Hey ya'll:

Well, here we are with the holidays upon us. Boom Tube is still chugging along.

To take some of the pressure off, especially since I know many of you have had trouble with your pieces or could have forgotten or life just happened, I'm moving the deadline for submissions to January 31, 2007.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to drop me a line and let's talk.

Well, here we are on the road to Boom Tube #1. I've spent the past couple of weeks quietly freaking out about the fact that this is actually happening but that's just me. ;)

A meet and greet is probably in order so take a moment, introduce yourselves and talk a little about what interested you in Boom Tube. If you have anything else you'd like to share, go right ahead.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Welcome to Boom Tube: a zine about Race, Culture and Fandom

There is a belief that fandom (regardless of what it is) knocks down boundaries. That somehow, race and culture are either not a part of the experience when we watch TV shows, go to concerts, read comic books and participate in RPGs or at least not of great import. Yet the 'Net is full of explosions on just these topics. Reactions online spill over into real life (which is never really far away) and vice versa. It calls into question how we relate to one another in the spaces that we collectively claim for our own.

Boom Tube is an opportunity to shape some of those responses.

Issue #1 will written by fans of color focusing on their experiences.

Issue #2 will be open for white fans to offer their views on how these topics affect them.

Issue #3 will attempt to bring parties together in dialogue with each other.

Proposed topics for Issue #1:

1. What's Your Favorite Color, Baby?
-What does it mean to be a fan of color? How do you identify?

2. Close Encounters: stepping into fandom
-Finding and participating in community
-On being and or feeling like 'the only one'
-Claiming space

3. What is this 'we' business?
-The myth of a colored monolith
-Personal/Private connection vs. Public Persona
-We all agree? Don’t we?
-Different cultural gazes (it’s not all about the USA)

4. Buzzkill
-Cultural appropriation and responses to it
-On being the 'special colored friend'
-When the Diversity panel is not Enuf
-The uses of the Exotic

5. Shout Out: Staying in or Leaving Fandom
-Creating new spaces to exist
-Exit - stage left (but still a fan)

6. What's Next?


Who are we trying to reach:

Gamers, Media fans (fanfic authors, readers, vidders, zine producers), pop culture mavens, rockers, ravers, comic book fen (anyone else?)

Submission Guidelines:
Length: 1500-2000 words (essays)
Art and poetry also acceptable for submission
Format: MS Word, OpenOffice text documents or .TXT files are acceptable
Deadline: January 2, 2007

If you’re interested, please e-mail me your proposed topic for Issue #1 only (ladyj.965@gmail.com) and I will admit you into the Boom Tube LJ community.