26 May 2011

Call for Submissions: Motherhood and Loss Anthology (Fat Daddy's Farm Press)

Post date: 26 May 2011
Deadline: 1 August 2011

The topic of motherhood has been addressed in terms of feminism, politics, pedagogy and other issues particular to the experience of raising a child as a woman. There have also been many nonfiction explorations of the topic of infertility and the problem caused by the thwarted desire for having a child. However, there is a lack of examination of the experience of loss and motherhood. To counter this void, the emerging press Fat Daddy’s Farm will be publishing a collection of essays, creative writing and art that address the experience of motherhood and loss. To this end, this anthology will reflect the myriad experiences woman have with this topic, expressed in many different forms.

Specifically, this anthology will include:
  • First person essays from 500-1500 words
  • Copies of drawings, cartoons, paintings, graphic art or photography in jpg format
  • Poems (no longer than two pages, doublespaced)
  • Academic writing (MLA format) from 1500-2500 words
  • Creative non-fiction or fiction pieces from 1000-1500 words
Here are some questions that may help spark your submission:

1. How have you experienced loss and motherhood? Has it been through death, divorce, abandonment, infertility, estrangement, unfulfilled expectations or some other way? Has it involved adoption, step-parenting, medical intervention or biological birth?

2. What have the challenges been in terms of this loss? Have you had physical, emotional, legal, public or other challenges? How have you overcome, dealt with or accepted those challenges?

3. How have social expectations of mothering affected or complicated your loss? What experiences of guilt or shame have you experienced? Or how have you rebelled against these social expectations in terms of your experience of loss?

4. What historical, political, social, biological, or medical dimensions of various types of loss of motherhood do you find interesting? What does your personal loss or more general experiences of loss say about these complex dimensions?

5. What psychological or therapeutic dimensions of loss and motherhood have you or others experienced? What spiritual or religious dimensions have you experienced? What have you learned because of this loss? What larger lessons can other people learn from the issue of motherhood and loss?

6. What are you still struggling with? What moved you and made you laugh in dark moments? What are your goals for the future? What is your particular process when it comes to motherhood and loss?

Above all, we are looking for writing that moves, teaches, inspires laughter, surprises and gives unique insight into motherhood and loss.

The anthology will be edited by Melissa Miles McCarter, the author of “Insanity: A Love Story.” For specific questions about the content of the anthology, please contact her at melissa_miles@yahoo.com.

Please submit essays to fdfarmpress@gmail.com by August 1, 2011. We prefer google docs, but pdf is also reliable. For images, please submit in a pdf or as an attached jpg. MS Word is the least reliable--if you need to, we would prefer to get your document in the body of the email, rather than send it as a word attachment. If you have questions about how to send a submission, feel free to email fdfarmpress@gmail.com. Simultaneous and previously published submissions are allowed--please let us know in this case.

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.

1. Electronic submissions only, please. Essays will not be returned to the author.
2. 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.
3. 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).
4. Fat Daddy Farm’s will retain the "nonexclusive right to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit and sell digital reproductions." Specifically, we ask for NORTH AMERICAN SERIAL RIGHTS, including electronic rights. You can submit previously published material to us as long as you retain reprint rights. Since we are not giving any monetary payment, we want to allow you to be able to sell/publish your material elsewhere.
4. Authors affirm that submitted work was not previously published and/or discloses where it has been published.
5. The editor and publisher reserve the right to reject any submissions and to edit the writing for grammar, style and space.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: melissa_miles@yahoo.com

For submissions: fdfarmpress@gmail.com

Website: http://fatdaddysfarm.org/
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