Has the ocean healed your wounded soul? Does planting seeds make you feel sexy? What have you gathered from the great outdoors? Ever had a walk in the woods go horribly wrong? Or confronted a wild animal? The sky’s the limit here, literally. Share your story, lighthearted or deep, and we may want to publish it.

We are interested in unique personal essays that will touch readers, make them cry or make them laugh. We want to hear from everyone, from city gardeners to large-scale food farmers, hunters, travelers and modern-day Thoreaus. Submissions might play with the man vs. nature theme, could be mindful meditations, or may even be ‘anti’ nature; the collection as whole will evoke strong emotion and stand out in this growing genre.

Guidelines
All essays should be nonfiction narratives, written in the first-person. Focus on one or a few selected events; do not send rants or political speeches. Stories should be titled. Essays should be between 1000 – 5000 words, double-spaced, paginated and word-processed. No funky fonts, please.

Please include a brief bio (1-3 sentences) at the end of your submission.

Deadline: June 2010

Please send your submissions to: brown@lifesabitchbooks.com

Writers chosen for the book will be contacted by September 2010. Their selected stories will be published in an anthology to be released by winter 2011. Each contributor receives two free copies of the finished book.

Whether you’ve stolen, conned, lied, or cheated here is your chance to come clean. Tell us about the times you’ve ripped someone off, the five finger discounts you’ve taken, the little white lies you’ve told.  Confession is good for the soul and we want to hear every crafty detail of yours. Tell us the tactless, the tricky and the downright terrible and we may want to publish it.  

We are interested in unique personal essays that will disgust and delight readers. We want to hear from everyone, from petty criminals to hardened cons. Submissions might play with the nurture vs. nature theme, could be mastermind masterpieces, or may even be ‘anti’ crime; the collection as whole will evoke strong emotion and stand out in this popular genre.

Guidelines
All essays should be nonfiction narratives, written in the first-person. Focus on one or a few selected events; do not send rants or political speeches. Stories should be titled. Essays should be between 1000 – 5000 words, double-spaced, paginated and word-processed. No funky fonts, please.

Please include a brief bio (1-3 sentences) at the end of your submission.

Deadline: June 2010

Please send your submissions to: blue@lifesabitchbooks.com

Writers chosen for the book will be contacted by September 2010. Their selected stories will be published in an anthology to be released by winter 2011. Each contributor receives two free copies of the finished book.

Feel free to repost and forward!

Shades of Truth is a series of creative nonfiction anthologies published by Pinchback Press. We want to examine the humor and heartaches of real life through engaging true stories. Writers in every genre are interested in “the truth.” Even when writing fiction, it’s essential that stories feel believable. But how is truth defined? Anyone with a family knows your version of events is never the same as anyone else’s. It is the writer’s unique perspective that makes a universal story interesting. Our Shades of Truth series is dedicated to stories of creative nonfiction–true stories told with artistry. Give us the truth–your version of it–and our hearts will follow.

Submissions for Robot Hearts: Twisted and True Tales of Seeking Love in the Digital Age are now closed. Thank you to all who submitted stories; acceptance letters will be sent soon. Check back frequently for publication news!

The second book in the series is Tarnished: True Tales of Innocence Lost. For more information, visit the calls for submissions page. The deadline is March 1st, 2010.

The third book is Caught: True Crime Tales of Scamming, Scheming & Sliding By. The fourth is Grounded: Communing & Colliding With Mother Nature. Both of these have deadlines of June, 2010, for more information read the submissions guidelines.

Got a good true story to tell? Check out all of our submission guidelines for future anthologies.

The panel was put together by Red Emma’s. Baltimore sex toy store Sugar was there. A huge thank you to both of them!

For more photo’s of the event please visit our gallery!

LABB student Jennifer Tress, Cara Bruce & Shira Tarrant

Upcoming Readings for Hos, Hookers, Call Girls & Rent Boys Reading

Friday November 6, 2009

Atomic Books
3620 Falls Rd
Baltimore, MD  21211
410-662-4444

7 – 9 PM

Sunday November 8th

Chop Suey Books
2913 West Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23221
(804) 422-8066

1 pm

Tuesday, November 10th
Busboys & Poets
1025 5th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 789-BBAP (2227)

Short readings by:
David Henry Sterry (editor)
Shawna Kenney 
“This collection is a wonderful reminder that good writing is not about knowing words, grammar or Faulkner, but having that rare ability to tell the truth, an ability that education and sophistication often serve to conceal. While we are all, I suppose, in the business of surviving, some really are surviving more notably than others. The collective cry for identity found in this unsentimental compilation will resonate deeply — even, I suspect, with thos

2640 St. Paul
Baltimore, MD
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 • 7:00pm

Join authors Shira Tarrant, Shawna Kenney, and Cara Bruce for an evening of Feminist Sex. Reading from their latest work, these authors explore what it means to be both anti-sexist and sex-positive.

