A good friend and I are working on compiling a literary anthology on American Muslim women’s experiences with courtship and dating.
If you can post the information below on your website or direct people to this entry, I would deeply appreciate it. We want as many women to hear about this opportunity as possible!
CALL FOR STORIES
Announcing a call for non-fiction, personal stories by American Muslim women on courtship and/or dating to be published in an anthology.
We are looking for talented writers to pitch well-written, surprising and compelling anecdotes for a book on loving and looking for love while Muslim.
WHY A BOOK ABOUT COURTSHIP/DATING?
There is a stereotype about Muslim women out there that does not show them as the thinking, feeling, lively people with loving hearts and independent minds that we know them to be. Partially, this is because there just aren’t enough real-life stories about Muslim women being told by Muslim women themselves.
The purpose of this collection is to take control of our narrative by telling our own stories, emphasizing the humanity we all share and celebrating the quirks that make us unique. We hope to do that through stories about courtship/dating because these rituals exist in every societal context; the search for a partner is universal.
We’re excited at the prospect of amplifying the voices of American Muslim women. If you think such perspectives need to be heard too, we invite you to contribute your story!
DETAILS
Stories must be auto-biographical and written by American Muslim women, either born in and/or predominantly raised in the United States . We are looking for contributors who identify as American and as Muslim, whether by birth or conversion, and who reflect a broad range of religious perspectives, from orthodox to cultural to secular.
Write about a transformative episode that defined your courtship/dating experience. Think about the epiphany, the crystallizing moment: At what point in your life did your religious identity play a role in your search for a partner? Did other factors, such as ethnicity, race, class, etc. merge or collide with your religious identity?
We want real-life stories rich with details so they read like fiction. We want more story-telling and less essay-like commentary.
Diversity: Contributions are welcome from Muslim women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, born and convert Muslims, Sunnis/Shiites, disabled, single, engaged, married, divorced, or widowed.
In order for your story to be considered, please send us the following information by Tuesday, January 15th. All responses will be treated as confidential.
*Your full name
*Age
*Your geographic location
*E-mail address or phone number
*Ethnic/racial background
*Whether Muslim by birth or conversion
*A 300-500 word pitch describing the highlights of your story.
Pitches will be selected based on their literary merit. You already know what makes good writing: humor, drama, irony, triumph, and focus. Bring your anecdote to life with vivid characterization, plot, and surprising real-life details. Draw us in and leave us craving more of your story!
Contact us: Please send your pitch and all other inquiries to: relationship.anthology@gmail.com
Notification: We hope to make our selections by February 15, 2008. Final stories will be due May 1, 2008. Stories should range between 1,500 and 4,000 words.
All submissions may not be accepted, but every submission will be considered.
12 comments
Comments feed for this article
December 13, 2007 at 7:26 am
a.
what a wonderful idea! I’m a bit disappointed that it’s restricted to american muslim women only, but I suppose you have to contain the scope of this somehow! Please keep us updated on this project - I’d love to buy a copy when this comes out. I’d also love to help edit if that’s possible… meanwhile, i’ll just pass this around to women who quality that I can think of.
December 13, 2007 at 8:30 am
Mezba
And only women are allowed to participate? Hmmph! :-p
December 13, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Baraka
Salaam,
a.: It originally began as a more open project but after an intensive meeting on Saturday we felt that “American Muslim” had to be one of the perimeters to elicit a more focused book.
Thanks for spreading the word!
Mezba: How about this: If the project does well, we’ll do a man-book next
Warmly,
Baraka
December 13, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Aisha
I’m working on it!
December 14, 2007 at 12:41 am
Safiya
Salaam Alaikum,
Aww… I wanted to share my story (it’s a good one) but I am also the wrong nationality.
Still, it sounds like a wonderful idea and I wish you all the best for it
December 15, 2007 at 3:59 am
Sumaiya
salaams
Not fair! ‘Indian muslim women, specially those living in India too reflect a broad range of religious perspectives, from orthodox to cultural to secular.
we also have real stories on courting 
unfortumately we also live in the stereotype that you talk about.. hopefully the next compilation you plan to produce will accept entries from all over..
December 15, 2007 at 8:55 am
irean
What about American women married to Muslim men and the culture clash that occurs when entering into that sort of arrangement? I’m American and my husband is Muslim which means our relationship, our home, and all of the rules that govern our lives are Islamic… Despite the fact that I’m not.
December 16, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Baraka
Salaam all,
Aisha: Looking forward to reading your pitch!
Safiya: There probably will be a space for that sharing to happen eventually on the website. Stay tuned!
Sumaiya: It would be fascinating to hear stories on this topic from around the world - and from a different perspective than the dominant narrative we’re each exposed to in our respective countries.
Perhaps you, Safiya or other writers might be interested in collecting and highlighting those stories in your own locales? It would make an awesome global project!
Irean: Welcome!
That’s a perspective that needs to be heard and explored. However, the purpose of this collection is to highlight real-life stories about Muslim women as told by Muslim women themselves.
Thank you all for your interest and for - hopefully- helping to spread the word!
Warmly,
Baraka
December 20, 2007 at 8:35 am
Opportunity to write for an anthology « Lightness of Being…
[...] Please check out dear Baraka’s call for stories and writers. “We are looking for talented writers to pitch well-written, surprising and compelling anecdote… [...]
December 26, 2007 at 6:59 am
Shiraz
This sounds like a fabulous idea! Yes, the arts exist too! So does love! And dating!
Had I been a woman, and a bit more organized, I might submit something. I’m planning on writing a story for a short story contest here in the Twin Cities but the deadline is a month later. I have yet to start on it…sigh…
January 11, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Baraka
Thanks Shiraz, even if you can’t write because of your gender, I do hope you’ll spread the word!
January 17, 2008 at 7:39 am
Shiraz
I didn’t know where else to post this, but I saw my sister joined the Facebook group promoting this new “digital magazine for the Muslim woman”: RUSH Magazine.