Foodlore: Call for Submissions

I just heard of an intriguing project. Writer Jennifer Heath is seeking contributions to a new anthology, Foodlore, "wherein writers invent origin myths for their favorite foods." The deadline is April 15, 2008.


Here are the details:

2,000 minimum. 5,000 words tops. So far, fifteen writers have done foods from lamb stew to fish and mudpies to artichokes and primordial soup to the vanilla bean to gooseberries to oysters to peanut butter to matzoh to Oreos, Starlight Mints and burritos.

We’re open to all kinds of interpretations, experimental and traditional, not necessarily fairy tales, fantasy or sci-fi, unless they strike your creative fancy.

The book is still being shaped, but at this point may be divided into the three main meals and under those the various foods we associate with them (cereal...breakfast...the mythic origins of Cheerios? Were Frosted Flakes really a product of Demeter smiting the ground with her staff?) Likely add snacks and tea time, too, and a category for forbidden or taboo foods.

For submissions or to learn more about the Foodlore project, contact Jennifer Heath at Foodlore@comcast.net.