Dr. Emma Dawson "works at the intersection of postcolonial writing, pedagogy and the emergent field of World Englishes literature. Her recent study addressed the teaching of World Englishes literature in schools in England." She is involved in a project which is set to publish 8 anthologies of new writing in English from around the world. Cameroon and Nigeria (Nov 2009) are out, Uganda and Kenya will follow, Malaysia, Singapore, India and a Caribbean nation after that.
Below is a request for submissions from Malaysia and Singapore (There will be two separate anthologies.)
- Word count: 3000 - 8000 words
- There is no theme, only 'Malaysia' or 'Singapore'.
- This is adult fiction (in the sense that it is not 'children's fiction').
- The work must be written in English (i.e. not translated from another language) and must be written by a resident of Malaysia (or Singapore) (this is not a collection of diaspora writing).
- The story must be 'new' in the sense that it is 'unpublished in book form' - this makes life much easier in terms of 'rights'. (We can accept submissions which have been previously published in magazines if necessary.)
- Please send submissions by email to worldlits@googlemail.com, attached as a Microsoft Word document (saved as a 1997-2003 version please) and formatted as follows:
- Name of author (Times New Roman, 12pt, bold, left justified).
- Contact address, telephone number and email (Times New Roman, 12pt, bold, left justified).
- Title of short story (Times New Roman, 14pt, bold, centred, underlined).
- Body text (Times New Roman, 12pt, justified, 1.5 line spacing, black).
- Page numbers and name of author on every page please.
- Word count at the end of the story (Bold, left justified).
Maximum of two entries per person please.
Please submit by January 31st, 2010.
Friday, September 18, 2009
An Anthology of Malaysian Stories Needs Your Work
Just received this in my email and pass it on to you all (and please circulate it more widely) :
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22 comments:
Cool! Thanks for the info =)
Sharon...
Wud anything that is written like the one on my blog be even make it to the list?
or longer and better than that?
Thanks
Jessie
P/s: Jeshantelle Reza is my pseudoname ...
Hmmm. No mention of paying the writers? No mention of copyright? reprinting right? royalties?
In the words of a certain elitist bloke in Bangsar, 'Seeing your name in print is its own reward.'
i asked the organiser (knowing how kiasu you all are) and yes there is payment and you keep the copyright.
and anon - several of those in the silverfish anthologies have gone on to sell the same stories to OUP for hundreds of pounds, so there often is reward a little further down the line. get your work out first (or as in your case after several years of hearing you moan - get something publsihed anywhere and we might beleive you are a writer).
It's not a matter of kiasu, Sharon. It's a matter of knowing where the writer stands in terms of intellectual property rights.
"or as in your case after several years of hearing you moan - get something publsihed anywhere and we might beleive you are a writer"
I beg your pardon?
oh forgive me if you are not the idiot who calls himself anonymous. you all look the same to me. want respect? at least bother to get a pseudonym!
Guat - your copyright belongs to you. i checked. understand you want to know where you stand.
as to payment - even when there is none it is better to be published than not, surely?
It's mainly the copyright that bothers me, Sharon. I agree that from the writer's point of view, it always seems better to be published than not at all, even if one doesn't get paid. But I also believe that there's something unethical about publishers (and we know of a few, don't we?) taking advantage of writers' eagerness to see their work in print. If a small publishing outfit like Matahari can pay its contributors, why can't more established ones?
By the way, thanks for checking out the copyright and payment. Now that I'm sure that my friends aspiring to be published writers are not going to be diddled in any way by the publisher, I've posted your message on my Facebook.
thanks Guat.
Oops, I forgot to ask you, Sharon. How do we send our submissions? Any email or postal address?
anon- thanks for your comment. now all commenters on this blog will need an identity or at least a pseudonym. this has been annoying me for a very long time and i thank you for giving me the nudge to do something.
Guat the email to send it to is in the ad above : "Please send submissions by email to worldlits@googlemail.com, attached as a Microsoft Word document"
Aargh! Sorry, sorry. Thanks again, Sharon. You're an angel :-)and I love you. Selamat Hari Raya!
have a good holiday, Guat and good luck with this
Thanks Sharon, need to write to them to ask if "the residents only clause" is a strict one. I live abroad now although Malaysian. Happy Hari Raya!!! Love and hugs.
Sham
genegirl - just use your malaysian address!
love to you too and miss you
Danke, Sharon!
just received this via email - so funny i have to post it here :
"Hallo,
As a fellow writer I think we're more keen observers of life than anyone else. We zoom in on the smallest details that others with less discerning eye usually miss. That's what makes us Writers. My friends always tells me, "Wah, your eye damn sharp man! You see things us normal people easily miss!"
Anyway, I am a very detailed person (I'm in a profession - have to be eagerl-eyed lah - like a hawk!) so I'd like to ask before I start (don't want to waste my time lah, if it's not accepted:
1. What is the word count?
2. What is the theme? Is it can be on anything?
3. I am thinking of submitting my childrens' story. Is this acceptable?
4. I usually write in Hakka, can I send my story in without translation?
5. I am in Indonesia at the moment. Will that still make me Malaysian? (I have a Malaysian IC). Next week I am will be going to the US - does this mean that, as I am further away, I am less qualified to submit my story?
6. I already told my story as a bedtimes story to my niece. She wrote it down in her exercise book with her own drawings (not very good - quite lousy actually but cannot tell her lah - I owe her mother money). I hope it still can be accepted?
7. Where do I sent my story to? Is Chinese WordStar Format acceptable, hah?
Lastly, I get paid ah?
- Keen Observer/Writer
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