Seeking submissions of… (books)

level:deepsouth is open to contributions about the books that were meaningful to GenXers in the Deep South, and there are three different ways to contribute.

First, if the book is about life in the Deep South in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s and all you really want to do is send the title and the author’s name, you can submit it for the lists. This offer is definitely open to writers and publishers who want their titles included.

Second, if the book is about life in the Deep South in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s and you want to write about it, you could write a review and submit that.

Third, if the books isn’t about life in the Deep South in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s but you want to write about it, you could write something about what the book is and why it was meaningful to you growing up as a GenXer in the Deep South, then submit that for the in print section. For that matter, the in print section of level:deepsouth is also open to works about the favorite bookstores, bookshelves, libraries, or newsstands where we got our books.


 

A reading list from “level:deepsouth” in-progress

Since the first works were published in July, level:deepsouth has covered some territory but is still a long way from telling the whole of this complex story. Works have been published from six states, with two book reviews (and two more on the way), and I’m looking forward to hearing from more Generation-X writers. Below is a list of available readings, organized by state. And the call for submissions remains wide open!

Alabama

“Dinner on the Grounds” by Luisa Kay Reyes

“The Baby Blue Bomber” by Adam Powell

“Revved Up like a What?” by Vallie Lynn Watson

“That Vibrant Community” by Foster Dickson

“1980s Montgomery: Remembered and Now Considered” by Adrienne Gaines

Florida

“Southern Christian Soccer-Punk and Other Unicorns” by Ben Beard

“Remy Zero’s Villa Elaine (1998)” by Charles Reed

Georgia

“That was Lana” by William Nesbitt

“Cloves” by William Nesbitt

Kentucky

“Camp Earl Wallace” by Elena Vale Wahl

“A Summer, A Fall” by Wes Blake

North Carolina

“R.E.M at the Mall” by Peter Stavros

Texas

“Bitter Melon Soup” by Rob Linné

in print— for the books, magazines, libraries, bookstores, and bookshelves of Generation X

The in print section of level:deepsouth is for recollections and ruminations on a book or magazine or even a bookstore or favorite library that was important, for whatever reason. In an era before the internet, books and magazines were how we got information, and bookstores – independent bookstores – and libraries, both public and personal, were how we got a hold of these precious items. Whether it was a worn paperback copy of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar or a plastic-coated library edition of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time that never got returned or a surprisingly meaningful novel that came in the form of a class assignment, whether it was your parent’s Funk & Wagnall’s encyclopedia set or some family’s members shelf full of National Geographics, books and magazines were hallmarks of identity for many Gen-Xers. And while it’s important to write about real events and real people, it’s also important to give some of our attention to the books, writers, magazines, booksellers, and newsstands that affected our lives, too.

To learn more about submitting to level:deepsouth‘s in print section, click here.