Call for submissions

Working title: My Swedish career

We are seeking original pieces of creative non-fiction produced by international professionals who have arrived to Sweden at an age of 20 or above, addressing their personal experiences of entering (or trying to enter) the Swedish job market. The overall theme is career-related, and we are considering pieces covering employment, unemployment, work culture, legislation & taxes, culture shock in the workplace, skills, business, or running your own business, validation of diplomas, job hunting, professional networking and relationships, language for professional purposes, leadership culture, negotiations, and similar topics.

This is your chance to share your dreams, challenges, opportunities, disappointment, confusion, struggles, surprises, expectations, mistakes and success stories, to others in your situation. This will take the form of an anthology, with 10 – 20 co-authors. The book will be initially be published in English, targeting other international professionals in the relocation process to Sweden. A translated version in Swedish will later be available for Swedish readers, who are curious to learn more about their own culture from an intercultural perspective.

Deadline: January 8:th 2018

Email your questions or completed text to redaktion@lysforlag.com

• We accept submissions that in any way relate to one the topics described above.
• Submissions will be selected according to literary quality, originality, and coherence to the theme.

• We are looking for pieces of approximately 1000 – 5000 words in either English or Swedish. All contributions will be translated into both languages. Texts in other languages will not be considered.
• We may consider 1 – 3 pieces of visual works to complement the texts, in the form of drawings, photographs or similar. In that case, submissions should cover not more than 6 pages.
• We may ask authors of pieces with great potential to edit or adjust their submissions to improve literary quality or to be more fitting to the overall anthology.
• If you are selected as one of the contributing authors, you will be contacted in March 2018, to confirm your contribution, and sign a contract with the publisher.
• Each contributing co-author will be introduced with a short biography, including name, profession, country of origin, reason for coming to Sweden, and a photograph submitted by the author. If, of any reason, you would prefer to remain anonymous, please let us know before signing your contract, and we will respect your wishes.
• The editor in charge will make minor alterations to make language correct for selected pieces, if applicable. You will get to review and approve of any alterations before publication.
• The full anthology will be published in English in October 2018, and a Swedish version is expected to be published 6 – 12 months later.
• Each published co-author will receive a royalty of 1 % of the net price (the price the retailer pays to the publisher), in arrear, on a yearly basis. Payment through invoice. Please note that such income needs to be declared and taxed for. If you are not registered as a company, such charges could be declared as a hobby income (SKV 344). You may also use umbrella companies, such as Frilans Finans, Cool Company, etc., to invoice the publisher (LYS) without being registered as a company.

No registration is required, and you can hand in your completed contribution at any time before the deadline 8:th of January. However, contributors in need of support, or who would like to discuss their submissions are very welcome to contact us at any point in the process. You may also sign up below to receive regular advice on how to produce a successful submission.

About the publisher

LYS förlag is a new publishing house, and part of PYS validering AB (corporate number ID 559121-2377). LYS förlag will publish course literature in Swedish for professional purposes, and pieces of nonfiction addressing linguistic and cultural challenges faced by international professionals relocating to Sweden. LYS stands for Läromedel i yrkessvenska.

LYS förlag and PYS validering AB are run by Emil Molander, Sofi Tegsveden Deveaux and Djina Wilk, of Yrkessvenska A-Ö, and Bee Swedish AB.