Positive Stories

Tamara and I want to remind all writers how varied the female experience is. We laugh and we cry. We dance for joy and we shiver with fear. Mapping Me aims to share the totality of the female experience. That means we are eagerly waiting to read the positive stories that make up our individual lives. Sometimes it seems we focus to easily on the hardships and those things that make us suffer but the female experience is much more than that. Mapping Me isn't a grim book. It's about women making choices - good and bad - about survival and moments of happiness, laughter and humour.


The biggest criticism of anthologies of this nature has been the depressingly grim and bleak realities of many women. Yet for every day of darkness, there is also a moment of light. What are they? If we deny those moments, deny that they exist, then we deny the complexities of our lives and our humanity. We want to inspire women, show them at their finest happiest moments so when they are at their lowest, their spirit can never be broken.

Un Paisaje de historias de mujeres

Un Paisaje de historias de mujeres es una antologia de ficcion, realidad creative, poesia, fotografia y arte. Su Objetivo es explorar las conexiones – los hilos invisibles- que existen entre las mujeres alrededor del mundo. Nuestro punto de partida es la pregunta de identidad mas basica “Quien soy? Dentro de las complejidades de la cultura y la etnicidad. Como responden las mujeres a la maternidad, ira, perdida, relaciones y soledad en distintas culturas? Compartimos acaso el mismo concepto de pena y tristeza, gozo y amor? Pedimos a los escritores y artistas que cuenten historias, las cuales discutan las obligaciones del rol de genero femenino impuestas diariamente por la sociedad. La meta de este proyecto es compartir estas historias que permiten a los lectores formar sus propias conclusiones en respecto a la cultura siendo, o no un estado dividente entre las mujeres.


Algunas preguntas en las que pensar

Que significa esto para ti? Realmente, depende de ti completamente. Algunas preguntas que les hemos estado preguntando a artistas y escritoes son?

1.- Quien eres? Eres una persona con prioridad en la cultura o con prioridad en ser mujer?

2.- Como percibes y manejas las autoridades culturales y/o sociales que te dictan ser esbelta, bonita, casarte, tener hijos, adorar, obedecer/desobedecer, tener una carrera, quedarte en casa, etc.

3.- Tienes historias acerca de algun evento, algun amor perdido, desamor, matrimonios arreglados o desarreglados, esterilidad, virilidad, o un tocador atiborrado de maquillaje?

4.-Quieres expresar conflicto? Dinamicas familiars? Fristraciones sobre rivalidades, infantes, obligaciones del hogar y el trabajo, silencios, discusiones etc.
Tienes historias de venganza? Manipulacion? Las mujeres somos creaturas complejas y somos capaces de profesar gran amor y tambien de hacer un gran mal. Somos ante todo, seres humanos.

5.- A quien ves en el espejo cada amanecer? Como afecta tu cultura a tu imagen fisica? Tratas de evitar que la cultura la afecte? Te dejas manejar por los estereotipos? Tienes alguna historia graciosa que contat? Tambien estamos buscando historias humorosas.

Categorias

Selecciona una categoria y escribe una historia, poema, prosa u obra de arte.

Categoria 1. Historias de movimiento y motivacion, restriccion y escape.
Categoria 2. Historias acerca de comida u nutricion
Categoria 3. Historias acerca de tacto, amor, sexualidad o virginidad.
Categoria 4. Historias de imagen personal, juicios, percepciones y observacion.
Categoria 5. Historias de maternidad, familia, matrimonio, fertilidad y nacimiento.
Categoria 6. Historias de risa, diversion, malicia y vicio.

Lineamientos adicionales

Por favor asegurate que tu trabajo obedezca a los siguientes lineamientos

Para la segunda ronda, los trabajos literarios inscritos tendran que ser originales y nunca antes publicados.
Puedes inscribir tantos trabajos como quieras.


Lineamientos de extension

1.Cuentos: No mas de mil palabras.
2. Prosa de eventos reales: No mas de mil palabras
3. Poesia: 4 a 6 piezas.
4. Ficcion flash- cualquier cosa menor a 500 palabras.

