FINALLY, a book that isn't afraid of a little blood!
Between puberty and menopause, most women spend close to a quarter of their lives dealing with menstruation. But except for coming-of-age stories and the occasional Stephen King novel, all this spilled blood hardly creates a blip on the cultural radar. It's as if someone has removed it all with a super-duper magic cleanserŠ ironic, considering what the rest of us go through to get the stains out.
Breakthrough Bleeding is here to change all that. Thoughtful, challenging, political, and maybe even sexy, this collection of essays looks at menstruation from the inside and the outside, a super-maxi size dose of heavy-thinkin' menstrual mojo.
We are looking for essays and creative nonfiction that analyze, question, and explore all aspects of menstruation and menstruation culture. Potential topics include:
* menstruation and gender - how does menstruation fit into (or conflict with) experiences of gender?
* menstrual products advertising & the "sanitary products" industry
* menstruation, personal relationships, and sex - from phobias to fetishes
* menstrual education - what do we learn and how do we learn it, what do we teach and how to we teach it?
* menstruation as a human rights issue - how are women's periods dealt with in prisons, shelters, mental institutions, long-term care facilities, and other institutions?
* women who voluntarily/intentionally stop menstruating
* men's experiences with / attitudes regarding menstruation
* menstruation humor
* menstruation and ridicule/shame
* transmenstruation - what kinds of issues come up around menstruation for intersex, transsexual and transgendered people?
* premature menopause (organic or induced)
* enjoying/appreciating menstruation
* menstruation and/in the workplace
* menstruation through the eyes of Western medicine
* the "menstrual alternatives" movement (e.g. reusable pads/cups/sponges) and its culture
* menstruation in straight vs. queer spheres
* feminist culture and menstruation
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
* NONFICTION only.
* NO fiction, poetry, or memoir. (This means that unless there is a specific reason for it to be in your piece, we do not want to hear about when you got your first period or how bad your PMS is. This is not a collection of first-person narratives.)
* Submissions should be between 1500 and 5000 words in length.
* TWO (2) copies of your submission will be required.
* Hard copy (paper copy) submissions ONLY. No electronic or emailed submissions will be considered.
* Typed or computer printed ONLY.
* Formatting: 12-point type in some generic traditional font (Times, Georgia, Geneva, Courier, etc.), one-inch margins, double spaced. Please include all italics, boldface, blockquotes, section breaks, etc.
* References, if any, may be either footnote or endnote according to author preference and should use Chicago Manual of Style format. No inline references please.
* Please number your pages
* Each submission should be accompanied by a cover sheet that contains ONLY the following data: Author Name, Pseudonym (if used), Title of Submission, Author mailing address, Author e-mail address, and Author telephone number.
* The author's name or pseudonym should NOT appear anywhere on the submission itself.
* Each submission should be accompanied by a single business-sized self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE, with first class letter postage already affixed). Submissions from outside the USA do not require the SASE.
* Please DO NOT send additional cover letters with your submission,, only the cover sheet as indicated above.
* Please DO NOT send your only copy/copies of your work.
* NOTE: Manuscripts will not be returned. Manuscripts not chosen for the book will simply be recycled.
SUBMISSIONS ADDRESS: Send all submissions to the following address
Breakthrough Bleeding - SUBMISSIONS
C/o Hanne Blank, Editor
44 E. 26th Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218 USA
COMPENSATION: Writers whose work is included in the book will receive a cash honorarium (amount TBD) and two copies of the book.
DEADLINE: Deadline for all submissions is March 20, 2007.
Writers will be informed of editorial decisions no later than June 1, 2007.