GreenTOpia: call for papers

Dear Torontonian,In 2005, Coach House Books published an anthology called 'uTOpia:Towards a New Toronto.' This forward-looking collection of essays aimedto capture Toronto’s post-millennial cultural renaissance, and the lovefor their city shared by the city's artists, planners, writers,activists and urban enthusiasts. The success of uTOpia led to afollow-up volume, 'The State of the Arts: Living With Culture inToronto', published a few months ago, that dug deeper into the city’sarts and culture scene.So, it's that time again. The working title for Volume III of theseries is 'GreenTOpia: 20 Visions for a Greener Toronto'. We’re lookingfor 20 immodest proposals for how Toronto can become a greener city anda leader in the fight against global warming and fossil fueldependence. The time is right: climate change has rightfully emerged asthe #1 issue of our time; in the past year, the environment jumped from3% to 26% as the number-one issue on Canadians’ minds. Headlines inbusiness magazines indicate that corporations have suddenly realizedthat going green can make them some green. Yet the mainstreaming of theissue runs the risk of suffocating the smaller, creative ways citizensand organizations in Toronto are pushing to change the status quo.An initial brainstorming session produced the following broad topics:public transit, air quality, waste management, green space,neighbourhood planning, the role of governments, business and the artscommunity in greening the city, participatory democracy, air travel,urban forests, road tolls, alternative energy, the waterfront,brownfields, indigenous models for sustainability, visions for publicspaces like Downsview Park and the Green Arts Barns, and the City’sGreen Plan. But we're not looking for the same old things. We want bigideas, bold ideas, brash ideas. We want off-the-wall thinking. We wantimagination and innovation. We want fun and function, wackiness and,maybe, workability. We want to turn our readers' worlds upside down.We're sending this call for proposals far and wide, and we encourageyou to send it to everyone you know. If you're interested inparticipating, we're asking you to send a one-to-three-paragraphdescription of what you'd like to write about, along with your name,address, phone number and e-mail, a short bio, and any writing creditsyou have.The deadline for proposals is March 5. Unfortunately, we can't acceptlate proposals.We'll sort through the proposals and choose the 20 that most excite usand would fit together into a good anthology. We'll let you know byMarch 20 if your piece has been selected. Final pieces will be due amonth later, on April 20.Specs: Pieces should be 2500 words max. Black and white images aregreat. We'd like to avoid dry or academic writing; the tone should beaccessible, anecdotal, maybe even playful. We'd like the pieces to beforward-looking and positive -- that's not to say that they can'tcriticize, but we'dprefer something constructive and with an overall positive tone. Andthey have to be about Toronto. We can't offer big bucks, butcontributors will receive $100, a copy of the book and our undyinggratitude.Please spread the word to anyone at all who might be interested. Anddon't hesitate to email (christina@chbooks.com) or call (416 979 2217)if you have questions. And please visit our website, www.chbooks.com,for more information about the press and our books.Thanks,Alana WilcoxChristina PalassioJonny DovercourtThe Editors