Tu trabajo tiene que ser inscrito ya sea como un archivo RTF o un documento Word (.doc). Favor de no enviar documentos PDF o docx. Simplemente no podemos trabajar con este tipo de formatos. Ultimadamente puedes tambien copiar y pegar tu pieza literaria u obra de arte en el cuerpo del email. Si tu texto tiene un formato especifico, adhierelo al email como un archivo.

Los trabajos pueden ser inscritos en tu primer idioma. Por favor incluye tambien una traduccion al Ingles en tu inscripcion.
Por favor no nos envies links de sitios de internet para leer tus trabajos o ver tu arte. No los leeremos.

Lineamientos de obras de arte.

Puedes inscribir tantas pinturas, fotografias, o una mezcla de arte y prosa cuantas sean posibles. Aceptamos archivos JPG (no JPF)
Inscribe tu trabajo a los editores en mappingme@gmail.com
Por favor inlcuye una carta de presentacion y una corta biografia de no mas de 50 palabras.
Dinos en que categoria estas inscribiendo tu trabajo.
La fecha limite de entrega es el 1 de Septiembre del 2010
Nuestro periodo de calificacion es de 1 a 3 meses.

Pago
Lamentamos no poder pagar a nuestros colaboradores. Nuestra meta es proporcionar una copia del libro a ellos, pero esto depende de la casa editorial.

Cualquier pregunta, favor de contactarnos en mappingme@gmail.com o visitanos en www.mapping-me.blogspot.com

Submissions Round Two

Thanks to everyone who submitted for round one. We will be in touch with each of you by July. We are now moving into round two of submissions.

Overview

Mapping Me: A Landscape of Women’s Stories is an anthology of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, photography and artwork. Its objective is to explore the connections – the invisible threads – that exist between women across the globe. Our starting point is to place the most basic question of identity, “Who am I?” within the complexities of culture and ethnicity. How do women respond to motherhood, rage, loss, relationships and loneliness across cultures? Do we share the same concept of grief and sadness, joy and love? We ask the writers and artists to tell stories, which negotiate the demands placed upon everyday women by society. The goal of this project is the sharing of such stories that allow the readers to draw their own conclusions whether or not culture is a divisive state between women.

Content

Mapping Me: A Landscape of Women’s Stories is about transcending the physical geography of our contributors as they map the internal landscapes of their lives. Our themes are those ‘points which connect us.’ While the female reality varies across countries, still we laugh and we cry. We may not personally understand the experience of arranged marriages, bound feet, or restrictions across checkpoints but we can understand a mother’s love, a daughter’s pain and a young girl’s giggle. Some of our themes explore the bonds between women, shifts in consciousness and experiences in extreme situations but all our stories are by women and their choices. Our objective is to breakdown the different stereotypes in an entertaining - and sometimes comical – way. This anthology gives voices a chance to be heard and the reader an opportunity to listen to positive female stories outside of tabloid global gossip.

Some Questions To Think About

So what does this mean for you? Well really, it is up to you. Some questions we have we been asking artists and writers to think about are:

1. Who are you? Are you a 'Culture' first or a 'Woman' first? What is your voice?

2. How do you negotiate the cultural and/or societal authorities that tell you to be thin, pretty, get married, have children, worship, obey/disobey, have a career, stay at home etc.

3. Do you have a burning story about an event, a lost love, heartbreak, arranged marriages, unarranged marriages, infertility, fertility, or even a bathroom cluttered with make up.

4. Do you want to express conflict? Family dynamics? Frustrations over rivalries, children, demands of home and work, silences, arguments, tension with extended

families. Do you have a story of revenge? Manipulation? Women are complex creatures and we are capable of great loving as well as great evil too. We are, of course, human.

5. Who do you see in the mirror each morning? How does your culture affect your body image? Does it? Do you fight against it? Do you buy into any stereotypes? Do you have a funny story to share. We are looking for humour too. This is not a grim book.

Categories

Please select a category and create a story, poem, creative non-fiction or artwork.

· Category 1. Stories of movement and motivation, restriction and escape.

· Category 2. Stories about food and nurturing.