Shira Tarrant will discuss pornography and masculinity from her newest book, Men and Feminism (Seal Press). She is also the editor of Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power and author of When Sex Became Gender. Shawna Kenney reads her essay, “Seven Minutes With Stripper #2,” which appears in the new anthology, Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money, and Sex (Soft Skull Press). Cara Bruce draws from her published work in Viscera, Best Bisexual Women’s Erotica, and Best Fetish Erotica.

Please join us for a rousing discussion and invigorating debate. The event will be held at 2640 St. Paul, hosted by Red Emma’s Bookstore and St. John’s United Methodist Church.  A $3 - $10 sliding scale suggested donation.  No one turned away for lack of funds.

•Please note that the location has changed from Red Emma’s to 2640 •
For general info see http://www.redemmas.org/2640/
For media queries contact Jen Angel at jen@aidandabet.org

IF YOU ARE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT:

Byron Hurt and Shira Tarrant Talk About
MASCULINITY, SEX, AND HIP HOP
@
Busboys and Poets
Monday, October 19 — 6:30pm

14th & V. Streets
2021 14th St. NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-387-7638
Join author Shira Tarrant and author/filmmaker Byron Hurt for a provocative discussion about masculinity, sexuality, pop culture, and men’s crucial role in the fight for progressive change.

Shira Tarrant is author of Men and Feminism (Seal Press) and editor of Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power (Routledge). Byron Hurt is director of the award-winning film Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes and contributing author to several anthologies, including Men Speak Out.

•This event is co-sponsored by Ms. Magazine •

For general info see http://www.busboysandpoets.com/
For media queries contact Jen Angel at jen@aidandabet.org

Tarnished: True Tales of Innocence Lost

Guidelines
All essays should be nonfiction narratives, written in the first-person. Focus on one or a few selected events in your life; do not send rants or political speeches. Stories should be titled. Essays should be between 1000 – 5000 words, double spaced, paginated and word-processed. No funky fonts, please.

Please include a brief bio (1-3 sentences) at the end of your submission.

Deadline: March 1, 2010

Please send your submissions to: white@pinchbackpress.com or
Pincback Press
P.O. Box 4788
Baltimore, MD 21211

Writers chosen for the book will be contacted by May 1, 2010.  Each contributor receives two free copies of the finished book.

Feel free to repost and forward!

Marcy Sheiner is the editor of a dozen collections of erotica, including Herotica 4-7, Best Women’s Erotica 2000-2005, and The Oy of Sex: Jewish Women Write Erotica.  Her book Sex for the Clueless was published by Kensington Press in 2001.

What is your earliest writing-related memory?
Fourth grade, I was nine or ten. I rewrote the words to the then-popular song “Sixteen Tons,” changing it into a song about Jesse James (we must have been studying the Wild West). My teacher, Mrs. Kleinman—who dressed like a slut (this was 1956 or thereabouts) in tight black skirts and sweaters, and wore tons of dark red lipstick—flipped out over my song, thought it was the cleverest thing she’d ever heard, and took it around to the other fourth grade classes to show to the teachers. I vaguely remember her dragging me thru the halls from class to class, and standing there feeling awkward—but proud—as they read it and laughed. This was the first time I’d been the center of so much attention for an accomplishment. Similar things happened again in later years; my writing killed, and my teachers shared it with others. In high school someone told me they heard my English teacher reading my essay “Teen Idol,” a takeoff on early rock stars like Fabian, out loud to the school librarian.

