Dear Minnesota Atheists,

 

You are invited to submit a paper for possible inclusion in a new book scheduled to be published in late 2012. The book, with the working title Atheist Voices of Minnesota, will be a collection of primarily autobiographical writings from atheists living in or who are from Minnesota. All proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit Minnesota Atheists, a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

 

Each essay should offer readers a unique atheist perspective. These should be personal narratives from your life or observations which would be a poignant read for others. The account may be humorous, sad, surprising, quirky—whatever works. Possible themes might include, but are by no means limited to:

• A non-traditional atheist experience
• Family relationships
• Coming out
• Your “conversion” to atheism
• Raising atheist children
• An as yet untold story from your life
• Witty analysis about atheism in the world today

These are only examples. We expect to be surprised by what we find in the submissions.

The project has two goals: to create a unique outreach tool for atheism here in Minnesota, and to financially support Minnesota Atheists. As an outreach tool, the book will cast atheism in a positive, personal light, and will be something that anyone, no matter their point of view, will be able to read and find interesting. What this book will not be is a collection of diatribes against religion, or science writings. There is enough of that already out there. This will be a volume of positive, personal stories of individual lives. It will be professionally published and widely distributed, including on amazon.com. Advance copies of this book will be submitted for reviews in newspapers, journals, and other media outlets. We will also seek advance endorsements.

 

Not all submissions will be accepted for publication. Essay selection will be based on the quality of the writing and the impact of the story. The book’s editorial board will be looking to include a wide variety stories from a wide variety of people, and so selections will also be made with an eye on diversity.

This is an all volunteer project—a collaborative effort to help advance atheism and to support Minnesota Atheists. No individuals working on this project, including authors, will receive any financial benefit. Although authors of accepted submissions will not be paid, they will receive two complementary copies of the book and will have a 40% author’s discount available for purchasing additional copies.

Here are some additional submission guidelines:

• The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2011. Feel free to submit your essay at any time from now until then.
• Maximum length is 4,500 words. There is no minimum length.
• Papers must be submitted electronically, as an attachment, to mnatheistbook@gmail.com.
• You will receive a confirmation email verifying that we received your paper.
• Papers should be submitted in MS Word. If you are unable to use or access MS Word, please contact us at mnatheistbook@gmail.com.

   

Include your name and contact information in the email, but not in the Word file. Papers will be read “blind” by the book’s Editorial Board.

We are also seeking volunteers to help with the production and promotion of this book, particularly with copy editing, proofreading, advertising and marketing. If you are willing to help, and have strength or experience in any of these areas, or if you think you can help with this project in another way, please email us at mnatheistbook@gmail.com. All project volunteers will be thanked in the book.

If you have any question about this project, submitting a paper, or how you can help, please feel free to contact us at mnatheistbook@gmail.com.

 

Thank you,

Editorial Board (
August Berkshire, 
Jill Carlson, 
Mike Haubrich
, Eric Jayne, 
Bill Lehto, 
James Zimmerman)