Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness was the winner in the ANTHOLOGY category of the 2024 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with editor Diane Gottlieb.
Thank you, IndieReader judges! I am so grateful for this amazing award and for the acknowledgement of Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness! Editing this anthology has been my great joy and honor, and I had lots of help along the way. Thank you, Ariana Den Bleyker, the heart and soul of ELJ Editions, for your unending love and support! Thank you, Gayle Brandeis, for your gorgeous foreword. And thank you–all 49 of my amazingly talented, bold, and brave contributors for sharing your body stories on the page! If you’ve ever heard a negative message about your body, if you’ve ever internalized one, if you are sick and tired of the outside world telling you how you should look, whom you should love, and how your body should function, please pick up a copy of Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness! You will be so glad you did–and so will we! Thanks so much, again, IndieReader judges! Wishing you all the best and love for your one and wonderful body!
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness (ELJ Editions, October 2023)
What’s the book’s first line?
“I recently climbed into a sensory deprivation tank for the first time in nearly forty years,” from the Foreword by Gayle Brandeis.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
What happens when 49 authors sit down to craft their experiences of living in a body? Magic! Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness is truly a magical anthology of short essays, filled with trauma and triumph, pleasures and pain, challenges, resilience, and growth. A host of seasoned writers alongside emerging artists share the hearts, their limbs, their breasts—even their teeth!—on the page in this similarly stunning array of diverse voices, journeys and literary forms. Awakenings will sometimes make you laugh, often make you cry, and will always spur a deep appreciation for the flash and bones that carry us all through life.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Ariana Den Bleyker, the editor and founder of ELJ Editions and I often talk about our bodies—and not always in the most loving way. In one of those conversations, we decided we wanted to push back against societal messages, telling people what their bodies should look like, whom their bodies should love, and how their bodies should function. We put out a call for personal essay submissions about the body and Awakenings was born!
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Because Awakenings is an anthology consisting of forty-nine protagonists essays, the protagonists of the collection are the authors themselves. So many diverse body experiences—and parts—are given space in Awakenings! Each “main character” is incredibly bold and beautiful!
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Anyone who has ever heard a negative message about their body, and everyone who has ever repeated that message to themselves, will gain something from this anthology. Each of the forty-nine essays will move you in a different way. As Joan Baranow said in her blurb, “Reading these essays helps us remember what it means to belong to a body, to cherish and honor the most vulnerable aspects of ourselves.”
Is there something in particular that motivates you?
Yes! Connecting with readers on a deep, heart level, and hopefully, bringing more light into their day.