence all wrapped up together--that's usually how motherhood delivers it.
Please note that no one can comment on individual stories.
This is a place of safety and respect. Every woman's birth experience deserves a rapt audience and compassionate ears. It also deserves a whole lot of celebration, which is why we have a community Facebook page.
For Submission Guidelines & Details
The Fine Line's inaugural short story competition is now open for entries. Whatever your taste, style or inspiration, submit your tale and you could win $320 and publication in The Fine Line Short Story Collection.
A percentage of all entry fees goes to charity so you'll be doing good while getting your work out there.
To read on and enter, go to http://shop.editorial-consultancy.co.uk/shortstorycompetition/
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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In a 1959 interview with Peter Bunzel of Life magazine, Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) insisted he didn't think about a book's moral when he started writing the story: "Kids can see a moral coming a mile off and they gag at it. But there's an inherent moral in any story."
"Except in Green Eggs and Ham," he said in a 1986 interview with U.S. New & World Report: "People write essays and deliver lectures about the meaning of that book. The only meaning was that Bennett Cerf, my publisher, bet me 50 bucks I couldn't write a book using only 50 words. I did it to show I could."
No matter what his intentions, it's hard not to learn something from the Sneetches, the Lorax, the Yooks and Zooks, the Zax, Thing 1 and Thing 2, the Grinch, and Horton. Each has a story to tell.
But, it's even harder not to laugh. Remember this one from Fox in Socks?
"When a fox is
in the bottle where
the tweetle beetles battle
with their paddles
in a puddle on a
noodle-eating poodle,
THIS is what they call ...
... a tweetle beetle
noodle poodle bottled
paddled muddled duddled
fuddled wuddled
fox in socks, sir!"
Read more about Dr. Seuss at his official website or in this book of essays.
Journal Entry: Create a word. Draw it. Then, list 10 words that rhyme with it. What story does that word want to tell?