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Nothing But Red

Hello, Friends. Our guest author for today, Skyla Dawn Cameron, is not here to talk about her work, writing, or personal life (although that stuff’s fun too). She would like to take this opportunity to introduce to us a very special project she is working on that will benefit our disenfranchised and persecuted sisters all over the world. Why is she doing this? Well, let’s give Skyla the floor, so she can tell us all about it. Sisters and Friends, please give a warm welcome to Skyla.

The Inspiration – On April 7th of this year, seventeen-year-old Dua Khalil Aswad, of Northern Iraq, was pulled into a group of men–some of them family members–who tore off her clothes, then beat and stoned her to death. The ordeal took about thirty minutes, and though the police witnessed the event, they didn’t intervene. All this was recorded on camera phones by several members of the “audience” and if you’re really curious, you can find the video on both CNN’s website and YouTube. Her crime? Dua Khalil was of the Yazidi faith, and she was seen in the company of a Muslim man that her family believed she intended to marry. She was brutally murdered to preserve the “honour” of her family.

One month later, popular filmmaker Joss Whedon posted his utter outrage at Dua Khalil’s death–as well as the larger issue of violence against women in general–on a fan-run news blog, Whedonesque. You can find the post in it’s entirety here, but to quote the bit that inspired the title of our project:

Because it’s no longer enough to be a decent person. It’s no longer enough to shake our heads and make concerned grimaces at the news. True enlightened activism is the only thing that can save humanity from itself. I’ve always had a bent towards apocalyptic fiction, and I’m beginning to understand why. I look and I see the earth in flames. Her face was nothing but red.

As you see, among his words was a call to action. I was inspired to organize a response from some of us.

What We’re Doing – We’re putting together an anthology of short stories, essays, poems, and art work, called “Nothing But Red.” The book will be produced as both a trade paperback and an eBook through Lulu.com with the proceeds going to Equality Now. The book will be released on April 7, 2008 (the one-year anniversary of Dua Khalil’s death). We are pleased to announce, officially, that the first essay in the book will be Joss Whedon’s original post, “Let’s Watch a Girl Get Beat to Death.” Our website is currently located at nothingbutred.wordpress.com.

What We’re Looking For – People to both contribute work, as well as offer assistance as volunteers.

Contributions: Submissions will open August 1, 2007 and close November 1, 2007. Although inspired by Dua Khalil’s death, submissions need not be about her specifically; we’re looking for responses to the issues Whedon raised, such as violence against women and the inherent misogyny in all cultures. This could be a short story about a woman standing up to domestic abuse. It could be an essay on the continual need for feminism. It could be a poem exploring the brutality of honor killings.

What we aren’t looking for are ten thousand word rants attacking religion, politics, or men in general. We all have strong opinions about things, but let’s try to be grownups about this, m’kay folks?

For further submission guidelines, please visit the “Submissions” page on our website.

Organizers: We have about a dozen people right now organizing things behind the scenes. Although it’s a fantastic, dedicated group, when submissions start rolling in, we’ll probably need more help. If you have any specialized skills, such as editorial experience, PR/marketing experience, website design etc, and you’d like to volunteer your services, we’d greatly appreciate it. We’re also open to anyone who just feels like helping out by brainstorming ideas, proofreading, etc. Please, if this has inspired you to act, email me and I’ll invite you to our discussion group. Even if you don’t know what you can do to help, I’m sure you have something of value to contribute–even if it’s just acting as a cheerleader. ;-)

Who “We” Are – I’ve been using the collective “we” here a whole lot, and before you think that I’m a crazy person referring to her cats, let me assure you that there are several people other than me involved in this. ;-) There are a dozen organizers so far from across the world, all brought together by a shared desire to do something positive to promote equality. We range from multi-published writers to university students, people with experience in book design to professionals in various fields. I (Skyla Dawn Cameron) am the head organizer, and I have a background in similar ventures: I’m heavily involved in my local writers’ organization and I’m currently chairing Public Relations for their first conference. We’re all serious about this project and dedicated to seeing it through.

How You Can Help – You can volunteer to help organize NBR by sending me an email at SkylaDawnCameron@yahoo.ca. That would be, like, really awesome. You can also help by simply spreading the word. Attending any writer or artist events? Going to any activist meeting? Please visit the page on our website called “Spread the Word” for some beautiful flyers that can be downloaded and printed. We also have a Cafepress storefront set up (we don’t make any money from the designs) where you can purchase a T-shirt, tote bag, mug, etc.

