[stylist] Writers' division Update - Important, please read

Sun Apr 12 23:09:43 UTC 2015

Dear STYLIST & Writers' Division Member 

RE: Division update & Notice of an April Telephone Gathering

**Contents:

*#1 Information needed to get on the April call

*#2 Convention Concerns 

*#3 2015 Contest Update

*#4 Slate & Style, open for submissions

*#1 Information you need to get onto our April call:

Topic: Convention talk, Members concerns & we visit

Date: Sunday evening, April 26th 

Time: 8:30 ET; 7:30 CT; 6:30 MT; 5:30 PT

Phone#: If you are a dues paying member, then you should have gotten a
members message sent directly into your inbox, with the numbers to get onto
the call; if you are paid up and didn't get that message, write me and we
can get it fixed! And hey, if you are not a dues paying member (we need your
support), you can easily become a member; $10.00 per year, and so write me
and we can fix you up, too!!!

*2 Convention is coming up, we need to talk over several specifics relating
to our business meeting, and how to respond to a request (keep reading):

First, it would be very helpful if we could get a list of who is coming. We
can always use several willing hands and minds to run our business meeting. 

Second, we will not hold a writing workshop for the Teen Track. The staff of
that program have changed up what they will offer participants. (We had
partnered with them for the past five years.)

There again, we have been asked by someone else to partner with them to
offer yet a different type of writing workshop; our role may be more of an
assisting, versus workshop design and/or presenters. Read the message text
below, and look to join us on our discussion scheduled for Sunday, April
26th.

Hello Mr. Newman,

The editorial staff of the Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research
(JBIR)--which includes Eddie Bell, Matt Maurer, and myself-are planning on
holding a workshop during the 2015 NFB national convention to help our
members with the nuts and bolts of writing a professional practice piece.
Many of our members have considerable expertise in the blindness field and
we want to have this expertise captured in profession practice articles that
can be published in JBIR. Unfortunately, many of these professionals are
intimidated by the process of writing a professional practice article and by
the peer review process.

Currently, we are planning on holding the workshop on Monday evening, July
6. The purpose of the workshop is to provide an overview of how to write a
professional practice article and to assist participants in preparing an
outline of an article on a topic of their choice. Eddie and Matt will be
present during the workshop to assist participants with preparing their
outline. However, we believe that two people will not be enough for this
phase of the workshop. We were wondering if members of the Writer's Division
might be available to assist with the workshop? Another possibility we
thought of is to include our workshop as part of the Writer's Division
meeting if there is room on your agenda. We would be very pleased to hear
any thoughts you may have on how we can collaborate to provide our members
the encouragement and assistance they need to write professional practice
articles so that more people can benefit from their expertise. Thank you
very much for your consideration.

Best regards,

Lou Ann

Lou Ann Blake, J.D.

HAVA Project Manager and Law Symposium Coordinator

Managing Editor, Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research

Jernigan Institute

National Federation of the Blind

Note: I wrote Lou Ann and advised her that we will be able to give her a
firm answer by the end of this month; advising her that her offer will be
discussed during our upcoming board meeting, and Division's monthly
telephone gathering. 

Fourth: Elections for all leadership positions will happen this year. And
hey you all, I will not be running; in fact I will not be at convention. My
life has changed, and I need to take a serious break from the type of
responsibilities which come with running an active division, such as this
one. More on this- I have served as the president since 2007; a board member
for several years before that.) I really enjoyed the challenges, and
rewards. And so to replace me, and to beef up our leadership, the board and
I have been working (as a nominating committee) to locate capable, engaged
and willing members to stand on a list of prospective division leaders. I
can tell you all this, the Writers' division needs good leaders, people who
have and will give of their time and talent, and not individuals who in the
excitement of the moment, allow themselves to be nominated and elected.
(Sounding a little corny here but.we love all you guys, but if you in turn
love the division, only vote for leaders who will do the work; this includes
yourself!!!) 

Request for you all: If you want to be considered for a leadership position
on the board, write back to me. Provide a BIO and write something that tells
us of your commitment; what you are doing for us now, and/or will do. Also,
hey.we need people on committees too! If you want to get more involved in
the Division, and do not want to be a leader, but have a specific interest
in one of our projects (Slate & Style, or setting up our monthly phone
meetings, or working on our yearly writing contest, or seeking out new
members, or fund raising, or helping developing our website, or seeking out
writing resources that we can share with members, or MMM, write and tell us
what you can do for the Division? 

*#3 Update on our 2015 writing contest: The deadline for submissions was
April 1st. Again, authors waited until near the deadline to submit their
work. This was our 27th year of our contest: started in 1988, with adult
categories (only, opening it up to submissions by blind youth in 2009.

