Guest Post by Charity Bishop
[Ed. note: Some time ago, we discussed celebrating Dickens's bicentennial by having those interested submit articles for a special Dickens issue of a magazine called Costume Chronicles. The magazine's name has since been changed to Charity's Tude -- and here's Charity herself to tell you all about it! --GRD]
Hello, Dickens Fans!
In honor of his Bicentennial, the January and Feburary 2012 issue of Charity’s Tude is going to revolve entirely around Charles Dickens. I know some of you may be interested in contributing to this collection, so here is all the necessary information you might need.
Our Requirements: To be one of my writers you must have a decent idea and reasonable writing skills. I am not super picky but well-written, well-thought-out material is always highly valued. What I want most from my contributions is for the author to approach an interesting angle of their subject in order to make the reader see it in a different or better-illuminated light.
For example, if you were going to write about Pip in Great Expectations, you would not want to merely summarize his role in the story. Give enough of it so that readers unfamiliar with the work are not “lost” but then talk about a nuance of Pip -- what you like or dislike about him, what you believe Dickens was saying through his behavior, how it paralleled an idealistic viewpoint of the age, etc. Please have an idea of what you would like to write when you come to me. Because topics are limited, it helps me a great deal if I know what your subject matter is. If you want to write about a specific character, pairing, incident, or aspect of the plot, it frees up other writers to request the same book/film and talk about something else in the storyline. Be specific and I will love you forever. (Don’t just say, “Can I write about Bleak House?” Say, “I would like to write about such and such in Bleak House.”)
You have several months in which to come up with ideas. The Dickens theme is already known to my current writing staff but will not be officially announced to the public until Dec 1 and the release of our winter issue. I recommend, because our issues fill up relatively fast*, that you make your request as soon as you have some idea of what you would like to write about.
What I Want: Anything pertaining to Dickens -- material about his books and short stories, essays on his relationships with other notable writers of the time, comparisons of film adaptations, how the books differ from the films, a write-up about his life, an article about his literary magazine, etc. Any character, any book, any theme… use your imagination and have fun with it.
Pertinent Information: Here is everything else I can think of (word counts, deadlines, etc.) that might be useful to you.
I like to do my publication without any orphan pages, so please stick fairly close to these word counts, since they allow for reasonably-sized images.
Short Article: 880
Medium Length: 1,1500
Long: 2,000 (nothing over this, please)
I need your submission request by December 15, 2011. All material is due by January 17, 2011. Extensions are permitted but only in extreme situations, since I have only two weeks to get everything formatted, organized, and proofread before its release. (If you are held hostage by Bill Sikes, you get an extension. Hehe.)
Please familiarize yourself with our style through current and past issues, and address all submissions to: charitystude at gmail.com. I am happy to answer any questions here on the blog or through direct correspondence.
Thank you for your time and interest!
Charity Bishop
* If there is enough interest in submissions, I will consider two Dickens issues, the first for the Bicentennial and the second for later in the year.
I think you had another number in mind for medium length, eh?
Posted by: Claudia Riiff Finseth | January 19, 2012 at 06:54 PM