Another way to spread the word is to blog about it, and if you do it this week, you can win a prize…

Post something on your blog or website, a message forum, or wherever else you can think of, then post a link to it in a comment here. As thanks for your help, next Tuesday afternoon (June 26), I’ll randomly draw a name, and the winner will receive a free eBook of RIVER (my award winning debut novel) in their choice of one of the supported formats and a $15 Amazon GC from Dionne.

Huge thanks to Dionne for letting me plug this project here!

Thank you for coming to our site and letting us know about this wonderful thing you’re doing, Skyla. You’re beautiful.

Check out Karen’s post on Dua Khalil here. Friends, let’s help out Skyla and our sisters at Nothing But Red!

UPDATE: Stone Maiden, one of Ann’s out-of-print works, is up on Lulu.com for purchase. If you buy this book, she will donate her share to Nothing But Red. It’s a good, well-written fantasy read. Check it out. It’s for a good cause.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 at 12:38 pm and is filed under Guest Author. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

36 Responses to “Nothing But Red”

  1. Ann(ie)
    Posted: Jun 19th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
    1

    Thanks for posting this, Dee. I’m gonna do a short story or something. This is a really good cause.

  2. Skyla
    Posted: Jun 19th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
    2

    You are fantastic, Bam! *muah* Thanks! :-D

  3. ginja
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 2:17 am
    3

    a thankU Skyla and all ((((Dua Khalil Aswad)))) yah! BAM!

  4. Samantha
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 6:48 am
    4

    I’m part of the NBR staff. Thanks for letting Skyla post on your blog and helping us get the word out!

  5. Rosie
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 8:42 am
    5

    I originally picked up this story from Web Petals, author Marjorie Liu’s site stunned by the brutality of this act. I’ve linked to this post. Here’s my post link:

    http://rosemont1217.blogspot.c.....an-do.html

    Good luck with this project. I’ll be looking for the book next April.

  6. bam
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 8:46 am
    6

    Thank you, Rosie. You’re fabulous.

    Guys, just doing my part to help out. ;)

  7. SweetNSourGirl
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 10:37 am
    7

    Wow this is a great cause. I wish I knew what I should write to help out.

  8. Ann(ie)
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 10:39 am
    8

    I don’t need to win anything, but I posted about this all the same. I’m also doing my own fundraiser for Equality Now.

  9. bam
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 10:41 am
    9
    Author Comment

    Updated the post, so it links to the book, Ann. Thanks. You’re a peach.

    SweetNSourGirl, you don’t have to be a writer to help out. Check out their site and see what you can do to contribute. :)

  10. Roslyn
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 11:01 am
    10

    Wow! I can proofread with the best of them. I’ll volunteer and put it up on my blog. Maybe I can write an essay as well. Whatever they need, I’m there. Violence against women is an issue that’s near and dear to me.

  11. bam
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 11:03 am
    11
    Author Comment

    Wow! I can proofread with the best of them. I’ll volunteer and put it up on my blog. Maybe I can write an essay as well. Whatever they need, I’m there. Violence against women is an issue that’s near and dear to me.

    Right on, Sister Roslyn. Thank you.

  12. Zeek
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 11:34 am
    12

    Posted

  13. Lauren Dane
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 11:39 am
    13

    Please toss my name in to contribute something. I don’t have anything out of print but I’ll be happy to come up with something. I’ll also post this in as many places as I can.

  14. Cathie
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 11:43 am
    14

    I’m Cathie a reader and would love to share the word about this upcoming project/book thats for a such a great need. If you needed a reader to read any of the stories for like a feel for the story put together, or something, I’d be happy to help. I’ll email you :)

  15. Lauren Dane
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 11:55 am
    15

    I just blogged a bit about it http://www.laurendane.com/blog.....t-all-bad/

  16. Rhonda Stapleton
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 11:56 am
    16

    Wow, what a wonderful cause. I sent an email volunteering to help edit/proof anything.

  17. Skyla
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 11:58 am
    17

    I just wanted to thank everyone for the positive response so far–it’s greatly appreciated!

    I saw, like, a whole batch of emails in my inbox, and as I went to reply to them, Yahell got all bitchy and I can’t get in to respond right now…so just to let anyone who emailed me know, I’ll be contacting you shortly. :-)

  18. Kimberly
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
    18

    I’m Kimberly, and I offered to help with proofreading. I also posted about this on my Yahoo 360 page (don’t know how to get to it, though! maybe with this address http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog.....cYSY-?cq=1)
    and also on the Book Club forum on www.bpal.org.

  19. Sara Dennis
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
    19

    I mentioned it as well. I think this is a fantastic idea. Thanks for organizing it, Skyla. :)

    http://saradennis.blogspot.com.....esday.html

  20. bam
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
    20
    Author Comment

    Wow, this is great! Keep it going, guys!

