Eric passed on this email to me and we thought some of you might be interested :
Dear Eric,
I stumbled on your blog while doing a search on New Zealand poet Elizabeth Smither (!) and have a—perhaps—unusual question for you.
I'm a U.S. writer and editor (Northampton, Massachusetts) compiling a proposal for an anthology of international writing, titled, Animals Speak Every Language: Writers Around the World Celebrate Their Pets and Other Animal Companions—personal anecdotes, essays, and poems by writers who are also animal lovers, illuminating and cherishing the human-animal bond.
Are there well-known writers you can steer me to in your part of the world who might be interested in submitting work, or websites you can suggest for posting a call for submissions? I'm seeking work that's both deeply personal and finely crafted.
There are, of course, many themes/relationships that can be explored for this collection, including the animal as: family member; companion; once-in-a-lifetime personality; physical helper for the disabled; colleague (working animal); dependent (ill, disabled, or wild but captive due to injury or loss of habitat); feral/elusive being; source of inspiration; fellow traveller; elder; beloved.
The deadline for initial submissions (those that will accompany the proposal) is February 14, 2009, but I will be reading all submissions until the collection is actually complete. While inclusion in the final collection can't be guaranteed, I hope, as the title implies, to include a very large range of voices and subjects. Length-wise, essays should be held to 3,000 words. Payment is subject to acceptance by a publisher.
Thanks very much for your time – I look forward to hearing from you.
Elissa Alford
50 Fairview Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
U.S.A.
elissa.alford@comcast.net
Eric passed on this email to me and we thought some of you might be interested :
9 comments:
What would make a bookshop squidgier but a pet? A little sad but totally beautifuly story of a kitten in Japan http://tinyurl.com/6w8cv7
Ooh. Do cyclops count as animals? I've got a really sad tale of one pretending to be a medical student :)
P.S. Hi from home Sharon!
anon - that's really heartwarming! i think every bookshop needs a cat
angry medic - haha ... and you're back home!
Maybe, but how does the bookshop avoid cat pee and poop? cats need to exercise, and they need to scratch things because they don't clip their nails (unless you regularly bring it to a vet) -- you wouldn't want to see your bookshelves scratched or your books shredded (or worse.) I can imagine the lawsuit already -- "your cat scratched me! I'm going to sue!" :P
To continue :
As for tales about animals, Ellen has a blog called KatzTales doesn't she? might be worth contacting.
cats actually respect books most of the time - generally they only pee on things you care about to get your attention when they really need to talk (and it works)
Oh hey, really? no problem then :)
As for the downfall thing, I think most people are behind the curve again. This might last a while, but I don't think it's going to last forever, maybe five years or so if we're really unlucky. Obama might fix the economy, he certainly seems capable of doing it.
In the mean time, if you have the staying power, there's a lot of great bargains to be had.
Here's a book about a cat adopted by a library:
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
Review from Publishers' Weekly (extract):
"One frigid Midwestern winter night in 1988, a ginger kitten was shoved into the after-hours book-return slot at the public library in Spencer, Iowa. And in this tender story, Myron, the library director, tells of the impact the cat, named DeweyReadmore Books, had on the library and its patrons, and on Myron herself."
hmmm I might resurrect my story about our cat named Pok............
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