CALL FOR ESSAYS - Tales of Migration –

Open to writers who live or have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area

 

Tales of Migration is a collection of essays about the Bay Area. It includes today's stories of migration along with stories about people who have been  rooted for several generations in the soil. Both well-known authors and unknown writers address the nature of their lives here, the journeys they have made to or away from this region; their sense of belonging or alienation; and the diverse communities to which they claim memberships.

 

The nine Bay Area counties have a diverse population. More than 36% of people in San Francisco are foreign-born and 42% of households speak a language other than English at home. Almost everyone is from somewhere else; from Newport Beach to New Zealand and San Diego to Singapore. We live in a multi-cultural society. Yet our lives are often balkanized; we can subsist entirely within our own communities or ethnicities, and may understand little about each other's origins or continuing customs.

 

Tales of Migration brings together 20 diverse voices to share the richness of different lives, backgrounds, sensibilities and cultures. It is not a travel book or a political tome, it may or may not inspire you. What is does aim to do is to take the veil off life behind closed doors and to create a sense of community out of our differences.

 

CALL for ESSAYS

 

We are a group of SF-based writers who are assembling a book of essays about the Bay Area called Tales of Migration. We want to bring together the diverse voices of writers from different cultures, nationalities, ethnicities and sensibilities who all claim the Bay Areas as home. This is an opportunity for you to share the story of your journey here, and your life in the Bay Area now. We welcome your submissions for consideration by March 31.
 
Essays should be 1,250-2000 words long. These are some questions you may want to consider:

What does the Bay Area mean to you?
How did you come to move here?
Has your experience matched your expectations?
What does it mean to be a migrant?
How does life here compare with life back home?
 
Deadline: March 31, 2006
Length: 1250-2000 words
Submitting: Please send your essay to annejkirwan@yahoo.com. If you would like more information please call Anne at 415-252-1152.
Format: Double spaced, paginated rtf (rich text format) or Word file. Please Include your name, contact information and a short bio.