From Laura Nathan [at InTheFray.org]

This June, INTHEFRAY Magazine will get the skinny on the 21st century's obsession with fat.

With meanings ranging from obese to wealthy, from productive to foolish, fat has many faces today. While the diet industry rakes in billions and the fashion industry glamorizes anorexia, public health experts have declared an obesity epidemic of unprecedented proportions. Meanwhile, public officials and corporate executives are dealing in a different kind of fat — politicians skim the fat off taxpayer dollars to finance a war from which their fat cat friends profit, while CEOs cook the books to fatten up company profits and feed their own growing compensation packages.

With fat shaping our lives at every turn, we invite artists and writers to our big fat June issue. Possible questions to explore include: Is the obesity epidemic a hoax? Do fat studies departments have a place in academia? When it comes to discrimination, is fat the new black? How do race and class influence what we eat and what we consider to be beautiful? What does obesity say about affluence in our society? How will bans on transfats change dining experiences? How is newly acquired affluence affecting health in developing countries? How is fat related to phat? Who is getting fat off the war in Iraq?

Contributors interested in pitching relevant news features, poetry/fiction, cultural criticism, commentary pieces, personal essays, visual essays, travel stories, or book reviews should e-mail us at fat-at-inthefray-dot-org. Send us a well-developed, one-paragraph pitch for your proposed piece NO LATER THAN APRIL 30, 2007. First-time contributors to ITF should familiarize themselves with the type of content we publish, our submission guidelines, and the honorarium and publishing rights we offer beforehand by visiting http://submit.inthefray.org.

Full Circle is currently accepting submissions between 1000-3000 words in length by people of Indian origin who have spent a significant amount of time working on a service project in India. We are looking for well-written, vivid, true, inspirational personal stories and essays. While the stories need not be about service specifically, we are seeking submissions that reflect the experiences had, the friendships formed and the realizations made while engaging in service work in India. Some themes to consider might be identity, people, places, turning points and challenging moments.

Submissions should be e-mailed to Sindya Bhanoo. Please include the following information:

* Full name
* Nationality
* Contact information
* Description and length of the project you worked on in India

Submissions Due By: July 15, 2006.

More about the project: Every year, young people of Indian origin travel to India to pursue social service. They settle in cities and stay in villages, work with children and adults, and learn and teach. They make this trip to India not to visit, but to live in and experience the country for what it really is. While India is not their home, it is their homeland. They are in search of their roots. They want to give back and make a difference. They want to inspire and be inspired. Some stay for a few months, others for years. Some work on education and health initiatives, others work with tribes trying to market traditional art, and still others devote themselves to improving agricultural practices.

Over the years, the pull to return to the homeland has been running stronger and deeper. More and more youth journey to India every year. Long after they complete their work in India, the stories and memories of the people whose lives they touched, and who touched their lives, stay with them. Their stories are filled with appreciation and wonder, laughter and tears, and challenges and aspirations. Above all, their stories resonate with hopes and dreams for India, themselves, and humanity.

Full Circle is a collection of these stories. For more information and a sample submission, visit us at: http://fullcircle.indicorps.org.