CALL FOR PROPOSALS

HOME:

an exploration
of being & belonging
in resistance

Once home was a far way off, a place I had never been to but knew well out of my mother’s mouth…

Zami: A New Spelling of my Name,  Audre Lorde

Submission Guidelines

  • This collection aims to convey the multifaceted nature of (un)belonging to place, people, and self through critical and/or queer of color critique perspectives. 

    up//root asks that contributors’ submissions interrogate coloniality, white supremacy, patriarchy, white feminism, and/or racial capitalism as they impact archives, libraries, information workers, LIS education, and/or the information landscape. 

    up//root asks that contributors’ works cite Black, Indigenous & People of Color-identifying (BIPOC) creators exclusively. Elevating & centering the works of racialized people is cornerstone to the worldbuilding upon which up//root is founded.  

    Written submissions not to exceed 750~1000 words. This will be a non-peer reviewed collection. No monetary compensation will be offered.

  • Where/who is home to you? Where do you find home? 

    When do you feel most attached to home? Where and how is home being remade?

    How do systems of violence (imperialism, white supremacy, queerphobia, etc.) disrupt the home? How does one maintain home in the face of violence?

    How does home exist both within & outside of the body?

  • Suggested topics for submissions (not limited to). Consider how the following themes or trends impact and intersect with libraries, archives, memory work and collections. 
    - Ancestral lands; origins; migration 
    - Community ties, chosen family & care practices
    - Environmentalism & climate justice
    - Gentrification; housing justice
    - Career changes & transitions
    - Preserving family or community histories

    Suggested formats of interest (not limited to)

    -Poetry
    - Illustration 
    - Photo series; visual arts media
    - Personal narrative 
    - Audio or video
    - Counterstory or opinion
    - Speculative fiction 
     

…For if we lived correctly and  with frugality, looked both ways before crossing the street, then someday we would arrive back in the sweet place, back home. 

Zami: A New Spelling of my Name,  Audre Lorde

Home, noun.

HOME, noun. One’s native land; the place or country in which one dwells; the place where one’s ancestors dwell or dwelt.

HOME, noun. The locality where a thing is usually found, or was first found, or where it is naturally abundant; habitat; seat.

HOME, noun. (heading) A focus point.

HOME, noun. (gaming) (in various games) The ultimate point aimed at in a progress; the goal.

HOME, noun. (Internet) The landing page of a website; the site's homepage.

HOME, verb. (usually with "in on") To seek or aim for something.

HOME, noun. A dwelling.

HOME, noun. One’s own dwelling place; the house or structure in which one lives; especially the house in which one lives with [one’s] family; the habitual abode of one’s family; also, one’s birthplace.

HOME, noun. The place where a person was raised; Childhood or parental home; home of one’s parents or guardian.

HOME, noun. A place of refuge, rest or care; an asylum.

HOME, noun. (by extension) The grave; the final rest; also, the native and eternal dwelling place of the soul.

(Wiktionary.org, 2023)

Submit pitches by April 30, 2023

Projected publication date for series June 2023.