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[Insomniac Press'] ... innovation is the necessary shot in the arm for the convention-bound world of literary publishing.
id Magazine
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
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Dyke Moms, Donor Dads, and Reconceiving the Queer Family:
An Anthology
You're an out dyke about town. You meet someone, shack up, get a cat. You survive the non-monogamy negotiations and a renovation, get jobs in your fields, do lots of therapy, and decide it's time to expand beyond your twosome into the world of parenthood. Being enterprising women with a solid do-it-yourself streak, you decide to forgo the impersonality and expense of a sperm bank and ask Tony, your gay friend from college, to donate some sperm to the cause. What could be simpler? A few months, a few syringes, some egg white and folic acid, a bit of awkwardness, and baby will make three.
Uh, make that four. Or five. Or maybe six. Because Tony (who, oddly, didn't just miraculously vaporize as soon as the child was conceived) has a mother and a partner, both of whom want a relationship to the child. Like it or not, baby's made something a lot more than what you bargained for. But what?
This anthology, to be published in Spring 2009 by Toronto's Insomniac Press, will explore, through personal essays and first-person accounts, the phenomenon of lesbian moms (single and coupled) who choose male friends or acquaintances, rather than an anonymous sperm donor, to father their children.
Submit!
With no clear models to follow, this new version of the queer family is creating its own. That's where this anthology comes in. We are seeking stories that are funny, touching, heartbreaking, provocative, thoughtful — and very, very relevant to the new queer (and queer-positive) family.
We are looking for creative non-fiction and first-person accounts by
- lesbian, bisexual, transgender and two-spirited mothers who have chosen known sperm donors in order to conceive;
- men who have become sperm donors to them;
- their partners, their children, and other invested parties.
Submissions might explore (but should not be limited to) the following issues and themes:
- When baby-making doesn't take or takes too long; dealing with infertility, miscarriage, or even routine insemination is difficult enough for the average couple, so what happens when the donor also becomes emotionally involved? What happens when negotiations break down?
- Can his parents come to visit? Is it rude to insist they stay in a hotel? With new family configurations come new questions of etiquette. How to deal gracefully (or at least sanely) with an often unexpected extended family.
- The other mother: What happens to the experience of non-biological mothers when a biological "Dad" is also part of the picture? Non-biological mothers in lesbian partnerships have long had to deal with issues of belonging and recognition in a society that is slow to recognize them as parents. Non-biological moms talk about the processes and challenges of claiming their roles as primary parents.
- "Daddy" doesn't mean what it used to ... How does the choice to become a donor redefine circles of gay male friends and the identities of gay men? From sperm count and motility to number of children fathered, the "donor" phenomenon has sparked new concerns and conversations among gay men.
- My husband is sleeping with lesbians! What does it mean when your partner is the father of the new baby — but the baby isn't yours? From straight women who never thought they wanted kids to gay men who must put up with their boyfriends' new "focus," the new "donor" family has far-reaching implications.
- What if the birth changes everything? The donor who didn't want to be overly involved is smitten with "his" new son or daughter. On top of figuring out how to live with a newborn, the new moms must find a way to negotiate the demands of a relationship they didn't realize they were entering into.
- Gay divorce: What happens to the donor if the moms split up? What happens when the relationship between moms and donor deteriorates?
To submit, send two double-spaced hard copies and an electronic copy on disc (in .rtf format) to the address below. Submissions should not exceed 15 pages or 7,500 words. Please left-justify your submission and use a serif font (e.g., Times New Roman) in 12-point size.
Please include your name, address, telephone number, email address, and a brief bio (100 words). Submissions will not be returned. Emailed submissions will not be considered.
Deadline for submissions: September 15, 2008
Contact us
Chloë Brushwood Rose & Susan Goldberg, Editors
Reconceiving Anthology
c/o Dr. Chloë Brushwood Rose
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada
reconceivinganthology@gmail.com
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