The model for the Peace Corps at 50 series is the Travelers’ Tales series (www.travelerstales.com). We will be looking for nonfiction stories that reflect the full range of experience in the Peace Corps, from the hilarious to the grim. On that continuum reside all the variations on the theme of dealing with the unfamiliar.

Most volunteers experience a creeping awareness that the culture shock they thought might be triggered by, say, an elephant strolling through the bazaar just outside the front door, is more subtle. Just when you think, “Wow, things are different, but I’m fine and well adjusted,” in slinks the vague disorientation brought on by an accumulation of the little things, such as your co-worker’s feeling the edge of your simple sari and declaring it is kutcha and totally inappropriate to wear out to the villages. And then, of course, there is the other culture shock that comes with the return: seeing all the throw-away bags and packaging at McDonalds, the millions of product choices at the drug and grocery stores, the SUVs. In more recent years, volunteers have been allowed to visit the U.S. during their service (not permitted early on). These experiences could be an actual part of the Peace Corps experience. It’s all about the story.

We will be looking for stories that show rather than tell, that appeal to the senses. A good story might have some strong language or describe some unsettling events. Good is the operative word here. So while we will do some editing of accepted work for considerations of style, grammar, or length and may also alter the title, we will not bowdlerize your prose.

Topics

Your story can be about anything. We will divide each book into sections that focus loosely on Expectations, Peace Corps Tasks, Unexpected Shadows, and the Context of History.

Length

Stories need to be long enough to get to the end, but successful stories will be highly focused, clear, and vivid. We can help with some editing, but give yourself your best shot by taking the time to revise and trim out those patches of self-indulgence. Shoot for a length between a paragraph and 15 pages or so.

Format

Please submit all stories as double-spaced Word (doc) or rich text (rtf) documents. Please put your name and title on each page, and then number your pages. Please do not send your submissions as PDF files. We won’t be able to do anything with them.

Rights

We are interested in non-exclusive rights, in all languages, throughout the world. Our use of the material does not restrict your rights in any way to have your story reprinted elsewhere. Feel free to submit a story that has been previously published. You just need to have retained the copyright or be able to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reprint the material.

Biographical Information

Please include a few sentences about yourself, something offbeat and fun in addition to the usual list of accomplishments.

Deadline for Submission

The Peace Corps will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2011. Given the glacial pace at which books are published, we will need to have all submissions in as soon as possible. Please contact Jane Albritton (jane.albritton@peacecorpsat50.org) for more details.

Form of Submission

Via the web: Click here!

Regular mail:
We do not discriminate against the technically challenged. And so, if you absolutely, positively cannot send your submission in an electronic form, then by all means send your hard copy to:
Peace Corps at 50
PO Box 1219
Fort Collins, CO 80522

Remuneration

All that we can possibly offer you in return for your excellent story is a free copy of the book and the obvious pleasure of seeing your work in print. We think that this project is an important part of preserving Peace Corps stories for those in the next millennium who might be amazed that an organization begun as a mix of idealism and political strategy with no plan in place for how it would be pulled off could last (and even thrive) through both Democratic and Republican administrations, through cold wars and hot wars, and though the ebb and flow of political expediency. Pretty amazing.