Memories

Are you a writer, poet or journalist? Do you have a story to tell about how you, or someone you know, has beaten cancer? Or about a loved one who was taken by the disease? Would you like to see your own writing in Memories, a book raising money for a cancer charity?

The Memories project is welcoming written submissions to fill two of the positions we’ve planned for stories within the book. Here are the ins and outs of it:

We’re looking for a great piece of writing that captures a memory you have that relates to cancer. Inside the book, there will be two kinds of stories. One section is going to be by people who have lost a friend or relative to the disease, and their recollection of a day or moments they spent with their loved one. The other is about people who have survived, and their reflections on the effects the disease had on them. We’re looking for one story for each section of the book that will come via this open submissions process. (For more on the overall idea of Memories see http://memories.subism.co.uk/about-the-project/)

It’s not a competition and there are no prizes as such. The reward if your story is selected for print will be to see your story in the book, alongside 12 amazing illustrations. However, stories that don’t run in the book will be posted here on our blog so your writing will still get an audience. (Barring any that contain inappropriate material, though that seems highly unlikely!) Either way, submitting something will be a massive boost to our project.

Judging of the entries will be done by the Memories team (Antony Kitson, Rishi Sodha, Stuart Boyd and Garrick Webster) with the help of guest judge Jacob Denno. Jacob is the editor of Popshot magazine, which is a fantastic and beautifully printed forum for both poetry and illustration. See www.popshotpopshot.com

Your story needs to be 450-550 words in length. Most of the book’s content at the moment is written in prose, though we do have one poem already, and if you want to write poetry just let us know. The closing date for written submissions will be 31 December 2009. Email writers@memories.subism.co.uk and I’ll send you our full writers brief.