Call for proposals

Girls and Science

The Feminist Press, in collaboration with The National Science Foundation, is exploring new ways to get girls and young women interested in science. While there are many library resources featuring biographies of women scientists that are suitable for school reports, these are rarely the books that girls seek out themselves to read for pleasure. What would a book, or series of books, about science that girls really want to read look like? That is the question we want to answer.

You’ll find several requests for specific proposals at our website. One calls for scientific detective stories based on the life, research, and discoveries of real women scientists. Another calls for stories featuring real young women—aspiring gymnasts, ice skaters, actors, dancers–using a knowledge of science to help them become really good at what they do. A third recognizes how popular Manga and graphic novels are with girls, and asks for imaginative new collaborations between Manga writers and artists to create adventures about girls who use real science to accomplish their goals. If any of these three book ideas interest you, please check out our website (www.feministpress.org) for more information about deadline and how to submit proposals.

But we do not want to limit our exploration. If you are a writer and have an idea for a book or series of books that is guaranteed to get girls excited about science, we want to hear from you. You may want to create a girl detective series featuring a set of friends—from geeks to sports nuts to mechanical geniuses–each with a knowledge of science that helps in solving crimes. You may want to create a story about a shy girl who goes on field trips with her favorite aunt, a forensic anthropologist, and helps to solve problems as she learns to think like a Dr. Bones. You may want to tell the story of a young science fiction writer who needs to study different fields of science in order to create her adventures. Whatever your vision, if you can write like a dream and can create works that are guaranteed to instill a curiosity about science in girls and young women, send us your proposals. We want to hear from you.

All proposals will be reviewed. Several proposals will be offered standard contracts.

Publisher: The Feminist Press at City University of New York as part of a National Science Foundation grant. (see feministpress.org)

Deadline: October 31, 2006

Format: Proposals should describe the project, the plot, characters, and length. No more than ten pages please.

How to submit: Electronic submission (word doc) to [email protected] with the subject line “Girls and Science.” Please include in the body of your email your address, phone number, email address and a short bio. Please also attach a brief sample of your writing (about five pages), and a resume that includes information about publications.

Lots of new stuff on the Yuricon Website!

Yuri Studios: Seven new yuri-themed AMVs – the runner up entries from the Anime Music Video Contest are now available for download from Yuri Studios. Winning entries coming soon!

New Events on the Yuricon Event Page: More yuri panel listings from around the world – and two exciting ALC and Yuricon sponsored events. Check back regularly for updates on Yuri Events.

New items on the Yuricon Shop:

Maria-sama ga Miteru Drama CD: Nakaniyono
Yokohama Shopping Log Drama CDs
Yuri Drama CDs.

Yuri Manga from Amazon Japan:
Aria 8
Yuri Hime 5

Yuri Manga from Amazon:
Strawberry Marshmallow 1

New Anime:
Loveless, Volumes 2 and 3:

Zeromus One gives us three wonderful new images of Yuriko and her
friends from SnB and SnR on the Gallery of Yuriko Fanart:

Enjoy!!

Yuricon – “For real women who like their women…animated.”
Yuricon.org

No, I have not all of a sudden lost my mind and decided I like moe, or loli.

I do, however, like language. And Moetan is, at least partially, about language. This particular edition of Moetan came as a furoku with one of the issues of monthly Dengeki Daioh and the “language lessons” are drawn from well-known and largely yuri-ful Dengeki series. Which is why I want to share this with you.

Each chapter has a theme and a series from which all the sentences are pulled: Abuse (Shakugan no Shana), Recovery (Gunslinger Girl), Asssertion (Ichigo Mashimaro), Surprise (Yotsubato), Drawing Back (Tsukihime), Setting Up a Flag (Onegai Twins), Asking (Sokyuu no Fafnir), Invitations (Uchuu no Stellvia), Repudiation (Azumanga Daioh), Commands (Eikyuu Alice), Praise (BLOOD ALONE), Contradictions (Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl), Negation (Hayate x Blade) and violent anger (Ninin ga Shinobuden).

