After the Bombs are Silent
A Call for Submissions to a new anthology Substack
Many of our current problems stem from a paucity of imagination. We have no trouble imagining war, though we’ve grown far less competent at waging it. But the idea of peace eludes us utterly. We are trapped in an eternal struggle against evil powers that must be hammered into powder before they destroy us.
People on all sides are calling for Total X Death, urging us to Gas The X, or proposing that all the X pack their bags and go somewhere else. Moving millions of people to a new location implies you have someplace to put them. Killing people en masse requires enormous resource and manpower expenditures. And the more effective your methods, the louder the world’s outrage.
Like everything else in this world, conflicts are temporal. When they finally end, those who survived are left to pick up the pieces. Neighbors who found themselves enemies through accidents of birth or faith now must build new relationships. It has always been this way. It will always be this way.
To get people thinking about that future, I’m putting out a call for submissions to my new blog, “After the Bombs Are Silent.”
Here is the prompt:
50 years after the Israeli/Palestinian armistice, how are the people living together?
What does a new state with a 75/25 Palestinian/Jewish population look like?
How do the victors and the vanquished interact in a society where everybody has (or does not have) the vote?
How many bridges have they built between their communities?
How many old wounds remain unhealed?
I have arrived at the 75/25 number largely by thinking about current birth rates while pulling it out of my posterior. I’d be happy to consider other ratios, but all stories must be set in the area of modern day Israel and the West Bank and must feature a sizable Jewish AND Palestinian population descended from the survivors of today’s war as well as people who still remember the war and its aftermath.
From there, the sky is the limit. Science fiction, fantasy, space opera, horror, romance, and any other genre is welcome. Stories can be comic, tragic, or any admixture thereof. I’d be thrilled to see illustrated stories, artwork, and manga. I’m not prudish, but no explicit sex or gore.
While I’m primarily seeking fiction submissions, I would also welcome non-fiction essays speculating on the state of the Middle East in 2075-2100.
So why should I submit to this project?
Well, there’s money involved, though not much. At the end of this year I will provide the first, second, and third-prize winners with a $50, $25, and $10 prize.
Everybody who submits gets a 90-day complimentary paid subscription to Notes from the End of Time. And of course you get full credit for anything you write, as well as your link to your blog or Substack.
Send all submissions to AfterTheBombsAreSilent@proton.me.
