CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Rescued Works from Childhood (deadline: January 30, 2009)

Firefly Books Call for Submission: Re: Rescued Works From Childhood

Do you keep the stuff you created when you were a kid? Looking back, are these works now funny, prophetic, poignant, awe-inspiring or cringe-worthy? If so, your work could be featured in a new book!

Firefly Books is looking to obtain submissions of original creative works from adults that were made when they were children for inclusion in a new book.


What are we looking for?
We are looking for a whole shopping list of stuff that was created by you between the ages of 5 and 16 that now reads as funny, prophetic, poignant, awe-inspiring or cringe-worthy. Whether your submission recalls the laughable/funny/endearing qualities of childhood innocence; the confusion, frustration and emotion of adolescents; or the precociousness and downright astounding nature with which kids say the darndest things, it will no doubt be something that we can all relate to.

The possibilities of things you might submit are almost endless. Here is a list to get you started:
- "I want to be" or "When I grow up" writings
- Poetry
- Song Lyrics
- Short Stories
- Diary Entries
- Valentines and Love Letters
- Friendship notes
- Pen-Pal notes
- Refrigerator notes
- In-class "pass back" notes
- Postcards
- Letters to Santa
- School Projects
- Writings about clubs and club rules
- Comics or editorial-type drawings
- Get well soon notes
- Time Capsule material
- *Drawings or fine art without any writing will not be accepted

What do I submit?
It's not just the words we want; we want your actual pieces of paper!

The rescued project is as much as a visual concept as it is a reading concept. We want to see your sloppy child writing, we want to see your torn and tattered bits of paper, we want to see the food stains, spelling mistakes, teacher comments, notes in the margin - everything!

Why? Because this book is to be a celebration of creativity, and you can't capture the true sense of a person and the creative moment with re-typed text! Eventually, if your work is chosen for inclusion in the project, we are going to need your actual hardcopy of the work you submitted.

For now, a scan or photocopy will work just fine. No pictures, please!

Is there a catch?
Kind of. We want to know about you! We want to have some context!

1) When, where, and why did you create this work? Was it Mrs. Chandler's class? A summer afternoon with nothing to do?

2) Does your writing have any special meaning? Was it a big deal at the time? Does it reflect in some way who you are now?

3) Who are you now as an adult? What do you do? How did you get here? What is your favorite food?

Think about these things and others like them, then write them down and include them with your submission.

The nitty-gritty:
To apply please email or snail-mail, to the address provided below, a scan or photocopy of the creative work(s) you wish to submit, along with 1) description of the document(s) (size, condition, etc), 2) a brief paragraph outlining where, when and why the piece originated, and 3) a brief bio about yourself - including age and residence. Please DO NOT send originals. If you are selected for publication you will be contacted and asked to provide originals at that point.

Application Specifics:
- Applicants must be 26 years of age or older by Jan 1, 2008
- All creative works submitted must be English
- Any original document(s) submitted are done so that the applicant's own risk; Firefly Books does not claim any responsibility for said document(s).
- If sending scans, please make sure you scan at 300dpi and save as a jpeg.
- Any work submitted to Firefly Books and rescuedfromchildhood@gmail.com will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be viewed by anyone not associated with project.
- Any work submitted is the legal property of the creator and will not be used in any manner whatsoever without the express consent of the creator. Only submit your own work. Do not submit the work of others!
- No inquiries about selection please. You will only be contacted if your work has been chosen for publication.

We thank all those who submit.

Contact Info:
Email: rescuedfromchildhood@gmail.com

Snail mail: Firefly Books: Attn: Steve Cameron
66 Leek Crescent, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1H1

check out our group out on facebook: Rescued From Childhood