Preliminary Call for Submissions

I am preparing to compile essays, stories and poems for a literary anthology about shyness.

I’m amazed by how surprising, even unpredictable, it is who does or does not consider themselves shy. And each person who claims shyness defines it differently. Even psychologists can’t agree on what shyness is; some call it a personality trait, synonymous with introversion, or introversion’s dark side, and some see it as the warning sign of a mental illness. Millions of children and adults are medicated for social anxiety disorder – a disorder that’s only existed since the 1990s. Is shyness a flaw to overcome? Is it a gift? Does it stem from fear, from a preference for solicitude, or, as Freud claimed, from narcissism? Do we embrace it or try to beat it down, and how does it affect the decisions we make, the directions our lives take?

I will be looking for new and previously published work. There’s no deadline yet, and you don’t need to write anything before contacting me. Please just let me know if you may be interested in contributing, and let me know briefly what you have in mind.