I have just received notice of a new ministry book for parents of murdered children being published. The authors are seeking stories and given that sharing your story can be cathartic, I thought I would share their request here:

Call for Short Stories or Poetry from Parents of Murdered Children

Dr. Edna Ellison and Dr. Linda Greer are doing a compilation for a ministry book for parents of murdered children. We are requesting short stories of 1000 words or less or short poems of 20 lines maximum from parents who have had a child murdered (age 22 or younger).

We would like parents to include a key Bible verse used to gain strength and hope for this crisis in their lives. Please try to focus on the initial grief, the healing process and the hope found in God, rather than great details of the loss of your child. Please do not submit stories on missing children.

Although we regret we can’t offer a fee for your work, we can give you one free copy of the final work when it is published and a discount on any other books you choose to purchase. Please use alternate names for persons in your work for your protection or pseudonyms as authors or poets.

Send Word documents in Times New Roman, double-spaced. Attach a separate cover sheet including your real name, address, email, and telephone numbers. Please attach your documents in an email with “PMOC” in the subject line to drgreer@charter.net . In the email body please indicate if it is a poem or a short story. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 1, 2010.