· Category 3. Stories about, touch, love, sexuality or virginity.

· Category 4. Stories about self-image, judgments, perceptions and observation.

· Category 5. Stories about motherhood, family, marriage, fertility, birth.

· Category 6. Stories of laughter, fun, malice, viciousness.

Additional Guidelines

Please make sure your work conforms to the following guidelines:

· For round two, contributors’ literary works must be original and unpublished.

· You may submit as many works as you wish.

· Writer’s Word Count Guidelines

1. Short stories: no more than 1000 words
2. Creative non-fiction: no more than 1000 words
3. Poetry: 4 to 6 pieces.

4. Flash fiction - anything less than 500 words.

· Your work must be submitted as either an attachment in a rich text format (RTF) or a word document (doc). No PDF files or docx files, please! We simply cannot work with these file formats. Alternatively, you may paste your work in the body of the email. If your writing has a specific format, attach it as a file to the email.

Works can be submitted in your mother tongue. Please provide an English translation with your submission.

· Artwork Guidelines

· You may submit as many paintings, photographs or a mix of art and prose as possible. We accept JPG files (no JPF)

· Submit your work to Orchid Tierney and Tamara Azizian at mappingme@gmail.com

· Please provide a cover letter and include a short biography (no more than 50 words).

· Let us know under what categories you are submitting your works.

· Deadline is the 1^st of September 2010

· Our reading period is 1 to 3 months

Please do not send links of your writing or artwork. We will not read them.

Payment

We regret that are unable to provide payment to contributors as this is a self-funded enterprise.

Any questions please contact us at

mappingme (at) gmail (dot) com or visit us at www.mapping-me.blogspot.com

Update

Just a quick update from the Mapping Me Team. After a marathon seven hour meeting yesterday, Tamara and I have finished our proposal and we begin the submission process next week. As some of you are aware, this next stage is very much 'let's wait and see' so please bear with us. In the meantime, the first round of sample pitches will begin next Saturday where we will be looking at individual samples. From Tamara and I, we hope you have a wonderful weekend and for the Kiwis: a safe Queen's Birthday Weekend. Drive carefully, the weather is terrible and the roads are slippery!

The Landscape Across Borders

تضاريسي, أو "ماپنچ مي": منظور في قصص النساء, هو عمل أدبي فني مثير يهدف الى جمع مختارات من القصص القصيرة و الشعر و الأعمال الفنية و الومضات الخيالية و التصوير الفوتوغرافي, تبحث في تجارب نسائية من ثقافات و أعراق متنوعة.

هدف المشروع هو المشاركة بقصص نسوية عن الحب و الالم و السعادة و السخط, و إعطاء مساحة للقرّاء لإستنباط احكامهم الخاصة حول ما إذا كانت الثقافة عنصرا فاصلا بين النساء.

نطلب إليكن ان تبعثوا لنا باعمالكن الأدبية و الفنية مع سيرتكن الذاتية. كما و سوف نقوم بإخطاركن حول آخر موعد للتسليم في وقت لاحق.

المهارات الأساسية التي نبحث عنها:

سواء نشرتِ أدبك أو عرضتِ أعمالك الفنية فيما سبق أم لم يتسنَ لكِ ذلك بعد, فنحن نبحث عنكِ.

للراغبات بالمشاركة, يرجى إرسال عينة من اعمالكن على:

mappingme (at) gmail.com

مع العلم باننا نحتاج الى أن تُترجَمَ الأعمال المكتوبة الى الإنجليزية لكي نقوم بنشرها.

Mapping Me: A Landscape of Women's Stories is an exciting new anthology collection of short stories, poetry, art work, flash fiction and photography that explores the female experience of women across cultures and ethnicities. The key of this project is the sharing of feminine stories of love and pain, joy and rage and allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions whether or not culture is a divisive state between women.

Currently we are seeking samples of creative work and a biography. Submission deadlines for the anthology work will be provided at a later date.

Key skills sought:

Both published and previously unpublished/unexhibited women of any age and ethnicity.

If you are interested in this project, please email samples of your work to:

mappingme (at) gmail.com

Please note, we would need to translate your work into English.