The first is for youth writers; the second is for students of hip hop.
The second one is mad long. Sorry.
>>PUB: osbey books seeks youth writers for anthology
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Speaking Me, Volume 1 will be a must have collection of thoughts of young writers between the ages of 12 and 18. Speaking ME is now accepting submissions for young poets, writers, and lyricists who are willing and ready to spill their thoughts on pages for all to see. The collection is about _expressions, healing, and positive vibes that will be creative and unique. The platform for this anthology is set the stage for young voices to express themselves through spoken word, lyricism and short stories that center around deeply reflective _expressions of their souls and spirits. This collection seeks young writers who are unafraid of their pen and the stories that their pens can tell others.
GUIDELINES:
POETRY: Please submit no more than 3 poems via electronical submission, writing your FULL name, address, city, state and zip code on each poem. If submitting via word, please type your name in the upper right corner of the page, and type your poetry title and poem. Submit all three poems in one electronical file in word format or rich text files. SHORT STORIES: Please submit no more than two short stories via electronical submission, writing your FULL name, address, city, state and zip code on each poem. Submit a clean (edit-free short story) no longer than 3,000 words via Word or Rich Text File format. LYRICISM (rap-hip hop, songs, etcetera) can be submitted via electronical submissions as well. Please submit no more than 2 originally written raps, hip hop lyrics, or songs in this category.
SPOKEN WORD : We will highlight six audio tracks of youth in this publication. In order to take part of this, youth must send original spoken word and or music via wav or mp3 audio files. Please make sure to send that you own the copyright to the music. Any and all MUSIC sales of the spoken word will be paid to the song writers on a QUARTERLY basis, every four months, after the book is officially released. The themes of the music must reflect the poetic themes of identity, self love, self worth, coming of age, change, life as a teen, etcetera.
ORIGINAL COVER ART : We are seeking graphic art for the book cover. Submit jpeg files or send in hard copies of the artwork in Early February - April 2007 for CONSIDERATION. Ensure you submit work that you originally created yourself and own the legal copyrights to. Cover artist will be listed in the credits for the book along with all the writers who contributed to the anthology
THEMES: We are seeking coming of age stories, poems about life, struggle to be independent youth, or have an identity, social, political, familial, dedications, poems about words and other general topics that will highlight the soul and the spirit of the writer in question. Poems or stories about self esteem, worth, self-love, strength, overcoming obstacles, and change are welcomed.
CERTIFICATION:
To ensure that all work being submitted is original work written, please send the following quote with your submission: "This work is original text written by me and I certify that I am the full owner of such work." Make sure to WRITE YOUR FULL NAME on this document and send via pdf or scanned and sent to speakingme@gmail.com
NOTES:
All accepted writers of this anthology will receive one copy of the book in leiu of payment. No monetary compensation will be given to any of the writers of this collection. Speaking ME will retain non exclusive rights of the work given for the anthology, however, writers can submit any of their work to any other
publications simultaneously if necessary. Speaking ME will publish any accepted work in any format within this specific project.
If you accept the conditions of the submission policy, please send your work to Speaking ME, Volume 1, via email speakingme@gmail.com.
Emailed submissions are open as of January 9 and end on February 8th. Mailed submissions will begin on February 8, 2007 and end on May 1, 2007. Anticipated publication date is August 9, 2007.
TOP POET WINS $25.00
All writers will be notified by June 1, 2007. This anthology is being published by Osbey Books.
**CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS**
I USED TO LOVE HER:How The Commercialization Of Rap Music Has Destroyed Black America
Edited by: Ryan C Greene
Published by: Bakari Book Publishers (www.bakaribooks.com)
Projected Release Date: September 2007
“I USED TO LOVE HER” is a call for reformation in the message that rap music is sending its listeners, particularly Black America. This book is not designed to bash the hip-hop culture nor is it a call to abolish hip-hop music. It is time for the emcees and the record labels to take responsibility for their lyrics and take responsibility for the lives they are destroying. Too many emcees justify the blood on their hands by saying they are just "Keeping it real" but this book is calling for an end to the "I'm the victim of my society" mentality and to take seriously their social responsibility to pour life into their communities as opposed to reaping benefits from sucking the life out of those very communities. Like it or not, just like our sports heroes, rappers are role models.
