Have you been waiting to share your experience with the Mendocino Lake Complex fire, but weren't sure how you would tell it? Maybe you can't put it into words, because you express yourself through art. Or you can speak to others about it, but would have trouble putting it down in writing. If you feel ready to share, the Ukiah Library is ready to listen. The Mendocino County Library, Ukiah Branch and Ukiah Valley Friends of the Library are accepting submissions for the Mendo Fire Storybook project. Please help us in telling the story of our communities - the sorrows, love, and resiliency. Our little corner of the world deserves to be remembered.
We are looking for: Written and visual works, including essays, prose, & narratives, poetry, 2-dimensional art and photographs. Topics may include (but are by no means limited to) what life was like before, what the fire experience was like for you, how life has been in the aftermath, what you have learned, or what others should know. If you are willing to verbally tell your story, we have writers interested in meeting with you to compose your story together. Please contact the Ukiah Library at (707) 463-4490 to schedule an interview.
We realize that asking you to bare your soul and then placing restrictions on it might be difficult. If possible, though, please limit word count to 2500 words or less (about 5 8.5”x11” pages, single-spaced) Images should be in .JPG or .GIF format, and 300dpi at 100% resolution is best. We would be honored to assist you with scanning images if needed.
Submissions are due no later than September 29th, 2018.
Editors will then assemble submissions which will undergo a selection process, and finally publish a compilation of the written and visual works into a book. The book will be available for sale; people whose submissions were selected will receive a copy at no cost, and proceeds will go to the Disaster Fund for Mendocino County.
Please email submissions to MendoFireStorybook@gmail.com. For questions or comments or to receive a submission form, email MendoFireStorybook@gmail.com, call (707) 234-2865, or visit the Mendocino County Library, Ukiah Branch.