Really, just the chapter themes are weird enough, but the sentences they “teach” are barking mad. LOL

Just a few notable examples for your reading pleasure:

Asssertion (Ichigo Mashimaro) – “You think little of doctors, don’t you?”

Surprise (Yotsubato) – “Have milk – no matter when or where!”

Setting Up a Flag (Onegai Twins) – “I tend to faint if I get too surprised.”

Invitations (Uchuu no Stellvia) – “Thrown out of the game after 30 seconds! That’s a new record!”

Repudiation (Azumanga Daioh) – “Of course we aren’t allowed to, but let’s have a good time anyway!”

Contradictions (Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl) – “A plague of aliens? What a silly idea!”

And the winner and still champeen, best line of the book. From the chapter Negation, this quote from Hayate x Blade:

“None of my students would wear a shopping bag.”

I love that line. :-)

No ratings, because it’s just stupid. But if you get a chance, and I’m around, ask me if you can see it. It’s pure crack. :-)

(Note to the person who commented with a link to some site with repulsive “moe” pictures…don’t bother. I won’t be approving those.)

Once again, today’s review is courtesy of Guest Reviewer Sean Gaffney!

Negima!, Volume 10 continues right where the previous volume left off, with the Festival opening. (It’s a 3-day festival. To date, we’re up to stories for Volume 15 and haven’t even gotten past Day 2. Suffice to say, it’s a big arc.)

It’s a very good volume. Early on Negi and Setsuna discover what Chao’s present of a fancy pocketwatch does – it’s a time machine, and by reading the instructions they can go back and forth across the day. This solves Negi’s main problem of how to pack about 40 events into 3 days, so he sets about visiting the various festival events.

Among other things, Negi visits his class doing their Haunted House, has a ‘date’ with Nodoka, patrols the World Tree with Mana, goes on an unofficial date with Yue, and begins the preliminaries for the Fighting Tournament that will be the focus of Volumes 11-13.

Nodoka fans should be happy with this one, as she gets a lot to do and shows that despite being the shyest of the class, she’s got the most bravery when it comes to admitting her feelings. On the opposite spectrum, we have Yue, who is trying to put things off with Negi and Nodoka because she loves him herself, and the unfamiliar feelings are eating her alive with guilt.

As for yuri fans, our canon couple are pretty much separated in this volume. That does not, however, mean there’s no yuri. At one point, Setsuna makes a pledge to help Negi with his troubles no matter what. Kamo suggests that this sounds like a love confession, and notes that Setsuna said if she fell for a guy it would be Negi.
Setsuna gets very flustered, and says “Look, the one I’ve got in *my* heart is Konoka-ojousama!” After which Negi promptly starts to tease her about this. Setsuna is just adorable.

In the end, we get the preliminaries for the Fighting Tournament, which turns out to be run by Chao, with a prize of ten million yen (about 90 thousand dollars). After the dust settles, Negi, Kotarou, Kaede, Mana, Ku Fei, Evangeline, Asuna, Setsuna, and
Takamichi are the main characters we know in it. And there’s also a mysterious hooded gentleman who calls himself “Colonel Sanders”. Remember him; he’ll be very important.

I remain impressed with Negima, which is much better than Love Hina. It balances comedy, action, and mild romance, and avoids too much squick with Negi being ten, mostly as it reminds us of this constantly. No one is getting any anytime soon in his manga. And Setsuna remains a kickass manga lesbian. With a sword and big fluffy wings, no less.

If only this series was as charming and enjoyable as you make it sound, Sean… ;-)

I’m taking the night off, to eat some strawberries, listen to the Dresden Dolls and read a Rex Stout mystery – a little new school/old school contrast there…how oh-so-hip am I?

Go do something non-anime or manga related, too. It’s good for you.

Don’t forget the whipped cream for the strawberries.

If I’m lucky it’ll thunderstorm. :-)