Hey Everyone!

My name is Brian Kelly. I’m the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)’s Communications Director and I’m editing a new issue of Threshold Magazine! We haven’t had an issue in over a year and a half and it’s about time we published one!

Below is the information and guidelines for submitting content! For more information, you can contact me at butterflywalking@gmail.com.

I look forward to hearing from you and reading your submissions!

-Brian Kelly

Submitting to Winter 2009 Issue of Threshold Magazine!

ISSUE THEME: Our Generation’s Plan for the Future – Our society is in deep crisis. As the economy crumbles and military occupations of the Middle East aimed at extracting fossil fuels wage on, we inch closer and closer to environmental disaster. This issue of Threshold aims to highlight coming thresholds and tipping points in the climate crisis and identify alternative visions of the future. How could our society be structured differently? How can we make our movement stronger and more powerful than ever before? How can we connect issues and allow our work to go farther, faster? How can our generation rise to the challenge with which we are presented and build a new future?

We're looking for articles about strategy, our generation's vision, reportbacks from grassroots organizing in SEAC chapters, ways in which you are making your chapter live up to SEAC's mission and principles (especially on issues of liberatory practices), and reviews of book, shows, and films. Contact us for more ideas!

FRAMING QUOTE: We want to give ya’ll a quote to frame what we’re talking about by the issue theme. This issue’s framing quote comes from Van Jones, founder and president of Green for All. He contrasts the work the Right has done in building their power to that of the Left. He says:

“The Right has been willing to put its ideology on the table, market its ideas and defend its views. Too many progressives go weak in the knees when asked simple questions like, “What are your long-term goals for America?” and “What kind of society do you want, anyway?”

This means that ordinary people—outraged by bewildering changes in their lives and expectations, looking for clear answers and bold solutions—see no militant and ideologically coherent left alternative. They are left to pick among militant conservatives—the militias, the skinheads, reactionary populists like Pat Buchanan, fundamentalist Christian churches and the Nation of Islam.

Remember: great mechanized armies can be crushed by peasants and guerrillas, if the “little people” pursue the right strategy. If progressives are willing to correct the flaws in our present approaches, we can—in time—defeat the richest and most powerful of the peoples’ enemies.”

Think about that when writing articles. We will prioritize content that focus on new ideas, strategy, innovative grassroots work, and plans for moving our generation forward.

SUBMIT TO:
Submit all content to butterflywalking@gmail.com.

ARTICLE STANDARDS:

Make a Proposal: If you have yet to write your article, please e-mail Threshold (Brian Kelly at butterflywalking(at)gmail.com) your proposed topic beforehand. Catering your topic to the issue theme and working with us will increase your chances of having your article published. We can also identify early on if the article isn’t what we’re looking for in this issue. All proposals should include:

1. Name
2. E-mail address
3. Instant messenger (if you have AIM, google talk, etc… and are available to talk through them)
4. Phone Number
5. Topic (A few sentences up to a 1-2 paragraph explanation)
6. Proposed estimated word count

Make it Accessible: Its fine if you’re presenting advanced concepts, but make your article accessible. Try to convey your ideas in a way that lots of different types of people can understand. If you use a word that most people (or people outside of our movement) wouldn’t understand, define it!

DEADLINE:
There is a deadline of Friday, November 28, 2008 for submitting content to this issue. Please contact us if you have questions about this.

AUTHORS:
We work to ensure Threshold represents the best ideas and most diverse authors of our generation. To these ends, we prioritize content from working-class youth, LGBT & queer youth, youth of color, young women, young immigrants, youth with disabilities, youth targeted by the state, and other youth from diverse backgrounds. We also make ourselves available to talk openly about your situation and background, and how we can best help you brainstorm, write, edit, and submit your work.

Note: as we are a youth-run organization, we do not currently pay for submissions. Please keep this in mind when writing a proposal or submitting content.

If you have any further questions, you can contact Brian Kelly at butterflywalking(at)gmail.com