Call for pitches: Geez 31, Peacenix
Peace cranes on the steps of the GPO.
Credit: Takver, http://www.flickr.com/photos/takver/5534052459/
Deadline: May 1, 2013
What ever happened to peace activism? Nuclear warfare looms, yet despondency rules the day. Are we numbed by info on injustice? Have the Facebook era and the TV times that preceded it taught us it’s okay to care without lifting a finger?
Chris Hedges was once a war correspondent for The New York Times. Now he’s an outspoken activist, taking the streets and risking arrest. What will it take for the peace-minded masses to do the same?
Past activists went after peace goals – ending the Vietnam War (won), nuclear disarmament (partial win), preventing the invasion of Iraq (lost). What are peace goals for today?
We want to hear from folks engaged in reconciliation work, anti-war protests, restorative justice and non-violent strategies for social change. And hey you burnt-out old timers, slacktivists and do-gooder daydreamers: what’s your view on the militarization of our land?
Some ideas:
Give us the facts: Pitch a journalistic or research-based story on why we need the next big peace movement or what it will be like.
Peace theory: A smart-but-accessible distillation of the latest thinking or theology about peace. Research like a peace professor but write like a movie reviewer. We’re especially keen to hear how cultural and economic forces keep people from acting on their consciences.
Ugly feelings: Give us short, personal stories (see the description for flash non-fiction below) that convey emotions around peacemaking and political engagement: apathy, anger, duty, shame, lament, fear, envy, paranoia, depression… oh, also hope, joy and love. Pick your dominant emotion and stick with it.
Pacifism 101: Or why I’m not a pacifist.
Righteous indignation in late-capitalist times: What inspires your outrage?
Gender and violence, women and peace: Is war still masculinist? What’s a feminist approach to international peace? Hey guys, how can we undermine the deadly mix of machismo and Kalashnikovs? Why can’t unarmed peacemakers be our heroes? Do we need heroes?
Look at the intersections: War and climate change, war and imperialism, war and religion, etc.
Tell your activation story: What sparked your switch from couch potato to dissenter, from patriot to pacifist?
And more: How do peace activists engage a culture obsessed with spectacle, weary from distraction? Is military intervention ever justified? Tell us why the “just war” era is over (or not).
Submissions
1. Longer non-fiction pieces, length: 750 or 1500 words
We’re looking for creative non-fiction essays, investigative articles or research-based pieces on the topic above. While a reference to your personal experience is welcome, readers need wisdom from other sources as well (interviews, books, articles, theologians, social-justice activists, academics and moms and dads). Pitches should be one page, touch on the wider context of your topic and name at least one other source you will be consulting. Here’s a request: Please think of yourself as a Geez contributing editor. Ask yourself, What would readers who are social-justice oriented and at the fringes of faith want to read on this topic? If your pitch is accepted you’ll usually have 2 or 3 weeks to complete the piece.
2. Flash non-fiction, length: 50-350 words
These are short, personal experiences or insights. Your piece should capture a moment that illuminates a larger issue or convey a feeling familiar to us all. This is a chance to bring hope, insight, emotion and connection to readers. Think of it as a snapshot with words.
3. Photos
Consider the topic above and send original photographs (i.e. you took the photo) that provoke or pacify, animate or incite.
Tips for pitches
The Geez project is a discussion among people of faith seeking social justice. Our readers and writers express this through art, activism (a creative critique of those in power and the structures that keep them there, the promotion of alternative practices that subvert such powers), contemplation and a “more-grounded, interconnected” approach to living.
New to Geez? Try pitching for our sections: Culturosities, Civil Disobedience, Experiments and Reviews.
Additional info
Before pitching, please read our guidelines for writers here.
The most up-to-date information on upcoming issues is available here .
Ideally we would like to respond personally to every piece of correspondence we receive. But given the number of submissions we receive – and having tried to respond to all – we realize it is just not possible. If you do not hear back from us within six weeks assume that we were unable to use your submission.
Deadline for pitches: May 1, 2013
Deadline for articles (if assigned): June 3, 2013
Send pitches, manuscripts and images to
Geez Editor, Melanie Dennis Unrau
email: stories [at] geezmagazine [dot] org
mail: Geez Magazine
400 Edmonton Street
Winnipeg MB R3B 2M2
CANADA
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