This book is an open letter to the emcee and the entire hip-hop community to take inventory on the destruction that has been sewn into our community. If you are truly "Baaaallin'" then stand up to the powers that be and demand to spread positive messages to your people through your music that will empower and uplift us all as opposed to raising up a few at the expense of many. What once started as a positive culture of musical poets that embraced education, creativity, and empowerment of our race has evolved into a money making machine that promotes sex, drugs and getting rich by any means necessary. The true emcee has become a dying breed that has been forced into obscurity by large conglomerates that now run hip hop. While artists such as The Roots, Nas, Mos Def and SALIM cry for the resurrection of real hip hop that once built strong communities; the corporate decision makers continue to force feed destructive messages to our community through commercial rap music. “I USED TO LOVE HER” will be a collection of commentaries and writings from people from all walks of life discussing the effects of commercialized rap music on different aspects of black culture.
SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
Sex
How is sex dealt with in rap music? How does rap music's view on sex bleed over into the black community? How much sex is enough? How has rap music affected your view of sex? Is rap music responsible for the spread of HIV and other STDs in the black community? What correlations can we draw from the growth of the macho sex driven male in hip-hop to African American females representing the largest group of new HIV cases in America?
Relationships
How has rap music affected our ability to trust others and build relationships? How has the music affected the way men and women treat each other in relationships? How has it affected our expectations of the opposite sex in relationships? How does rap music teach us to cope with dysfunctional families, single parent homes etc? With rap music bombarding young men with the idea that being a “pimp” or a “playa” is how a man should be, how has that affected young men’s views on relationships , responsibility and raising families?
Drug/Alcohol Use
How does the celebration of illicit drug and alcohol use affect our community? What effect does this message have on our youth? Do you feel your alcohol or drug use is directly or indirectly a result of the messages of rap music? When did it become cool to smoke weed and publicly admit how proud you are that you smoke it?
Drug Dealing
Knowing that drugs have been forced into the black communities for decades by the US government in an effort to destroy black communities, why is this lifestyle of drug dealing the #1 most celebrated occupation in rap music? Why if every rapper talks about wanting to get away from the evils of the drug game, do they promote and encourage our youth to get into it? With drugs being the #1 cause behind most black on black violence, what stance should the hip hop community take in an effort to save our youth from this lifestyle?
Religion
Hip-Hop was founded on the precepts of the 5 Percent Nation, a religion which teaches that non-whites are all our own gods and our existence revolves around supreme mathematics. This religion is taught, unknowingly to many listeners, in the lyrics of the music, how has this belief system affected our communities? Both Christianity and Islam hold their followers to very high standards of acceptance of what is considered holy. What impact has this contradictory lifestyle portrayed in the media through rap music had on the black community that has traditionally used religion as the common glue to hold us all together? Can a rapper who promotes promiscuous sex, violence and drug use in his music, really be thankful to God when he wins a Grammy?
Gangs/Violence
What responsibility must rap music bear for the rise and spread of gangs throughout the nation's black communities? Gangs use to be about territory and drugs, now junior high school kids are forming gangs just because Snoop Dogg or Jim Jones rap about gangs. How has the prominence of gangs affected our youth's ability to get a good education and be safe without joining a gang? What can hip hop do to right this wrong?
Crime (Snitching)
How has rap music contributed to the prevalent crime rates in some black communities? When did helping the police to keep your neighborhood safe become "Snitching"? Why does rap music support a vigilante style of justice which endorses refusing to help police so that you may exact your own form of justice? How has the fact that rap music rarely explains the consequences of one's criminal actions affected our youth's decisions to enter into a life of crime? Why are rap stars glorified for going to jail and seen as heroes for such?
