We
are pleased to announce the contributors to our fifth themed anthology, Puzzles of Faith and Patterns of Doubt:
Short Stories and Poems.
We
received over 370 individual pieces for this anthology, and it has taken us
quite a long time to read through and consider all of the work. We are
grateful to all who submitted and acknowledge their support. Of course, we
could not accept everything – we had to make difficult decisions and eliminated
some very fine stories and poems. In the end, we have accepted only 9% of what
was submitted, far below our usual 15% acceptance rate.
Each
anthology has been different, and this one is no exception: we had some general
ideas about what we wanted to read (what we thought we’d receive on the theme
of faith and doubt), but then we were pleasantly surprised (as always) by the
creativity of the writers (and their different reflections on the
theme), so we followed that lead.
Some
names you might recognize from previous anthologies, but we have quite a number
of new contributors to add to our roster. All are accomplished writers. Unless
we change our minds, we provide here a preliminary breakdown of how the
finished book will be laid out, after a Preface by Gregory and Fredericka and a
Foreword by the Reverend David Rommereim (Pastor, the Lutheran Church of the
Good Shepherd, Brooklyn).
Compiling
the accepted submissions in the proper layout, copyediting and proofreading (by
several people, including our current editorial interns Tyler Perkins and
Kimberly Resnick), all have yet to be done. Gregory was responsible for the
cover photography on all of the anthologies so far, but we are pleased to note
that Puzzles of Faith and Patterns of
Doubt will most likely feature photography (an angel in the garden of the
Carmelite Monastery, Dublin) by Mary Kenefick Keating. In spite of the work, we
enjoy the process of these book projects and ask, again, for your patience as
we move forward to a February 2013 publication date.
Accepted authors and works, probable sequence:
§ Larry Lefkowitz, “The Shoemaker”
§ Patty Somlo, “Since Leticia Williams
Saw Jesus”
§ Arthur Powers, “Padre
Raimundo’s Army”
§ Frank Russo, poems, “In the
Museum of Creation,” “Nativity of Christ Cathedral, Riga,” “Blind Faith,” “Good
Friday, Lake Victoria,” “The Caves of Atapuerca”
§ Rivka Keren, “Zipora”
§ Michele Merens, “Hilde’s Son,
The Rabbi”
§ Julie Nichols, “One Traveler”
§ Atar Hadari, poems, “The Empty
Synagogue,” “Aroma,” “Honey,” “Mr. Taylor,” “Prayers,” “High Windows,” “Healers,”
“Silence”
§ Gary Guinn, “The Scar”
§ William C. Bamberger, “In the
Details”
§ Andrea Vojtko, “Searching for
Life on Mars”
§ Bill Scalia, poems, “Dawn, Day
1,” “When God Called Adam from the Dirt,” “The Mass of Pallas Athena,” “Intercession
(The Authenticity Dream),” “The Revival,” “Vastation,” “The End of Time”
§ Edie Cottrell, “Pumpkin Patch”
§ Joey Dean Hale, “Access Closed”
§ Roberta Allen, “Odd”
