services projects contact home	Good Riddance: The Break-Up Anthology Real Stories From the Trenches of Romance Gone Awry Call for Submissions Submission Deadline: March 31st, 2004 Every broken heart tells a story. Most of them could tell volumes. The path from the dark begnnings of the end to the triumphant day when you realize, for whatever reason(s), how much better off you are without him or her is usually long, lonely and extremely rough. But once you've safely reached the other side (and had some time to get comfortable there) chances are you'll be able to look back on it all and laugh. OK, well maybe not at all of it. Still, there are bound to be moments of real inspiration, even some humor in all you've been through since your relationship hit the skids. Now it's time to share those moments. Good Riddance: The Break-Up Anthology seeks to shed some light on the light at the end of the tunnel or at least provide some catharsis for people currently living through the dark days of emotional turmoil. It will also provide something for folks who have been there before (which, I'm guessing, is about 98% of adult humans) to identify with. The tone of the stories is, ideally, humorous, even if the events being related were the hardest things you ever had to endure. The point is you endured; you even became stronger for having been through it all. If that's not the case, it doesn't belong in this collection. Stories may come from men and women, gay and straight, dumpers and dumpees but should be about adult relationships (college age is ok; high school is not). The goal is to collect the best stories, period. If most of those stories happen to come from one group, dumped heterosexual women, for example, then the collection may be specialized for that group and other collections (of gay men who dumped their lovers, for example) may emerge separately. But right now, we want to see it all, with a few exceptions: no graphic sex acts, no hardcore violence or murderous intentions and NO DESPAIRING, POOR-ME STORIES. And that's another thing, we do want stories. Ideally true ones, but hey, I don't know you, and I won't be fact-checking (though it probably is a good idea to change names for protection of the innocent--or the guilty as it were). What I imagine is mainly first-person narratives that ring true, but I will consider third-person, too. Heck, I'll even take a look at your poetry. A few queries have convinced me that including a handful of poems is probably a good idea. Nothing too oblique, though, please. What I'm not looking for is essays, rules to live by, words of wisdom, etc. If those things come through in STORIES (i.e. something with a narrative arc) then it's a beautiful thing, but I want characters, setting, plot, etc. Heck, if you can pull off all that plus some symbolism and irony you've got a good chance of making it in. Possible Themes: Revenge/Karma - Nothing violent or life-threatening; destruction of property is ok, but embarssing, even humiliating (or witnessing the humiliation of) the ex who desrves it is generally preferable. Closure - The conversation where you actually said all the right things you normally only think of after the fact. Irony - How you ended up far better off (emotionally, financially, romantically, professionally, etc.) even though you initially felt like your world was falling apart. Turning Points - How you finally came to turn your back on your ex, realized that you probably wouldn't get to that place of understanding or achieve the myth of the amicable break-up but knew that you were going to be ok anyway. Scorned - Just how bad was it when your ex broke the news? did s/he serve you divorce papers while you were in the hospital with cancer (a la Newt Gingrich)? run off with your best friend, your brother, sister, mother, father or child? steal from you on the sly so that you were left not only heartbroken but penniless? turn his back on the kids? burn your clothes in the front yard? please tell! Here You Come Again - Just when you were finally getting it together, Mr. or Ms. Not-So-Right-After-All comes waltzing back in to turn your life upside down all over again--how did you handle it? (Please send us this story only if you ultimately broke up--this is not the make-up anthology.) Chance Encounters - It's been years since you've seen him/her, and you've moved across the country. Then one day you run into each other on the subway/at a restaurant/in a bookstore...what happens? You realize, of course (if you hadn't already), how much richer your life is since you shed that extra baggage, but we want the details! Details When: Submission deadline March 31st, 2004 Where: Send your story in the body of an e-mail (NO ATTACHMENTS) to Length: 5,000-7,000 words or so (not rigid) Payment: When and if a publishing deal is secured, selected contributions will be compensated commensurate with that deal. Rights: We are interested in first rights, worldwide. Please do not send previously published material or simultaneous submissions. You will be free to republish your contribution, in English, elsewehere in the future, but we will retain rights for any and all future printings and translations of the collection. Please direct all queries and concerns to the above e-mail address.   Home | Good Riddance