Materialism
The Bible states "The love of money is the root of all evil", how does this relate to rap music? How has the pursuit of "Bling" affected the decision making of Black America? How has Black America been destroyed since rap music's focus shifted from self empowerment through education to self empowerment through money? What responsibility should hip hop have to teach Black America about proper financial stewardship?
Beauty
How has rap music affected black women's view of themselves and what is beautiful? Why are black women willing to prance around half-naked and be used as sex objects in music videos? How do these images affect the minds of young black girls trying to find themselves? What does rap music say to black women about what is beautiful? Is there any correlation between rap music and growing low self esteem issues among black females? Why aren't black men held to the same high standards of beauty as black women?
Education
When did it become acceptable and cool to be dumb? Why isn't education stressed in rap music? How has rap music's message changed as it relates to education? What role should hip hop play in urging youth to get a college education? What responsibility does rap music bear for the rising high school drop-out rates of black males? What should hip hop's message be as it relates to education?
Respect For Authority
What role has rap music played in today's disregard for authority figures (i.e. parents, teachers, law enforcement etc)? When did it become acceptable for youth to curse at or around adults? Does rap music make listeners feel like they can live by their own rules and disregard established rules and laws?
"Nigga"
How can we ignore the past and think it's acceptable to call each other "nigga"? Can we really be mad when white folks call us nigga when all they hear us call ourselves is nigga? What role has rap music played in making the use of "nigga" mainstream and acceptable in our community? Can we really think that giving "nigga" an acronym (Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished) makes it better? When is it OK to use "nigga"? Who can use the word "nigga"? What are your thoughts on businesses like www.niggaspace.com? Is that rap music's fault? As creative as Black Americans are, why have we not come up with a better name by which to identify ourselves?
Disregard for our past
What would Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Sojourer Truth, Frederick Douglass, Carter G Woodson, Booker T Washington and W.E.B. DuBois say about the state of Black America? How would they feel if they could come back to life for one day and listen to the Top 10 albums on the Billboard Rap Charts? Why does it seem like our forefathers lives were meaningless and in vain when listening to some of today's rap music? How should rap music embrace our past and teach the next generations? What role has rap music played in the growing apathy among blacks toward voting?
How other people view Blacks
How do other races view blacks as a result of rap music? How does it make you feel to be judged by what you wear or by what you listen to? If Americans base their image of Black America predominantly on the images portrayed through rap music, how does that hinder Black America? How does that make you feel? Should we be concerned with how others view Black America? Is hip hop responsible to carry the burden of Black America's image?
Our future
How do you feel about your future? How do you feel about the future of the hip hop generation? With 70% of black males dropping out of school, 80% of prison populations being black men and 70% of all new HIV cases being black women, what hope is there for the future of Black America? How do we protect our babies and snatch back our youth from this warped mindset of today's rap artist? With the elevation to "hip hop god" status after the deaths of Tupac Shakur, Notorious BIG and many others in hip hop, black youths are now planning for their funerals instead of planning for their graduations and future. What message must hip hop send to overcome this tragic mindset and plant hope into the minds of our youth?
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK
Ø Submissions must be an original work by the submitting author.
Ø Submissions can be in essay, poetry or journal/letter format.
Ø Submissions should be emailed in an MS Word Document to usetoloveher@bakaribooks.com.
Ø Submissions are due by March 31, 2007.
Ø The submissions should be limited to 1000 words or less.
Ø You may submit up to 3 submissions. Each submission should cover a different topic.
Ø Include your Name, Email Address, Phone Number, Job Title and a 4-line bio along with your submission.
Ø Copyright must be owned by submitting author.
Ø Please use and cite as much supporting documentation as possible when writing your commentary.
Ø If you quote lyrics, please include the artist and song title with the quote.
Ø Please have your submissions edited before you submit it.
Ø There is no guarantee that your submission will be included in the book.
Ø If your submission is selected for inclusion in the book, you will be sent a release form to complete.
Ø You will still own the copyright to your commentary.
Ø There is no monetary compensation for your submission. However you will receive a free copy of the book if your submission is included.
Ø Please refer all questions to info@bakaribooks.com
