Call for Submissions (FTMs)
Call for Submissions
LITTLE BOY LOST: True Adventures of Men without Boyhoods
Editor C. Michael Woodward is seeking submissions to Little Boy Lost (working title), an upcoming anthology by transsexual men on the longer-term psychosocial impact of transitioning from female to male.
A note from the Editor
To my FTM brothers:
On the 10th anniversary of becoming Michael, I paused to reflect on my journey thus far. There have been many moments along the way when I’ve noticed pieces of information missing from my psychological databank - sometimes subtle, sometimes profound - about societal expectations of men. Eventually, I realised this data is missing because, perceived as female, I was excluded from the first several decades of programming.
Regardless of one’s identity, expression, orientation, faith, or biology, the world is a very different place for men and for women-the subtleties of which you can’t fully grasp unless you have experienced life in both (or in between) genders. By coming into manhood after several decades “on the wrong hormone”, I have been amazed, dismayed, delighted, angered, frustrated, and generally amused by how profoundly different (and yet not) life is on the other side of the proverbial fence.
I know I am not alone. Tell me your story.
Little Boy Lost: True Adventures of Men without Boyhoods is a collection of short (non-fiction) stories, essays, and poetry addressing these questions or similar considerations:
· What is your most profound/terrifying/entertaining/embarrassing/enlightening story from your journey to manhood?
· How does a Trans man navigate male culture after being raised and socialised as female?
· To whom did/do you turn for advice, coaching, or mentoring?
· Have faith traditions impacted your decisions about transitioning? How has your transition impacted your relationship with your faith community?
· How has your professional/work life been impacted by the absence of male socialisation?
· Parents, are you treated differently as “dad” than you were as “mom”?
· How do you navigate dating, sex, and intimate relationships in mainstream (straight or gay) culture?
· What epiphanies or lessons have you learned about life, about the world, or about yourself? How has your perception of the world changed regarding men, women, masculinity, femininity, sex, sexuality, gender, politics, faith, class, race, ability, etc. …?
· How are FTMs different from cisgender (non-transsexual) men? How are we the same?
· What do you want the world to know about transsexual and/or cisgender men? What do you want newly transitioning men to know?
· For those living stealth (keeping your FTM history hidden), how does that affect your everyday life, your psyche, and your relationships with other people?
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submissions should be in English and approximately 1,000 to 5,000 words in length. (Poetry may be shorter.) Submissions must be your original, non-fiction work, although creativity is encouraged. If your entry has been published previously, please state any previous publishing sources and dates. Multiple submissions allowed, but please send each submission as a separate email.
Authors are preferred to be female-to-male transsexuals who have been living full-time as men (as self-defined) in all aspects of their lives for at least five years. Submissions specifically encouraged from men who transitioned later in life (i.e. age 30 or older). I’m especially looking for new, unpublished writers; non-US writers; people of colour; people with disabilities; and those of various faiths and spiritual practices-and how those experiences influence your perspective of manhood. I may consider a limited number of submissions from partners, friends, or family members if the work expressly addresses the focus of the book.
NOTE: the purpose of this anthology is not to debate the gender binary or gender theory, nor to debate the appropriateness of certain terminology such as “transman” or “FTM” (however, discussion regarding “fitting in” is welcome in submissions). Editor fully acknowledges and embraces all identities, perspectives, and expressions of gender. This book/collection is specifically focused on individuals who were born female-bodied and have a substantial history living as women (regardless of core identity), have gone through the process of a physical and/or legal gender transition that began prior to 2005, and now live full-time as men and are generally acknowledged/accepted as male in daily mainstream life (aka “passing”).
Please submit your writings to littleboylost@lgbtqa.com no later than February 1, 2010, 11:59pm PST.
No attachments - paste your submission directly into the body of the email.
Submissions accepted by email only. Plain text email preferred.
Please include all of the following, in this order, in your email:
1. title of your submission
2. pseudonym or name as you would like it to appear (byline)
3. word count
4. body of submission
5. legal name
6. street address
7. area code and phone number
8. email address
9. the year and your age when transition began
10. a short bio (200 words or less)
11. publication history of this submission, if any
Contributors may use a pseudonym (pen name) for publishing purposes, but must provide legal name and accurate contact information to the editor. Any information submitted (except, obviously, that which is contained in your story/essay/poem and/or your bio), will be remain confidential.
Editor reserves the right to edit submissions for content or length. Selected submissions will be published, collectively or serially, by the editor and a yet-to-be-named publisher. Not all submissions will be published. Submissions will not be returned. Authors selected for publishing will receive a free copy of the book/publication.
About the Editor
C. Michael Woodward is a writer, musician, speaker, consultant, political advisor, peer counsellor, and social justice advocate - in no particular order. He led the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA) for more than five years and worked in variety of roles at Wingspan, southern Arizona’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and Transgender community centre.
Woodward currently serves as Co-Chair of the City of Tucson Commission on GLBT Issues and Chair of The University of Arizona President's LGBTQ Advisory Council. He is a former Board member of Female to Male International (FTMI) and is profiled on Lynn Conway's Successful Transmen, a prestigious website recognising leaders in the international Transgender community. Michael was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Southern Comfort Conference.
Since 2003, Michael has presented training and information about LGBTQ and allied concerns to thousands of people across the country. In 2009, he formed lgbtQ&A Diversity & Inclusion Consulting, providing sexual orientation and gender identity cultural competency, best practices, and transition planning services to organisations and individuals nationwide. For booking information, contact michael@lgbtqa.com.
In addition to more than a dozen how-to books on computer software, Woodward has published magazine articles, blogs, op-eds, and other writings on a variety of non-fiction topics. His latest book, Little Boy Lost: True Adventures of Men without Boyhoods, is currently in progress.
