Before we head into today’s discussion, Cul de sac would like to invite all you Chicago writers to a weekly writers group featuring members of our magazine and other authors who work together to better their craft. Email kevin[at]culdesacmag(dot)com for more info, and check this shiz out for guidelines on submitting your entries to this CWW series.

Summer has officially ended, and the chilly weather we’ve been experiencing is the perfect excuse to stay at home and curl up with  good book (it’s been proven that curled is the best position in which to read). If you’re having trouble deciding, why not check the American Library Association’s list of banned books? Sunday marked the start of ALA’s annual Banned Books Week, which concludes Saturday, October 3.

Chicago Trib literary columnist Julia Keller wrote a swell piece to commemorate this year’s week about the possible motivations of book banners, and her words must have struck home, especially when she writes, “Deep down, I imagine, book banners don’t really want to ban any books; they want the world to acknowledge their beliefs and convictions. The books to which they object just happen to constitute a handy stage for the dramatization of their manifestoes.” The Illinois Family Institute issued a rebuttal to this story, and part of their focus is pretty clearly on keeping children from reading books that discuss same-sex relationships or gender identity. IFI’s Laurie Higgins writes, in a meme taken from anti-marriage equality forces, “they are asking that teachers not read controversial picture books to young children who could not understand the presuppositions implicit in them even if teachers were to unpack them, which they wouldn’t because ‘progressive’ book banners would likely have a conniption if they did.” This roundabout way of discussing the perceived controversy of books like And Tango Makes Three and King & King leads into a broader analysis, but much of it is focused on limiting profanity and sexual content while dismissing violence as a more serious hazard. IFI claims through a priori argument that “[Keller] fails to address the real possibility that a teen who reads books that explore the pleasures and moral legitimacy of promiscuous sex will more likely embrace promiscuity than will a teen who reads books about ax murderers come to embrace murder…” And trying to dodge that issue, Higgins resorts to this doggerel: “For those who believe that homosexuality is not ontologically analogous to race and that volitional homosexual acts are profoundly immoral–as immoral, for example, as polyamory — having their children exposed to positive images of or ideas about homosexuality represents a grave and presumptuous moral offense. Imagine this scenario: Parents discover that during library time, their child has chosen the book Heather Has Two Mommies and Three Daddies or Heather Wishes She Knew and Could Be Raised by Her Biological Mommy and Daddy or Heather is Sad Because Daddy left Mommy So He Could Disfigure His Body and Wear Women’s Clothes.”

I agree with Keller that book banners are only ideologues trying to put forth their (rather limited) ideas; she brought up no mention of these books, nor discussed homosexual content as a factor in banning at all. But somehow, IFI felt that she was lodging a personal attack against those who believe homosexuality is wrong and decided the best way to respond was to degrade LGBT people to signify that withholding ideas from others is acceptable. For all their intolerance of the community, IFI seems to think more about homosexuality and transgender people more than HRC or GLAAD.

Hey, everyone. Hope you’re all having the most literary of weeks.

Just a quick update today to let you know that LIES/ISLE has extended the deadline for its second issue to October 15. That gives you three full weeks to prep your work and send it over all those cords and airwaves. Read here for submission guidelines.

And if you would like to be a part of the CWW here on Cul de sac with poetry, short stories, essays or other written arts, read through our submission guidelines and email kevin[at]culdesacmag(dot)com.

And now, the exciting conclusion of… Red Light Special: No Doors or Windows. Love it.

Red Light Special, Book One: No Doors or Windows, Part 4

Drip. Drip. Drip. Stagnant water was dripping on my forehead when I came to in a wooden chair placed in the center of an unfamiliar room. My hands were taped to the chair, so tight that my circulation was being cut off. I felt sick to my stomach and my head was spinning. What the hell was going on? I glanced around the room. The lit end of someone’s cigarette glowed in the darkness. The figure puffed eerie smoke rings into the atmosphere and finally decided to address me.

“So, we’re awake. How was your nap? Refreshing, I hope.”

“Oh, it was just lovely. I should be drugged and kidnapped more often. Who are you? What the fuck is going on?”

“I think I’ll be asking the questions, son.”

“About what? I didn’t do anything. And if this is some kind of rape thing, you should of done it while I was unconscious.”

I tried struggling my arms free, but it was no use. I was in it for the long haul.

“Don’t flatter yourself, kid. You are going to tell me what I want to know, or you’re never gonna see daylight again.”

“What is there to tell? WHO ARE YOU?”

After putting out the cigarette, he stood up from his chair and advance from the shadows to loom over me menacingly.

“The dude from the warehouse. Sternum. What did you do to her?”

“What did I do? She is the reason you’re here, my boy. If I knew what happened to her, I wouldn’t need you, now would I?”

“What do you want with her?”

To see your own work published in the many folds of our e-pages, just check out the guidelines here.

