Anthology Deadline Extended

Thank you to all of you who have submitted stories.  They are much appreciated.  To anyone still writing, or thinking of writing, the deadline for stories has been extended until Oct. 1, 2008.  Thanks.

MK Anthology Submissions Call

What:  Are you an MK bursting to get your story heard?  Well then, we want to hear from you.  We are currently working to publish  an anthology of quality non-fiction MK stories that honestly examine the MK experience from multiple perspectives.  We want people to be challenged and encouraged, to be laughing and crying after reading this book.  We want MKs to be able to find themselves in this anthology, and for non-MKs to understand the heights and depths that MKs wrestle with.  If this sounds like your kind of book, send us your stories.

The Issues: Stories can be told in any style ranging from heart-warming anecdotes to the edgy and philosophical.  Stories can be from any stage in an MKs life.  Possible topics can include, but not be limited to, issues of faith and God, the Mission, transitions, schooling, family, passports, joy, language, and life after transitions.  Stories should also be honest in depicting the different realities of the contemporary MK experience.  As such, preference will be given to authors under the age of thirty.  This book will also have a primary focus on the experiences of MKs who’s passport and/or field countries are in Asia.  If you are an MK not fitting these parameters who wishes to submit a story, you should contact the editors with your idea.  We may still be interested.  If you want to write, but you having trouble settling on a particular story or topic, please contact us and we can help you discern the right story to tell.

Who: Stephen Ullstrom, an adult OMF MK from Taiwan, and OMF International are working together to compile and publish this book. 

Format:  Submissions should be between 3,000-10,000 words, and be double spaced, in Times New Roman, 12 pt font.  Multiple submissions accepted.  Submissions must also include a one page cover letter that states the following: full name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, age, mission organization(s), countries lived in, and length of stay in each country.  The cover letter must also include a brief description of your submission and its themes, and why you wrote that particular story.  If submitting multiple stories, please include one cover letter per story.

Submission Due Date: August 31, 2008

Queries and Submissions to: mkanthology@gmail.com

FAQs: www.stephenullstrom.wordpress.com/mk-anthology/

MK Devotional

Thanks to MKplanet for letting me know of this.  Some folks with MuKappa are working to put together an MK devotional to help MKs in their transitions back to their passport countries.  The deadline for submissions has been extended, and so I commend this to any MKs reading this post.  I think transitions can often be harder than we anticipate, or can happen in ways unexpected, and so it is good for us to reflect back, and also for us to support, if they want help, our ‘returning’ brothers and sisters.

News from MuKappa: Call for Submissions – MK Devotional
• MuKappa is hoping to compile a devotional for MKs, by MKs. This 365 day devotional aims to encourage MKs during their first year “back” from the mission field.

• We are looking for journal-entry style submissions from your lives about how God met you during that year. Attached to a Bible verse, these journal-entries should include a story that addresses one or more of the common issues that MKs deal with during this year of transition, including, but not limited to: loneliness, depression, grief, loss, identity, relationships, transition, re-entry, cross-culture, acceptance. The aim of this journal-entry story is to encourage someone else who is wrestling with these same issues.

• Entries should be approximately 300 words, and signed with your name and respective country or countries. Example: Jim, Zambia & Ireland. Multiple submissions are accepted.

• E-mail submissions to: mkdevotional@gmail.com
• The deadline has been extended
• For more info check out: http://mkdevotional.googlepages.com/home

Georgian Saints Review

My review of the book Lives of the Georgian Saints by Archpriest Zacharia Machitadze (St. Herman of Alaska Press, 2006) is now up at Orthodox Christian Books.  It can be found here. As a preview, this book is a keeper.  The content is fascinating, and aesthetics-wise, this is one of the best biographical books I have ever seen.

Oh, and for any Orthodox readers, and everyone else, CHRIST IS RISEN.

(and in honor of all things Georgian)

KRISTE AGHASDGA!

St. Seraphim Review

My review on the book Life and Teaching of Saint Seraphim of Sarov by N. Puretzki and the Monastery of Sarov (Gozalov Books, 2007) is now up at Orthodox Christian Books.  It can be found here.

The Arrival – A Book for All Ye Global Nomads

I recently discovered this book at the Regent College bookstore.  It is The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, and is a surreal story told from the point of view of a man immigrating to an America-like country. Beyond the incredible visuals, which are drawn as old photographs, the best part of this book is that it is completely wordless.  That’s right – the entire story, including a few subplots, is told entirely though the graphics.  And yet, with some attention to the details, the story line is quite clear and very moving.

Even better, when checking out Shaun Tan’s website, I discovered that he is also the author and illustrator of the book The Red Tree, which is a picture book about depression.  A classmate of mine brought that book in recently to my Children’s Literature class, and I was very impressed.

So, I now have a new book to savor and share, a new author to keep my eye on, and for all you immigrants and global nomads, and everyone else, find and ‘read’ this book.  You won’t be disappointed.

MK Stage Play

Take Me Home

A short, bittersweet, and semi-autobiographical stage play about a couple of MKs in their passport country struggling with their identity.

It was recently dramatically read at the Brave New Play Rites Festival at UBC.  The next reading will be sometime before the end of April at the Menno Simons Centre.  (Those pesky exams are making scheduling difficult!  The time will be posted later.)  This will be done informally by myself and a friend for my housemates who couldn’t make the festival.  Others are welcome to attend.

If anyone is interested in reading or performing this play elsewhere, please contact me at stephenullstrom (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Book Review Up

My first book review for Orthodox Christian Books is now up.  It is on the book “Mysteries of Silence,” by poet Christopher Lewis, (Anaphora Press, 2007), and can be found here.