Sherry Chandler » 2008 » February » 03
MotesBooks of Louisville will accept manuscripts and artwork for an anthology to be published in the summer of 2008. All pieces in the book will focus on Mountaintop Removal (MTR) coal mining. Submission period closes March 1, 2008. To accommodate elementary, middle school, high school and college writers, contributors can be any age up to 24 years. Home-schoolers and non-students meeting the age requirement are also encouraged to submit.
Working title: WE ALL LIVE DOWNSTREAM
Working subtitle: Young Americans Reflect On Mountaintop Removal
Edited by writer, editor, songwriter & MTR activist Jason Howard.
With a foreword by novelist, dramatist, songwriter & MTR activist Silas House.
Literary submissions on the theme may be poems, short stories, song lyrics, short scripts, essays, articles, letters, or creative nonfiction of any length up to 4,000 words. The pieces may approach the MTR theme from any angle – human, environmental, political, cultural, economic, health, water, air, energy, tourism, jobs, coal conversion, etc. Works submitted do not necessarily have to limit their focus to the results of MTR in Appalachia. All points of view are welcomed.
Visual submissions may include sketches, drawings and other original artworks rendered in black-and-white and submitted in the form of a high resolution .tiff file. They should address MTR-related themes. High resolution color images may be submitted for consideration as cover art, as well.
Award: After publication, a panel of adult writers and activists will select the work of a single contributor to be awarded a Youth Activism+Art prize of $100.
Payment: If accepted for publication, every contributor will receive one (1) complimentary copy upon publication as payment, shipped to address provided in submission materials. Contributors will also receive an ongoing contributor’s discount for purchase of additional copies.
The book will be manufactured in softcover, perfectbound format. Basic retail marketing outlets will include Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and the publisher’s websites: www.MotesBooks.com (site of MotesBooks literary imprint) and www.EvaMedia.com (site that primarily serves schools). Wholesales will be available to retailers. Special marketing strategies and events will also be utilized, including at least one reading by selected contributors (at the invitation of the publisher).
Questions? Visit www.MotesBooks.com or email MTR@MotesBooks.com using “MTR ANTHOLOGY” as the subject line.
Writers and artists retain copyright on individual pieces.
Do not send previously published or simultaneously submitted material.
Submission guarantees that the work is original and is created by the student whose name is affixed to it.
Include author bio and contact information (including school affiliation, grade level, age, phone, snail mail, e-mail address, and teacher sponsor, if applicable) with each submission. Teachers may make submissions on behalf of students if individual cover letters signed by each student contributor are included.
Send WRITING in hard copy only (no email attachments) to: MotesBooks MTR Anthology, PO Box 6034, Louisville KY 40206. Use Arial 12 pt. font. Do not send originals; submissions will not be returned. If you want confirmation of receipt, include SASP (self-addressed stamped postcard). NOTE: If accepted, submissions will subsequently be requested in the form of a text or Word file. DO NOT INITIALLY SUBMIT MANUSCRIPTS BY EMAIL — HARD COPY ONLY!
VISUAL ART should be submitted in digital form only via email or CD. Submission should include name, age, and all contact info, brief artist statement, and bio. Artwork received by email attachment will elicit a return email confirming inbox arrival. For artwork submissions, use “MTR ANTHOLOGY” as the subject line; send .tiff file by e-mail to MTR@MotesBooks.com, or mail disc to: MotesBooks MTR Anthology, PO Box 6034, Louisville KY 40206. No hard copy is required for visual art submissions. Discs or other submission materials will not be returned. SUBMIT HIGH RESOLUTION (300 dpi) TIFF FILES ONLY; NO JPG FILES WILL BE CONSIDERED. If image files are too large to email, contact us for FTP upload instructions.
Both writers and visual artists must include a 30-40 word bio to appear in Contributor’s Notes section of the anthology in the event that work is accepted. Bios may include previous publishing credits, name of school and current level in school (if still a student), background on the piece submitted, or other information as desired.
Submission guarantees that contributors agree that selected submissions may be posted on MotesBooks and/or EvaMedia websites and used in promotional & marketing materials.
Submission deadline is March 1, 2008 May 1, 2008. Book publication is targeted for July 2008.
This post was written by sherry
So. I got all that rant about Obama off my chest yesterday and woke up this morning feeling considerably more charitable toward the man. Obama is fine and I’m proud that he’s a Democrat.
But I am annoyed by the odor of sanctity that has grown up around him as though he were some sort of secular saint.
Well, maybe not so secular. A Hindu physician and naturalized American of my acquaintance was offended by Obama’s declaration of Christianity. He saw it not so much as Obama’s defending himself against the Astroturf accusation that he’s Muslim as a cave-in to the religious litmus test for any political candidate in the United States. Not every citizen in the country thinks just being Muslim, or even atheist, is treason. And the Founding Fathers were against any kind of religious test for politicians.
And I am becoming very annoyed with this whole Kennedy mystique, what one might call the Sword in the Stone test.
It’s incredible to me that nearly 50 years on, we’re all still looking to John F. Kennedy as our model of a hero-king.
I was sixteen years old when Kennedy was elected, and though I had kept my head about Elvis and Ricky Nelson and James Dean, I was madly in love with JFK. My father, who had lived through World War II and had more idea of the Kennedy-family history, was not so enamored but I only saw that as one more reason to hold him in contempt. I was a teen-ager after all.
Now I’ve become my father.
Even John F. Kennedy was not John F. Kennedy.
This same Hindu physician is wont to rant at me that the United States is sorely lacking in leadership. Well, I can’t argue with that. And I realize that that is what we’re all looking for in Obama, a hero who can inspire us the way we like to think we remember JFK did.
But while I think politicians are do very necessary work and are held to an unrealistic standard, I am becoming more and more convinced that leaders do not often come from among the politicians. Or the soldiers for that matter. Leaders come from the people. And they do not necessarily look like heroes. Men like Martin Luther King, Jr. Al Gore (post politics). Women like Susan B. Anthony. Rosa Parks.
It takes, as Hillary Clinton so infamously said, a politician like Lyndon Johnson to implement a dream like Martin Luther King Jr’s. But it’s wrong to expect politicians to be the heroes.
Look where that got us with George W. Bush.
Third thoughts department: Here’s an interesting look at Obama’s Kenyan roots. I’m not real sure what to make of this but apparently Kenya is more than just an exotic backdrop to Obama.
Fourth thoughts: Sometimes I think most of the pundits and media types would rather have any man, be he black, white, or purple, than a mature woman for president.
This post was written by sherry