Recall, this was our first ever contest where we strongly suggested that
each entry follow a theme. That is to say, with 2015 being the NFB's 75th
anniversary, we added into our guidelines: All submissions will need to
somehow incorporate the theme of 75. It does not have to be necessarily
about the anniversary of NFB. It could just be the number 75, or perhaps the
diamond anniversary, or 75 steps to your destination, or even 75 balloons.
Thinking of past entries, 75 aliens would work. Seriously, let your
imagination take over. Write the piece you want, just remember to
incorporate the theme of 75; this is inspired by the 75 years of the great
work that has been happening within, and because of the National Federation
of the blind.

Here is a summary of the 2015 submissions; 

Total submissions for all youth category's: 20 

-High School: 

Fiction: 2 

Poetry: 4

-Middle School: 

Fiction: 5 

Poetry: 2 

-Elementary School: 

Fiction: 3 

Poetry: 3 

For comparison sake, here are the youth yearly totals from 2015 back to
2009: 2015 20; 2014 27: 2013 42; 2012 21; 2011 30; 2010 22; 2009 33

Note: the number of youth submissions was definitely down; not sure why. 

Total submissions for all adult category's: 90 

Fiction: 23 

Memoir:  24 

Poetry: 38 

Stories for Youth: 5 

For comparison sake, here are the adult yearly totals from 2015 back to
2009: 2015 90; 2014 79; 2013 92; 2012 91; 2011 59; 2010 35; 2009 54

-Note: The interesting number shift in this year's submissions, versus past
years is- Memoir was the highest number of entries- 24; fiction 23. And this
was a year when poetry entries were surprisingly few- 38. 

*#4 Slate & Style: Though we will take submissions at any time during the
year, the deadline for the upcoming issue is May 31st; publication for this
issue is June 21st.

Here are the guidelines . we need your stuff, and you need more exposure!

SLATE & STYLE GUIDELINES

Slate & Style is a quarterly publication of the National Federation of the
Blind Writers' Division. It is dedicated to writing pursuits such as
literary pieces, resources, and information about various writing styles. A
majority of Slate & Style's contributors are blind, but we welcome
submissions from any contributor. We also accept submissions touching on any
subject matter. We encourage submissions from both experienced and beginning
writers with our goal being to hone our writing craft and share our
thoughts.

Slate & Style accepts short fiction, short creative nonfiction, poetry,
articles discussing and providing tips for various writing styles including
literary, technical, editing, public relations, and academic, literary
criticism, resource information, and book reviews.

Subject matter is not limited but will be up to the editor's discretion to
publish. 

Slate & Style accepts material from adults and children. We require email
submissions. 

We accept submissions throughout the year. You will receive a prompt
confirmation of the receipt of your submission. All submissions are
considered for publication but not all pieces will be published. We may keep
submissions to be used for later publications. The editing staff may respond
with comments and suggestions, giving contributors an opportunity to
resubmit. We will try our best to get this notice to entrants, if needed,
within two to three weeks after submission. Please give Slate & Style
editors that timeframe before contacting us about a submission.

Though submissions are welcome at all times, if your submission is
specifically about a particular season or time of year and you would like
your submission to appear in that corresponding issue, please read the dates
and submission deadlines below. The approximate issue dates and submission
deadline dates for each issue are as follows:

March 21st---Submissions close February 28th

June 21st---Submissions close May 31st

September 23rd----Submissions close September 2nd

December 21st---Submissions close November30th

Please read through all the guidelines carefully. Submissions that do not
follow these guidelines may not be considered for Slate & Style. 

Submission guidelines are as follows:

Length requirements are: articles, 1500 words or less, fiction and
memoir/personal essay, 4000 words or less, book reviews, 1000 words or less,
poetry, 36 lines or less.

Again, send ALL submissions as email attachments no matter the genre.
Include a cover letter along with your submissions with author's name, title
of piece(s) and contact info-phone, email and address included. Also include
a bio with your submission(s). Your bio should be no more than 150 words. Do
not send an entire history, just include key items you feel are important
for readers to know. Send as an attachment as well. More than one submission
is allowed per email but do list all submissions in the required cover
letter. 

Send submissions to s-and-s at nfbnet.org 

In the subject line of your email, write: Slate & Style submission, your
name, and number of submissions. Example: "Slate & Style submission, Myrna
Badgerow, 3 submissions".

Use Microsoft Word or create an RTF document for all submissions. No other
formats are accepted, and therefore will not be considered. 

Proofread and check your grammar and formatting before submitting. 

Slate & Style will consider all submissions for publication. However, please
be careful with graphic sexual and violent content as well as language and
anti-religious, anti-gender, anti-racial and anti-homosexual orientation
content. Characterization and plot often require this type of material, but
it must serve a purpose. Gratuitous material with no purpose or meant only
for derogatory reasons, will not be considered. Material will be published
according to the discretion of the editing staff.

Please direct questions and comments to the email address listed above for
submissions, in your subject line, please include your name and simply
write: "QUESTION". Then write your question in the body of the email.

Respectfully yours,

Robert Leslie Newman

President, NFB Writers' division

Our Division's Website: http://writers.nfb.org

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future.

Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low
expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.

You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.