[stylist] Clarification on Division Holiday Book Entries

[Kerry Thompson]

Hi friends,

I am looking for specific things for the holiday book. Each entry must be related in some way, the more directly the better, to one of the four holiday categories: Easter/Passover, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukah and New Years.

We decided to limit recipes to drinks and desserts in an effort to impose some order and uniformity on the entries. Recipes should have some significance, such as Great Aunt Tilly's special pumpkin pie that your family serves at every Thanksgiving celebration or Great Uncle George's special summer drink that is a staple at Fourth of July barbicues.  Every entrant may submit one or two recipes for EACH of the four holidays.

Each poem may be from five to forty llines. Each must relate in some way to the chosen holiday. Every entrant may submit one or two poems for EACH of the four holidays.

Each story (fiction) must be from five hundred to two thousand words. Each must relate in some way to the chosen holiday. Every entrant may submit one story for EACH of the four holidays.

Each reminiscence (nonfiction) must be from five hundred to two thousand words. Each must relate in some way to the chosen holiday. Every entrant may submit one reminiscence for EACH of the four holidays.

You may, if you wish, include a reference to your recipe entry in your nonfiction or fiction entry. In fact, I think that might be a very nice touch. That is, a character in your reminiscence or story might sip Great Uncle Georges special summer drink while watching the fireworks.

I should perhaps clarify as well that while I expect to see entries with blindness related themes, this is certainly not a requirement. The holiday in question is what you need to focus on, not whether your characters are blind or sighted. The point of the book is that it is written by NFB Writers. That is, I think, a strong enough point in itself. I'm certainly not going to select pieces based on how many blind characters they include. Rather, I'll be selecting based on interest, that is whether the piece grabs my attention and engages my sympathy, as well as on strength and clarity of writing.

While a typo or two is not a problem, do please proofread your work as thoroughly as possible. Major grammatical errors will predispose me negatively toward your work. On the other hand, of course, impeckible  grammar won't sell me on a weak poem or story.

I should also say that I'll reject flat out any piece that denogrates the holiday in question or religion in general. There may be a place for such work, a book edited by  me is not it. Also, I'm not fond of hard core Horror, with gore dripping all over the place.. So, it will have to be an exceptional Christmas Horor story, for instence, to make the cut. I enjoy a good ghost story or creepy tale, though. It might be fun to have a ghost story set at Thanksgiving or a creepy tale that takes place on the evening of the Forth of July.

I hope the foregoing clarifies what I'm looking for in entries for the Division's Holiday book. I look forward to reading your entries.

Kerry