LITTLE BOY LOST: True Adventures of Men without Boyhoods
Editor C. Michael Woodward is seeking submissions to Little Boy Lost (working title), an upcoming anthology by transsexual men on the longer-term psychosocial impact of transitioning from female to male.
A note from the Editor
To my FTM brothers:
On the 10th anniversary of becoming Michael, I paused to reflect on my journey thus far. There have been many moments along the way when I’ve noticed pieces of information missing from my psychological databank - sometimes subtle, sometimes profound - about societal expectations of men. Eventually, I realised this data is missing because, perceived as female, I was excluded from the first several decades of programming.
Regardless of one’s identity, expression, orientation, faith, or biology, the world is a very different place for men and for women-the subtleties of which you can’t fully grasp unless you have experienced life in both (or in between) genders. By coming into manhood after several decades “on the wrong hormone”, I have been amazed, dismayed, delighted, angered, frustrated, and generally amused by how profoundly different (and yet not) life is on the other side of the proverbial fence.
I know I am not alone. Tell me your story.
Little Boy Lost: True Adventures of Men without Boyhoods is a collection of short (non-fiction) stories, essays, and poetry addressing these questions or similar considerations:
· What is your most profound/terrifying/entertaining/embarrassing/enlightening story from your journey to manhood?
· How does a Trans man navigate male culture after being raised and socialised as female?
· To whom did/do you turn for advice, coaching, or mentoring?
· Have faith traditions impacted your decisions about transitioning? How has your transition impacted your relationship with your faith community?
· How has your professional/work life been impacted by the absence of male socialisation?
· Parents, are you treated differently as “dad” than you were as “mom”?
· How do you navigate dating, sex, and intimate relationships in mainstream (straight or gay) culture?
· What epiphanies or lessons have you learned about life, about the world, or about yourself? How has your perception of the world changed regarding men, women, masculinity, femininity, sex, sexuality, gender, politics, faith, class, race, ability, etc. …?
· How are FTMs different from cisgender (non-transsexual) men? How are we the same?
· What do you want the world to know about transsexual and/or cisgender men? What do you want newly transitioning men to know?
· For those living stealth (keeping your FTM history hidden), how does that affect your everyday life, your psyche, and your relationships with other people?
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submissions should be in English and approximately 1,000 to 5,000 words in length. (Poetry may be shorter.) Submissions must be your original, non-fiction work, although creativity is encouraged. If your entry has been published previously, please state any previous publishing sources and dates. Multiple submissions allowed, but please send each submission as a separate email.
Authors are preferred to be female-to-male transsexuals who have been living full-time as men (as self-defined) in all aspects of their lives for at least five years. Submissions specifically encouraged from men who transitioned later in life (i.e. age 30 or older). I’m especially looking for new, unpublished writers; non-US writers; people of colour; people with disabilities; and those of various faiths and spiritual practices-and how those experiences influence your perspective of manhood. I may consider a limited number of submissions from partners, friends, or family members if the work expressly addresses the focus of the book.
NOTE: the purpose of this anthology is not to debate the gender binary or gender theory, nor to debate the appropriateness of certain terminology such as “transman” or “FTM” (however, discussion regarding “fitting in” is welcome in submissions). Editor fully acknowledges and embraces all identities, perspectives, and expressions of gender. This book/collection is specifically focused on individuals who were born female-bodied and have a substantial history living as women (regardless of core identity), have gone through the process of a physical and/or legal gender transition that began prior to 2005, and now live full-time as men and are generally acknowledged/accepted as male in daily mainstream life (aka “passing”).
Please submit your writings to littleboylost@lgbtqa.com no later than February 1, 2010, 11:59pm PST.
No attachments - paste your submission directly into the body of the email.
Submissions accepted by email only. Plain text email preferred.
Please include all of the following, in this order, in your email:
1. title of your submission
2. pseudonym or name as you would like it to appear (byline)
3. word count
4. body of submission
5. legal name
6. street address
7. area code and phone number
8. email address
9. the year and your age when transition began
10. a short bio (200 words or less)
11. publication history of this submission, if any
Contributors may use a pseudonym (pen name) for publishing purposes, but must provide legal name and accurate contact information to the editor. Any information submitted (except, obviously, that which is contained in your story/essay/poem and/or your bio), will be remain confidential.
Editor reserves the right to edit submissions for content or length. Selected submissions will be published, collectively or serially, by the editor and a yet-to-be-named publisher. Not all submissions will be published. Submissions will not be returned. Authors selected for publishing will receive a free copy of the book/publication.
About the Editor
C. Michael Woodward is a writer, musician, speaker, consultant, political advisor, peer counsellor, and social justice advocate - in no particular order. He led the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA) for more than five years and worked in variety of roles at Wingspan, southern Arizona’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and Transgender community centre.
Woodward currently serves as Co-Chair of the City of Tucson Commission on GLBT Issues and Chair of The University of Arizona President's LGBTQ Advisory Council. He is a former Board member of Female to Male International (FTMI) and is profiled on Lynn Conway's Successful Transmen, a prestigious website recognising leaders in the international Transgender community. Michael was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Southern Comfort Conference.
Since 2003, Michael has presented training and information about LGBTQ and allied concerns to thousands of people across the country. In 2009, he formed lgbtQ&A Diversity & Inclusion Consulting, providing sexual orientation and gender identity cultural competency, best practices, and transition planning services to organisations and individuals nationwide. For booking information, contact michael@lgbtqa.com.
In addition to more than a dozen how-to books on computer software, Woodward has published magazine articles, blogs, op-eds, and other writings on a variety of non-fiction topics. His latest book, Little Boy Lost: True Adventures of Men without Boyhoods, is currently in progress.