Feminist Pilgrimage: Journeys of Discovery

Personal essay contributions are desired for a proposed edited book: Feminist Pilgrimage: Journeys of Discovery.

Editor: Stacy Russo, Librarian/Associate Professor, Santa Ana College, Santa Ana, California, stacy@love-activism.com

How is “Feminist Pilgrimage” Being Defined?

Within this context, a feminist pilgrimage is understood as one of the following:

• a journey taken to visit an important feminist landmark, artwork, or individual.

• traveling to a destination as a means of radical self-care, discovery, and/or healing, such as returning to one’s home land; taking a solo road trip; going on a personal or group retreat; or making a journey to a place that has deep personal meaning.

• a pilgrimage taken for personal or professional reasons that is performed with a feminist vision.

How is Feminism Being Defined?

There are many definitions and understandings of feminism. One’s understanding may also evolve over time through personal and collective experiences. For the purposes of allowing for the most self-expression and freedom in the creative process, the editor is not providing an overarching definition.

Guidelines

All genders are welcome as contributors. Only non-fiction, first-person accounts are desired. Writing should be in the form of a personal essay. Text-only works and works including artwork with text will be considered. Fictional pieces and poetry will not be accepted. Original works that have not been previously published are preferred. Previously published essays will be considered, but you will need to gain permissions for re-publication and provide proof of the permission. Writing should be free of highly theoretical language and academic jargon. Footnotes and references, if any, should be minor. Tone should be for a crossover general and academic audience.

Proposals

Please submit proposals of up to 500 words by November 1, 2018. Include an author’s bio of up to 150 words. Within your proposal, please provide a clear representation of what your essay will entail. What was your pilgrimage? Where did you travel? What did you discover? Why was the pilgrimage important to you? How does it relate to your understanding of feminism? After review of your proposal, you will be contacted regarding your submission. Please do not submit completed works at this stage. Send your proposal to stacy@love-activism.com

Final Essays

If your proposal is accepted, your final essay must be 1,500 – 4,000 words and submitted publication-ready. If you believe your piece requires a good amount of editing or it does not fit within the required word count, please seek the assistance of an editor prior to your final submission. Pieces that require extensive editing will not be published. Once your final work is submitted, only light grammatical editing will occur.

Timeline

• Deadline for Proposals and Bios: November 1, 2018

• Notifications on Proposals Sent: December 1, 2018

• Deadline for Publication-Ready Essays: June 1, 2019

All contributors will receive a copy of the published book and will be invited to participate in any book-related events.

Editor Bio

Stacy Russo, a librarian and associate professor at Santa Ana College in Santa Ana, California, is a writer, poet, and artist. Her book publications include A Better World Starts Here: Activists and Their Work (forthcoming); Love Activism (Litwin Books); We Were Going to Change the World: Interviews with Women from the 1970s/1980s Southern California Punk Rock Scene (Santa Monica Press); Life as Activism: June Jordan’s Writings from The Progressive (Litwin Books); and The Library as Place in California (McFarland). Her articles, poetry, and reviews have appeared in Feminist Teacher, Feminist Collections, American Libraries, Counterpoise, Library Journal, Chaffey Review, Serials Review, and the anthology Open Doors: An Invitation to Poetry (Chaparral Canyon Press). She holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley; Chapman University; and San Jose State University.

Please reach the editor, Stacy Russo, at stacy@love-activism.com with any questions. Thank you for your interest in this exciting and inspiring project!

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