  21. Kimberly
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
    21

    I don’t know how to edit my comment, but my actual blog is at http://360.yahoo.com/sneakybea
    Thanks

  22. Ann(ie)
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
    22

    Ya’ll are wonderful. We take a lot of slack as women — that we don’t support each other, that we’re jealous, spiteful and whatever else, so to see us join together doing good makes me feel a little bit misty.

    Aw hell, I can’t type. Watch this.

  23. Anya Bast
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
    23

    Hi — I don’t want to be entered in the contest, but i did post a link and blog about it a bit.

    http://anyabastblog.com/2007/0.....t-of-this/

    I’ll be buying and promoting the anthology when it comes out. No doubt about that.

  24. SweetNSourGirl
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
    24

    “SweetNSourGirl, you don’t have to be a writer to help out. ” Who said I wasn’t one?

  25. bam
    Posted: Jun 20th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
    25

    I wish I knew what I should write to help out.

    Oh, sorry, I misread that. My bad. For some reason, I read that and my brain translated it to something else. When I re-read it, I was like, “What? Oh. D’oh.”

    Ask Ann. My brain is a scary, messed up place to be.

  26. Tanit
    Posted: Jun 21st, 2007 at 12:40 am
    26

    Congratulations on your project!
    This is a touching subject for me. I will never understand it and I will never condone it. Each year, the number of women murdered by their partners increases in Spain. We have cases of young girls at highschool who leave it to return to their country to marry some older man (previously arranged and paid). And there are cases too of arab women who come to Spain to be able to go to the operating room (thanks to non-profit organizations), because they have been seriously damaged by their families because of honor things by lighting gas on them.
    I really hate that women all over the world, and not only in culturally different countries, have to suffer this kind of things.

  27. shuzluva
    Posted: Jun 21st, 2007 at 7:33 am
    27

    What a fabulous project. I cannot wait to buy this book…and Bam, you’d better have something for me to crit for this project as well! Since I don’t write, that will be my small (and happily made) contribution…

  28. HelenKay
    Posted: Jun 21st, 2007 at 7:47 am
    28

    Man, I just hope I can come up with something worthy to submit. What an amazing project. What a shame we have to even do projects like this one.

  29. Caitlin
    Posted: Jun 21st, 2007 at 12:51 pm
    29

    Skyla, I’d be more than willing to help out in an editorial capacity. My personal email is bawhite_wolf at yahoo dot com and you can check out my creds. on my web site.

  30. Samantha
    Posted: Jun 21st, 2007 at 1:04 pm
    30

    Blogged about it. That should inform at least three more whole people about it, but it was something I needed to do.

  31. Sharon
    Posted: Jun 21st, 2007 at 3:50 pm
    31

    Will try to write a story to contribute.

  32. Erin
    Posted: Jun 21st, 2007 at 9:46 pm
    32

    I posted this on my BtVS community, which had already been following the story, and which is chock-full of pro writers and editors and poets and such. Hope some people get in touch with you.

    Will try to come up with a contribution, but barring that, am a kick-ass copy editor and proofreader. Will contact via e with personal info.

    And btw? go team you for working, speaking and fighting the good fight.

  33. judith loue
    Posted: Jun 22nd, 2007 at 8:46 am
    33

    i realize that now everyone is aware of the Honor Killings in Iraq—but these have been common practice in India/Pakistan for much longer…read The God Of Small Things by Arundati Roy—-to get an idea of the stigma attached to “wrong attachments”…seems to me there were news stories on Honor Killings several years ago. and now they happen in Iraq (our defacto 51st sate) they’re NEWS?????

  34. Sharon Cullars
    Posted: Jun 22nd, 2007 at 2:38 pm
    34

    Judith, I think the difference in this case is that we got a visual documentation by cellphone of a live girl who in a matter of minutes was brutally beaten to a bloody pulp. I’m pretty sure that all honor killings are just as horrendous. Pictures, film and any other visual media are just more immediate, intimate than words. Just imagine how revved up the protests would be against Darfur if we actually saw videos of women being raped and children being hacked to pieces. Again, pictures are more visceral than mere words reported coldly in news items or even passionately in books.

  35. L.E. Bryce
    Posted: Jun 22nd, 2007 at 10:46 pm
    35

    This is an awesome cause. I wish I knew something to write to help out, but I’m so useless when I comes to things like this.

  36. Amy S.
    Posted: Jun 26th, 2007 at 6:48 am
    36

    I blogged about the post. http://blog.myspace.com/index......724699d6cb

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