The guys from College Tree Publishing are looking for contributions for their second and third books. Their first book, What We Think: Young Voters Speak Out included essays, poems, and photos from college students all over the country expressing their views “including the war in Iraq, the morality of armed conflict, affirmative action and the draft, gender equality and the place of organized religion in the political arena.”* According to an email I received from Seth Spores, one of the three editors and co-founders of College Tree Publishing, the lads are “contacting many blogs and other forms of media not necessarily connected to Universities, in hopes of reaching a wider base of essayists.”

For, What We Think II, they’re looking for:

Essays, personal reflections, journal entries, short screen plays, poems, and brief quips on any political or social issue. These include, but are not limited to, the following: The War on Terror; The War in Iraq; Bush; The candidates for 2008; God in Government; The Electoral College; Abortion; Supreme Court Justice Appointment; Affirmative Action; The Environment; Red states vs. Blue states – what’s it all about; Young Voter Apathy (is it real); Celebrity and Politics; the Media; And any other issue political or social issue you find compelling.

For What We Think About God:

CTP is looking for essays, personal reflections, journal entries, short screen plays, poems, and brief quips on any theological issue. These include, but are not limited to, the following: Does God Exist; What is God; What gives your life meaning; What Is the Role of Religion; What Is the net Effect of Religion; Are There Absolutes – What Are They?

Criteria:

Quality of Writing – Is the writing grammatically correct? Is the writing consistent and appropriate for the theme of the subject?

Significance of Topic – Is the topic one that is significant and contemporarily relevant?

Creativity of Exploration – Does the piece offer something novel and insightful or does it do a good job of developing an idea that seems personally compelling?

Creativity of Presentation – In some way, let us know that you care what you are writing about. It does not have to be sensationalized, oftentimes truth comes through in truth and candor. Do this through whatever innovative or traditional literary medium way you find most appropriate and authentic to what you want to say.

So if you’re between the ages of 17 and 25 and would like to contribute to one of these projects, drop the lads a line or contribute through their website when it’s working.

What caught my interest? Two of the editors graduated from Gonzaga so they’re practically family.

So…go write something…make it good…send it in. The deadline is 1 June 2005 so I’ll probably prod you about it again.

*From Amazon.