The theme for the next issue of ITCH has been decided. :) For more details, go here.

Feminist Press (New York) is seeking submissions for a new anthology, titled Globalized Motherhood: a Short Story Collection, edited by Wendy Chavkin. 

The books aims to engage with a world in flux about the most intimate of human connections, a world wide open to a host of possibilities for reconfiguring family and parenthood, and perhaps of liberating women from the constraints of reproductive biology.    The physical, emotional and caring aspects of motherhood are separable in new ways, pushed by demographic shifts, bio-technological innovations and global travel of babies, women, body parts, information, and technologies.  

Contemporary short stories, memoirs, and creative nonfiction that convey the transformation of motherhood in the globalized moment are welcomed. Of particular interest will be work dealing with the inter-relationship of transnational adoption, reproductive "tourism" (transnational travel for treatment, gametes or uteri)  and women's migration to do nanny work, which together comprise the globalization of motherhood. Although the book will be in English, it may be possible to translate some works; and previously published work is welcome.
 
Please submit by 1 October 2010 (or address enquiries) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

ITCH is delighted to welcome its second e-intern, Karen Martin to the fold, who is taking over from the wonderful Vuyo Seripe, who excelled at networking ITCH with writers and literary collectives across the African continent and diaspora.

Karen Martin is an emerging, recently published writer of short fiction. She is a professional editor and copy editor. She has also initiated and developed several books for Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action, the pioneering South African LGBTI archives. In 2010, she is driving and editing the archives' anthology of new queer African short fiction. She lives in the countryside outside Johannesburg.

She will be contributing her considerable talents to helping to make ITCH a better place for contributors, and to raise our profile among the literary community. For a taste of her writing, read this.

Thank you to the almost 100 writers and artists who submitted work for the next issue of ITCH Online. Submissions closed yesterday, and I am very excited about the quality of work that has come in. Those who sent their work through will hear the result soon, and anxious readers can expect the new issue of ITCH to be available by the end of June.

Late submissions are sometimes considered. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to plead your case.

Kwani Trust invites the submission of short stories of between 3000-8000 words that focus on Africa and the experiences of African people, with a particular focus on Africans born after 1978. The theme of the call out is 'THE AFRICA I LIVE IN'. Published authors will be paid a fee of $100.

If you are interested in participating in this exciting initiative, please send your creative work in to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for consideration.

The deadline is 30 June 2010.

For  more information, visit Kwani.

The theme for the next i-ssue of ITCH Online has been decided. This time, its all about — i. For more i-information, go here.

Vuyo R. Seripe, an accomplished writer in her own right, has joined ITCH magazine as an intern until the end of May. Vuyo will be working with ITCH for two months, focussing on building and expanding our relationship with writers everywhere, but especially in Africa. To get a feel for Vuyo's work, read this.

Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action, the pioneering, highly regarded South African gay and lesbian archives, invites African writers to submit stories on a queer African theme for publishing in a ground-breaking anthology. Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action intends the anthology to query stereotypes, show that there are many ways of being queer in Africa, and encourage queer artistic expression and appreciation. Literary merit and an insightful response to the complexities of African queerness will guide the selection.
 
Submit your unpublished short fiction of between 1,000 and 5,000 words to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 30 June 2010. Provide a covering page with the title of the story, your first name and surname, your email address and a contact telephone number, and a bio of not more than 100 words. All submissions will be acknowledged.
 
The selection will be made by 30 September 2010, and writers will work with an editor to refine their stories for publishing in June 2011. The anthology will be launched at the 2011 Cape Town Book Fair and will be distributed locally, in Africa and internationally. With writers' permissions, all submissions will be archived by Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action and will be accessible to the archives' many local and international users.
 
For more information visit the Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action website at www.gala.co.za.

ITCH is looking for an e-intern. This post would be short term, for 3-4 months, and would suit someone (possibly a student) who is looking for work experience in the field of independent, creative, online publishing. The internship would entail a few hours of work per week, which can be arranged flexibly, and would be focussed on communication, networking and online promotion tasks all aimed at helping the ITCH community grow. The intern can be based anywhere, only an internet connection is needed (although a time zone similar to London would help for communication and briefing purposes). To apply, please send a one page CV and a 200-word motivational statement to ITCH Editor, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 20 March 2010.

The fifth issue of ITCH Online is live, featuring a plethora of new visual and literary work. Don't miss short films by Biying Zhang and Iva Radivojevic, as well as an extract from EU Literary Award Winner, Saracen at the Gates by Zinaid Meeran.

Thank you to all contributors and readers for your continued support of this space.

Enjoy viewing, and please feel free to share your feedback with artists and writers using the Comment facility.