Telling Our Stories About Joy From Us.
The Normal Anomaly Initiative, Inc. a 501(c)3 organization based in Houston, Texas is curating an Anthology formatted as a Coffee Table Book and we would be honored if you were a part of it. This book will explore the joys connected to being Black Queer AF in the South. We realize that there is a breadth of experiences in our culture and lives and seek to do our best to capture as much of this within the parameters of time, budget, and capacity as we can.
We have a short turnaround to have this completed and so the process will be rather accelerated but hope that you will find this as an incredible opportunity to document your perspective using your art to express the narratives of being Black Queer AF in the South.
For poems/lyrics, we ask for 3 different pieces as one submission.
For essays, we ask that they are between 1,500- 5000 words.
We desire a nonexclusive license for the reproduction of the material in print.
This nonexclusive license will allow for us to print as many copies as possible specifically for the Coffee Table Book.
Deadline: Pitches are due September 8, 2023.
October 6, 2023, at 5 PM CT is the deadline for a complete first draft. Edits will be sent back by October 15, 2023, at 5 PM CT and should be approved by October 20, 2023.
We can moderately compensate you for each piece that you create.
Because grant funds are limited for this project and we are attempting to keep costs low to raise money with the book for underfunded programs including our Community Burial Fund and Transgender Allyship Collective, we can’t pay a standard rate. We have the breakdown of what is offered below. We also gladly accept in-kind donations for work and can give you a receipt for your tax-deductible contribution.
Pitches:
Pitches should demonstrate a strong connection to the theme, be personal and engaging, avoid overuse of broader themes that might detract from the personal essay storytelling style
Your submission should be between 100(min) to 250(max) words, providing a solid foundation to develop a full essay. It needs to include a statement on the central theme as well as supporting information regarding how that theme will be explored. This will be roughly 1-2 paragraphs and may be written as either a potential introduction to the piece or as an essay summary.
Themes:
• Art as Life
• Culture & Joy
• Health & Wellness
• Identity & Sexuality
• Religion & Politics
• Sex & Pleasure
Payment Breakdown: (We gladly accept in-kind work as to keep costs down. We will send you an in-kind donation receipt for the below honorarium.)
We are offering an honorarium of $500 for each person submitting a nonexclusive licensed to reproduce piece to the Black Queer AF in the South Anthology. Because we have a limited budget, we will close submissions once we have approved all pitches that meet our budget.