Calling All Peace Corps Writers!

Award winning novelist Joseph Monninger (Burkina Faso 1975-77) has a good idea. He suggested that www.peacecorpsworldwide.org start publishing on this site–perhaps one a month–a short story written by an RPCV.

As Joe wrote me, “everyone has one fiction story sitting in our desk with nowhere to publish”….true enough. (In fact, I have more than one.)

So if you all are up for it—and to make my life even more complicated than it is–Marian and I will can start publishing short stories–fiction only–on the site, and when we have enough, publish the best as a PeaceCorpsWriters book?

Some ground rules:

1) The story can be on any topic–fiction only–and we would like an international angle.
2) Stories can’t be longer than 10,000 words (unless it is really, really good!)
3) Send it to me by email.
4) We will publish it for free; you’ll keep all rights.
5) Send a short narrative bio of yourself, where you were in the PC, what you did, and where you are now.
6) Also send a short narrative of how, why and what got you to think about and writing this particular story.
7) Include also (if possible) a photo of yourself as a PCV; yes, we all looked a lot better then!

If we have enough great fictional short stories to publish as a collection any money generated will be used to award Peace Corps writers.

How does that sound?

So, lets begin. I’ll publish the first story next week.