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Anthology :: Queer Advice 3.15.08

Second Person Queer
How We Lived Our Lives and How You Can Live Yours
Edited by Richard Labont and Lawrence Schimel
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Deadline: March 15, 2008

Seeking short, informed essays preferably between 1,000-2,000 words written in the second person (addressed to a “you”) for an anthology of life advice from the GLBT community to the GLBT community.

Contributors are invited to approach the book in two ways:

1) “How-to” essays, which should be instructive in nature and have a title that begins “How To.” No topic is out of bounds as long as it imparts a useful queer lesson to others. The essays can be profound or practical or humorous or heart-rending – or a blend of styles – but must be written in the second person (addressed to a “you”).

2) Open Letters. Write a letter to someone specific – whether a public persona (celebrity, politician, author, etc.) or someone drawn from your personal
life (a teacher, a relative, a neighbour, whoever) – in which you either offer
advice or thank them for things you learned from them (their example). Willing to consider will be open letters to a child (relative, child of queer parents, etc.) whose sexuality is not yet defined, and to whom one is offering advice on how to deal with the pressures of heteronormative society while growing up. Note, however, that only one or two such pieces will be included in the book, so your chances of publication increase tremendously if you choose a more original subject.

Submission instructions:

1) Title the file with author’s last name and story title in the file name: Surname-Title.doc (Do not simply title your piece SecondPersonQueer.com, at least not the version you submit to us.)
2) Include your name, your mailing address, your email address, and a bio WITHIN the .doc file with your piece, as submissions will be separated from emails to be read.
3) Submit your work by email, as an attachment in .doc format, to: secondpersonqueer-at-gmail.com

Payment: A small honorarium and one copy of the book will be paid. (Please note that payment is in Canadian funds.)

As an anthology for a Canadian publisher, preference will be given to
submissions from Canadian writers. But the anthology is open to submissions from all writers, and is actively interested in non-North American writers.

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