Caroline shares this latest news on behalf of the Out On An Island project. Ed
Out On An Island invites those in the LGBTQ+ community with an Isle of Wight connection to contribute their experiences of life on the Island for a new book to be published later this year.
We are looking for prose, historical themed articles and autobiographical experiences telling the story of what it has meant to be part of this community on the Isle of Wight.
What does this mean to you? How have attitudes changed? Perhaps you want to write about your first experience of attending Pride, or maybe you have memories of living under Clause 28.
It could be a ‘coming out’ or a going out story. We want to share the emotions borne from being LGBTQ+ on the Island.
Help shape the future of LGBTQ+ community
Artistic Director, Franko Figueiredo, explains more ….
Three hundred and fifty copies of the finished book will be sent, free, to heritage archives and museums to populate national archives with LGBTQ+ stories
Writers whose work is selected will receive two copies of the book when it is launched at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival in October 2020. Copyright will remain with the writer, who will give consent to the project to publish material in the book and online. No one else will be able to publish the work without the writer’s permission. We are not able to pay any fees or royalties for successful submissions.
Don’t miss the deadline
The deadline for submissions is 2 June 2020. Submissions, which should be no longer than 1,500 words, should be sent to [email protected] with the subject line Out On An Island Writing Submission. Please let us know if you would like your submission to be printed anonymously
We would also like to invite people to send images, photos, visual art that might illustrate their writing. Please note that any written work or image which identifies anyone other than the writer can only be accepted with proof of their consent to be included in the collection.
What is Out On An Island?
Out On An Island is a project run by StoneCrabs Theatre Charity and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It has been running for the last 12 months recording the moving and inspiring stories of LGBTQ+ people with an Isle of Wight connection from the last 100 years.
Project Manager Caroline Diamond says,
“Although we have put our events and face-to-face activities on hold, we are still active on social media and busy planning our exhibition which launches at Quay Arts, Newport on 19 September 2020.”
Figueiredo: Excited to hear personal accounts and historical stories
Franko Figueiredo, Artistic Director for the project says,
“We are so excited to hear personal accounts and historical stories – like the tale of Isle of Wight architects and partners Paget and Seely.
“We can’t promise that we’ll use all of the work we receive, but we’ll do our best!”
Join the Zoom meetings
The project is also keen to support anyone on the Island who is feeling isolated during the government lockdown.
We will be holding online Zoom meetings with anyone who would like to join them[PN1] , you can contact the Out Team:
- By email: [email protected]
- Or mobile: 07786 080 203[PN2]
Image: © Peter Woodnutt by Laura Galton
