Tawnshi. Boozhoo. Yowtz. ?E’dlanet’é. She:kon. Kwe. Minatakushini. Hey friends and relatives from all across the Turtle’s back, this is Katherena Vermette and Warren Cariou here. We are two Métis writers from Winnipeg, and we’ve been asked to be a part of something special that is happening in the coming months. We hope you’ll want to be a part of it too.
Our Indigenous peoples have been telling stories forever on this land, and today we continue to assert our place here in new and powerful ways. In celebration of those stories, Prairie Fire and CV2 magazines have joined up with the Winnipeg International Writers’ Festival to create a joint issue in 2018 showcasing new work by Indigenous writers. They have asked us to edit this special issue and we are honoured to accept the task. We believe in these three organizations and we want to help them gather Indigenous stories together in a good way. Our working title for this special issue is ndncountry, in honour of the land that inspires and nourishes so many of our stories.
But for all of this to succeed we need your help, and the help of many more First Nations, Métis and Inuit writers. We ask you to send us your stories, your poems, your memoirs, your literary experiments, and any other writing that fits the parameters listed below. We want to represent Indigenous voices from across the country, including from the far north, from our Francophone regions, from the rez and from the city. We also want to show the diversity of our communities, and we seek writers of different ages, genders, abilities and orientations. Writing that is connected to oral traditions is welcome, and non-standard formats are fine. The use of Indigenous language(s) in your work and translations are also welcome.
Deadline for submission is December 15, 2017, and chosen work will be published in the ndncountry special issue in Fall 2018 and paid for upon publication.
With your submission, please include a brief statement of your Indigenous heritage. A requirement of our funders is that writers should be residents of the territory claimed by Canada.
Regardless of how you submit, please make sure that you clearly indicate that you are submitting to ndncountry. Also, please include all your contact information and a 3-5 line bio.
Length:
Prose and creative non-fiction: 5,000 words.
Poetry: three to five poems, no longer than ten pages in total.
Experimental work: surprise us with work that breaks new ground in genre, style or structure. The length limit of 5,000 words also applies to this work.
For longer pieces please query Prairie Fire at prfire@mts.net or 204 943 9066 before sending.
For complete submission guidelines go to www.contemporaryverse2.ca or www.prairiefire.ca.
How to Submit to ndncountry:
Submit online through CV2’s Submittable portal
After September 1st, 2017 you can also submit directly via CV2’s website at: contemporaryverse2.ca Click on submit and follow the links.
If you do not have online access, need assistance, or have questions contact Hannah Green, CV2’s Assistant Managing Editor at: submissions@contemporaryverse2.ca or call 204 949 1365, and she will be happy to help.
For written queries, please send to:
Prairie Fire Press
423-100 Arthur Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 1H3
Graphic Background Designed by Freepik