Welcome back, gentle readers (and the not-so gentle as well). We are featuring the penultimate volume of Red Light Special: No Doors or Windows. Jace Deep finds himself embroiled in a mystery when his friend Carrigan goes missing; did she run away or was she taken? Follow along in Part 3 below.

Red Light Special: No Doors or Windows, Part III

I felt the warm sunlight touch down on my eyelids the next morning through the blinds over the sink in the kitchen. It jarred me from slumber. Vision blurred, the first thing I tasted was The Med I had smoked the night before. Did I imagine last night? I leaned up, wiped the sleep from my eyes and looked over to find that Carrigan was gone. Did I imagine her, too? If so, how could I have gotten here? Where had she gone? I got up to investigate.

I walked into the tiny bathroom and flicked on the light. She wasn’t in there. I turned around and noticed that her purse was missing. There was nothing in the drawers or the modest size closet.

“She split?”

After taking a moment to freshen up in the bathroom and change into one of the spare shirts I kept I my bag, I quickly gathered my things and got out of dodge…

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion next week. And if you are looking to be a featured writer in this series, click here for guidelines.

Here we go with Part 2 of “Red Light Special: No Windows or Doors”: the action picks up for Jace Deep as he is pulled into a mystery involving a new friend he makes in the form of a prostitute named Jasmine.

Check out Red Light Special by PDF now.

And remember to submit your own work for future publication. Guidelines can be found here.

Welcome to our first week of Creative Writing Wednesdays, where we feature the writing talents of our queer counterparts. Our first series is Red Light Special, an intriguing urban mystery written by Norman Kyle Futrell. We will be featuring the first book in serial over the next few weeks. A downloadable PDF is provided below.

Red Light Special, Book One: No Doors or Windows

My bed was always comfortable when I was a kid. It was full-sized with linens my mother picked out for me. The comforter was huge, so enormous that when I peed in the bed, there was still enough dry spot to cocoon myself in. Every morning it would agonize me to move. I never wanted to get out of bed, not only because school sucked massively, but my bed was where I got to dream. And when I dreamt things, I always got what I wanted. I loved that the most. It was strange to me how whenever I closed my eyes to fall asleep, all my fantasies came true. I could be a cop, a super hero, a private eye or even a rock star and people actually depended on me. The thing was that I liked feeling needed. But I was just a kid. Who would need me?
I opened my eyes to a clear yet pale sky. It was morning, but the sun was being blocked by a veil of clouds and fog. Fall was fast approaching. I was getting used to that morning view. After three months on the street, who wouldn’t. I was also getting used to waking up on cold, ridged surfaces. Homelessness was no joke, that was for sure. And homelessness at 18 was even worse. I guess coming out to your bigot parents right after your high school graduation is a big fat no-no. It was too late to go back though, three months too late.
I got up off the ground and grabbed my bag, a tattered old army surplus green with emblems from all over the world sewn on it. The ironic truth is that I’d never been to any of the places that were on the bag. I just found it somewhere.

In an effort to provide additional resources to queer writers and writers of queer content, we will be featuring literary magazines, journals and contests to submit to on a regular basis that are LGBT-friendly. This week, we’re featuring online journal LIES / ISLE, which editor M. Kitchell handily describes for us:or Windows

“Literature: Influence, Echoes, and Systems / Influence of Systems on Literature (as Echoes)

LIES / ISLE is a journal dedicated to expanding the domain of experimental literature. While acknowledging that our work is influenced by the systems under which it operates, we also believe that it possesses the agency to affect change. From an editorial point of view, we contextually echo the history of the avant-garde, looking for pieces that approach their subjects through new aesthetic strategies.

To this end, LIES / ISLE welcomes submissions that pay particular attention to form or the hybridization of genre, including but not limited to conceptual writing, visual fiction and poetry, and works that deal with the space between static and time-based elements–conscious experimentation that subverts the idea of the homogenized system [-- a system that underlines not only the state of contemporary literature, but also the system that undermines contemporary life in general].

LIES / ISLE is currently looking for entries to theme. For our second issue, the theme is Architecture & Landscape.”

The second issue deadline is Tuesday, September 15th. Submission guidelines can be found here.

Beginning on August 26, Cul de sac Magazine will be featuring a Creative Writing Wednesdays series that will put short stories, excerpts from longer works and poetry at the forefront. You don’t have to be queer to submit; we just ask that your work relates to the LGBT experience. All subject matter and genres are given equal consideration.

Our guidelines are:
–under 1,000 words for prose, with consideration given for serializing longer pieces.
–2-3 poetry submissions at a time.
–use the Contact Us button at the top of the screen to send an inquiry; we will respond from the email address to send your submissions.

At this time, we cannot offer compensation, but we do provide a forum for your work that reaches over 500 readers a month. It is important to our mission to provide as many unique voices as possible that can touch the lives of queer folk all across the spectrum. We welcome your words and your talent and look forward to sharing them with our readers.