Still, the real reason I became a writer was to capture my mother’s attention. I recently began a memoir of our relationship that opens with my mother reading. She was always reading, even at the dinner table, and got annoyed if my sister or I interrupted her.  I’m convinced I started writing out of desperation, figuring the only way she’d ever pay attention to me was if I wrote in books or magazines. My plan actually worked, though it was too little too late. She saved all my published pieces except the erotica–but even that she insisted on reading (against my wishes), buying herself a copy of the first Herotica. Occasionally, in later years, I’d send her my work for feedback. She submitted one of my poems, much to my humiliation, to The New Yorker, with a letter saying she thought it was much better than the poetry they usually published. It bothered her that my poetry and fiction only made it into obscure journals. Like most people, she hadn’t a clue about the writing life; she only knew the mainstream, and thus had no respect for some of the venues in which I was published—not to mention the places where I read my work.

What is the most challenging part of being a writer?
Being poor, without question. I have been poor almost my whole life, except for spurts when I took real jobs. Now in my 60s, I see that I’ll never be able to retire or even to stop hustling.

The root of my poverty comes not from writing itself but from what a writing career has become in recent decades. My poverty (and, except in the field of erotica, my obscurity) is a direct result of my failure to network, to schmooze with people in the industry. For me the act of writing comes easily;  it’s selling myself that’s hard.  But hooray for the advent of the blogosphere! I’m ecstatic to finally be able to bypass the publishing industry and go directly to readers, though I don’t make money at it. When I first started blogging, I tried, but one obstacle after another got in the way—as always, money eludes me. I recently started ghostwriting, which turns out to be a lot more lucrative than doing my own books—but even in this area it takes schmoozing and networking to land gigs.

What has been most rewarding in this journey for you?
The act of writing is my sanctuary. I imagine what other people get from religion must be something like what I get from writing. I think of writing as a place, a sacred space. Writing almost every day keeps me sane, and when I don’t do it for awhile, I get unbalanced.

What’s been particularly grand for me is writing novels. I’ve written five to date, and although none were published, what I got from each experience can’t be measured monetarily. There were times when I was working at the most loathsome jobs, nine to five gigs that seriously pushed me over the edge. But if I got up early every day and wrote before going to work, I’d be almost happy….actually, happy is the wrong word: I’d be in a different world entirely. Inside my head I’d be in my novel, remembering what I’d written that day, thinking of changes or additions. Living inside my novel made the world I was supposedly living in bearable. John Gardner spoke for me when he wrote:
The true novelist is the one who doesn’t quit.  Novel-writing is not so much a profession as a yoga, or “way,” an alternative to ordinary life-in-the-world. Its benefits are quasi-religious—a changed quality of mind and heart, satisfactions no non-novelist can understand—and its rigors generally bring no profit except to the spirit. For those who are authentically called to the profession, spiritual profits are enough.” –John Gardner

What advice would you like to share with up-n-coming writers?
My advice is the opposite of what most people say—I’m not a cheerleader. I tell my students right off the bat that if they don’t love to write, if they don’t feel absolutely compelled to do it, they might as well drop it right now. I’ve had students who don’t love writing, but for some reason feel they “should” write; they have to force themselves to do it, they seem to loathe the process, yet they persist. They have some romantic notion that suffering and mental blocks are an integral part of the writing process. This, in my opinion, is a myth. The decision to take on writing as your life work means resigning yourself to a harder life than most—so if there’s anything else you like doing as much or more than writing, do that instead. Not everyone has to write, and if you don’t have to, you’ll be better off relegating it to a minor role in your life, as an occasional hobby or pasttime.

Re-reading this question, I note the “up-n-coming” adjective, and wonder exactly what it means. I thought I was ‘up-n-coming’ when I completed that novel I was so sure would be published. Years later, when I had an article published in Mother Jones, I thought it was my ticket into the magazine market, that I was an “up-n-coming” magazine writer–but it went exactly nowhere. I’m not too sure what the term means to other people, but I suspect it’s not connected to making a living. Again, you should be writing only if you feel passionate about it—in that case, there’s no stopping anyone: no matter how poor or under-recognized you are, you simply must do it. There’s no way out.

On the other hand, I think of writing as The Only Way Out—a phrase Anne Tyler used in The Writer on Her Work. For me writing’s been the only way out of an overactive mind, and the way out of intolerable life situations. It’s been a way out of pain, a way to create order out of chaos and confusion. I can only make sense of life, and bring order to my world, by writing it down.

Read Marcy’s memoir of mother/daughterhood at http://www.marcysmemoir.wordpress.com/.

Photo by Phyllis Christopher

$50 discount for anyone who heard about this class on Facebook or Twitter. Email us at info@lifesabitchbooks.com for more information!