Titled Baldness Be My Friend, the anthology will feature autobiographical stories written by women who live with non-medically induced and non-cancer related hair loss.
The title of the book is a reference to the World War II memoir Boldness Be My Friend in which courage, endurance, and a sense of self were key themes. Women who live with hair loss need each of these personality traits just to keep going from day to day in a beauty-focused society.
The publishers aim to throw a spotlight on female hair loss, particularly hair loss amongst young women, and to raise awareness of the condition.
‘The topic of hair loss is, for women, a taboo subject,’ commented publisher Leticia Supple this week. ‘Men lose their hair, and that’s seen as ok, but when a woman loses her hair, she’s viewed as dirty, diseased, or otherwise undesirable. There are millions of women out there who lose their hair for no other reason than they have female hair loss in their family; it’s these stories that we feel need a public space. We also hope that the book will give some hope to women out there who start to lose their hair, because they aren’t alone.’
All those who would like to submit works will be given full support from the publishers to develop their piece, whether they have notes, a draft, or something more substantial.
‘We realise that most people are non-writers, so we’re offering to give those women who would like to write about their experiences as much help as we can,’ the publishers stated recently. ‘We have already seen a few submissions from non-writers and they are breath-takingly poignant. We encourage all those who are interested to get in touch with us so we can help.’
Guidelines
Writes must be:
• Female
• Suffering non-medically induced and non-cancer-related hair loss
• Willing to write an honest account of their experiences with hair loss, from the good to the bad.
Submissions must be:
• Sent by email
• Under 10,000 words in length.
• Accompanied by a pseudonym if the writer does not want to publish under her real name.
More info
Contact the publishers at info@brascoebooks.com.au
or go to
www.brascoebooks.com.au/
