Call for Submissions: Voices on the Gift of Aging

Jack Walker Press invites writers to submit personal essays for our upcoming anthology, "Voices on the Gift of Aging" (working title). We seek reflections, and insightful and transformative narratives exploring the multifaceted aging journey. We aim to celebrate the richness, wisdom, and unique experiences that come with growing older. Yet we realize that losses come with aging. Truth is often complicated.

Be funny, be sad, be real.  Send essays in first-person that tell a story and include both what you know for sure and unresolved struggles.  Small insights are often more real than a writer who knows all the answers. Imagine someone you love who is young.  What kind of story or essay would inspire, inform, and help them adapt to the changes, losses, and gains of getting older? Imagine someone turning a milestone age. How can you give them a reason to celebrate or proceed with caution? Be funny, angry, smart, or confused, but be real.  Include rhetorical devices to create a rich essay that leaves a lasting impact on the reader.  The anthology will go forward only if enough quality essays are submitted to create an amazing collection.

Submission Guidelines:

• Essay Length: Up to 4000 words.
• Authenticity: Stories must be true personal accounts.
• Narrative Style: First-person essays are preferred.
• Rights: We request one-time publishing rights for accepted essays.
• Content: Essays should present dimensional characterizations and have a clear narrative arc.

Themes: possible ideas for exploration include:

• Youthful beauty isn't the only kind
• Milestone birthdays
• What I’ve lost and gained
• Loving myself
• Functional but not optimal
• Closer to death
• More or less spiritual as you age
• Better life at the end
• Aging losses and gains
• How I thrive
• Aging isn't anything to be afraid of
• Why can't they see me?
• Old guys with skills
• The most important lessons of age
• Wiser?
• What to do with vanity…
• Embracing vulnerability
• Rediscovering passion and purpose
• Navigating changing relationships with family
• The evolution of friendships over time
• Reflections on career and legacy
• Exploring new hobbies and interests
• Coping with health challenges and resilience
• Navigating societal attitudes toward aging
• The beauty of solitude and introspection
• Finding joy in simple pleasures and small moments
• Downsizing for more life
• After I’m gone
• Challenges of aging: 50’s, 60’s 70’s, 80’s, and beyond.
• Wrinkles are not a disease.
• I’ve just gotten cooler.
• My parents are dragging me into old age
• My kids are pushing me into old age

• • Submission Process: Please email your submission to [Get the Email  Address] with the subject line "Voices on the Gift of Aging Submission." Include your contact information with your submission. Address, phone, number email address.  Attach the Word file.  Label the file with the name of the submission and your name.  For example: Aging Jones

• Cross-Promotion: We appreciate authors who are willing to cross-promote the anthology.
• Compensation: We offer a $25 honorarium (or book copies)for essays of at least 1000 words.
• Acknowledgment: If your essay is reprinted, please acknowledge in writing that it was previously published in the (name the specific place and date).
• Publication Timeline: Publication of the anthology will be 12-24 months after essays are accepted, edited, and compiled. This allows for proofreading, advance reviews, and marketing.
• Stay Connected: By submitting, you will be added to our newsletter list to receive updates on the publishing progress of the anthology.

We look forward to reading your poignant, funny, dark,  and insightful essays on the gift of aging. Together, let us illuminate the beauty and depth found over time.