05 November,2010 06:11 AM IST | | Amrita Bose
The popular chicken soup for the soul series is asking you to share your storyu00a0 of love, loss and triumph in their latest compilation to inspire fellow Indians
If you've got a true inspirational story to share with the rest of the world, then seeing your name in the latest Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul series could soon be a reality. Westland publishers and editor Rajyashree Dutt are on the lookout for Indian couples to share their real-life experiences of love and loss. The conditions? Your story should be straight from the heart and not preachy.
Rajyashree, who runs a publishing house called Write Arm and an art gallery called Right Lines Art Gallery in Bangalore confesses to reading her first story from the Chicken Soup series only after she was assigned to compile the stories. "Once I started the process, it became a terrific journey of self-discovery," she says.
What's your love story?
Rajyashree is looking out for exciting, funny or sad stories between 300 to 1,200 words that will make readers laugh, cry or get goose bumps. Emotions and feelings should be expressed by characters in the story, which should be along the lines of love and support, overcoming obstacles, coping with death and dying, aging, living your dreams, and giving back to society, to name a few.
The narratives need to be culture-specific and can deal with true stories of how a couple met, the problems they faced or the obstacles they had to overcome to become parents.
Flash forward
Motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen compiled the first book of the series, published in 1993, which topped several bestseller lists. The series now has over 200 titles and 100 million copies in print, in 54 languages worldwide.
Deepthi Talwar, executive editor of the Chennai-based Westland says, "The idea is to try to cover all kinds of India-specific stories for the Indian soul series." Other books that Westland has in the pipeline deal with the themes of adolescence, love, friendship, growing up, college, and family. Only time will tell whether or not Chicken Soup has indeed taken over the Indian soul.
To send in your stories, email mamadutt@gmail.com
The deadline for submitting stories is November 15. Once your story gets accepted, you will get paid Rs 1,000 the publication of the first edition of the work, and two copies of the book. There will be subsequent payment of royalties as well. A short bio for each contributor will also appear at the back of the book.
