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Key Info: 

Want to contribute an integration story to a zine? These can be stories of your direct experience; fictional stories that may have come out of/been inspired by altered states; a visual mapping or artwork of your process; etc. 

- Submission Date: October 1st, 2023 (you will be notified by October 10th if your entry will be part of this round of zine(s)).  This zine will be published/printed before the Portland Zine Symposium Oct 28th/29th that we will have a table at (excited!). 

- Zoom Connect/Q&A/Idea Share: Tuesday, September 5th @5pm-6pm - this is not required for submission but open to anyone who wants to earn more! (rsvp to emilymorioka@gmail.com)

- Up to 2500 words: stories, poems, artwork welcomed

- Funding to get $100 stipend per accepted entry (this may vary if funding isn't received - it will then be split based on a pool of any revenue/donations made) 

- Any entry will be considered in the zine as long as it is under 2500 words. The previous zine was all ages/kids stories - this integration zine is welcomed to have content that is sexual/explicit language. It will not be revised. However, it is in the spirit of collective liberation/ belonging (so dogmatic religious / sexist / racists / ableist / transphobic content won't be included - happy to talk more if this might feel confusing).

- Your entry does not need to adhere to a theme. It is whatever feels personally moving/impactful to you! The beauty of altered states and how we engage with them is that it is so not prescriptive.  

- Email questions/entries to emilymorioka@gmail.com 

- We will have a zoom night! I can answer any questions/you can brainstorm ideas/share thoughts/connect!

Tuesday, September 5th at 5pm PST. Email Emily at emilymorioka@gmail.com if you want to RSVP. 

 

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                                             Read on for more back story/context if you wish.... 

 

Goal: 

Have our own stories/art be liberating/joyful for us to put on paper that opens the potential for it to weave into/support the stories of folks reading. It is also a form of knowledge sharing. We often get some sweet insights in these altered spaces and zines feel like a perfect space to share. 

 

We made a Zine, "Stories Woven," which was so fun to put together and felt full of love. It is super exciting... this zine will be in the Bay Area Queer Zine Virtual Fest and the Portland Zine Symposium! And more to come. The second zine will not be children's stories this time, but this fall, we will focus on stories of altered spaces/integration. We will be taking the concept of peer integration groups and bringing it into written form supported so beautifully by Ruth's artwork. The zine will be in a similar layout but without the bigger coloring-book pics and more with some plants/herbs/medicine strewn through. We'll have a bookmark and also may pair it with an integration journal. 

 

The ask:

These zines are in the spirit of letting go of perfection/expectation/ego. More along the lines of just getting a story from you/us out there. I will not edit anyone's writing, just format it in a zine. You could offer a four word poem, a sketch/artwork, or a story/reflection (2500 is probably close to max as we want), lyrics, whatever feels right. 

 

I will see what the level of interest is and prioritize based on how the pieces all go together and when folks submit. If we get tons of interest, maybe we'll make two! 

 

These can be stories of your direct experience; fictional stories that may have come out of/been inspired by altered states; a visual mapping or artwork of your process; etc. 

 

Similar to ground-rules in an integration group, we do not share other peoples' stories without permission; we deeply respect other peoples' experiences and don't include language that is othering/violent/oppressive to others, etc. I will also be mindful of language that may feel dogmatic - while an insight/experience may be so golden for us individually I hope to stay away from language like "This _(religion/perspective/process)_ is "the" way", etc. 

 

Background: 

"The Baba Yaga Collective" was started as a site for sliding scale/more accessible providers/events/resources for areas in life that are often harder to find genuine support for (grief/birth/sex/gender/'underground'). In the spirit of improv and humility, we are trying to weave together a support system that is more healing than harmful, that can creatively hold us better while we witness/participate in structured/binary/dominant culture crumbling/transforming. There isn't really a goal or outcome other than following that intuitive collective red string with as much integrity as possible. 

 

The Zine: 

After doing integration work for 10+ years I have been so wildly moved by "narrative medicine." It has been more insightful than any training I have had. The power of telling a story. Hearing stories. Finding non-prescriptive and wildly beautiful paths that are peer-led/collaboratively held. As a parent, I also find solace in making up my own stories. Our culture is so transactional - it was hard for me to imagine going to a publisher and spending time and money getting past the gatekeeping of marketing/publishing/gatekeeping. I try to channel people like Patti Smith and Baba Yaga who, to me, holds some serious connection in the punk-spirit. The idea of holding these stories in zines just feel right in my bones.

 

I hope your bones and my bones and our bones can just enjoy this all together! 

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