#ForThePeople: Tell the Story They Want to Erase
- For The Writers | Official
- Jun 14
- 6 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
At a time when immigration policy is not only shaping headlines but defining lives, For The Writers is opening space for truth, testimony, and resistance. We are now accepting nonfiction submissions for a series of forthcoming publications and advocacy campaigns designed to elevate the human cost and moral complexity of this administration’s immigration policies.
If you’ve been directly or indirectly affected by deportation, enforcement, or immigration reform efforts, we invite you to share your story. Below are the current open calls for submissions. Each one centers a different perspective, but they’re united by one thing: the urgency of being documented.
1. Illegal Deportation Shatters Lives
Have you lost someone—physically or emotionally—because of illegal deportation?
We’re collecting first-person stories from those left behind: the family members, close friends, caregivers, and loved ones who carry the weight of absence and the ache of injustice.
Whether your loved one was forcibly removed, detained without due process, or sent back to unsafe conditions, we want to honor your grief and help you share what has too often been erased.
This call is for you if you’ve experienced:
The sudden loss of a spouse, parent, sibling, or child;
Long-distance parenting or forced separation;
The mental and emotional toll of deportation on your household or community; and/or
A desire to preserve the memory or legacy of someone taken.
Your story deserves to be heard and remembered.
2. The Cost of Immigration Enforcement on America's Employers
If you own or operate a business that has lost key employees, faced ICE raids, or struggled with shifting immigration regulations, your perspective is vital. We’re gathering submissions from business owners and employers to highlight the economic, operational, and emotional toll these policies have taken.
What We're Looking For (Among Others)
Testimonies from employers affected by worker removals;
Stories of legal or ethical conflict in trying to protect undocumented workers; and/or
Narratives from industries like agriculture, hospitality, tech, education, and healthcare.
3. Testimonies from Public Servants and Officials
This call is for those on the front lines—legislators, judges, law enforcement officers, military members, and others in public service—who have witnessed, enforced, or resisted immigration policies under the current administration.
What We're Looking For (Among Others)
Firsthand accounts of legal and moral conflicts;
Experiences of internal pressure or retaliation; and/or
Stories of pushing back, reforming, or walking away.
4. Immigrant Stories of Arrival, Identity, and Hope
This call is for immigrants who want to tell their story in their own words. Whether you arrived as a child or an adult, through a visa, border crossing, refugee program, or undocumented path, your journey is one of strength, complexity, and meaning.
We’re collecting first-person narratives that explore the why behind your arrival, the what of your journey, and the how of building a life in a country that may not always make room for you, but which you’ve shaped with your presence nonetheless.
What We're Looking For (Among Others)
Personal essays about what brought you or your family to the U.S.;
Reflections on home, identity, survival, and hope;
Stories of joy, culture, conflict, assimilation, or resistance; and
Moments of kindness, community, injustice, or turning points.
Ideal for: First-generation immigrants, undocumented individuals, Dreamers/DACA recipients, asylum seekers, mixed-status families, refugee communities
This is your story, and your story is not anyone's to edit, erase, or define.
5. Stories from the Front Lines of Protest
Have you marched, rallied, chanted, filmed, or stood in solidarity at protests in response to unjust immigration policies or deportation practices? Whether you were on the front line or in the back with a sign and a camera, your perspective matters.
We’re seeking submissions from individuals who have participated in protests, vigils, direct actions, or demonstrations—particularly those calling out systemic harm, demanding justice for immigrant communities, or confronting the abuse of power in real-time.
We welcome written narratives accompanied by original photos, video footage, or audio recordings that document the emotional and physical presence of these moments.
What We're Looking For (Among Others)
Why you showed up;
What you saw, felt, feared, or hoped;
The people who moved you, or the ones lost along the way; and
The resistance that changed something, or the injustice that still needs naming.
Ideal for: Protesters, documentarians, organizers, government employees, artists, allies, and everyday citizens who took to the streets.
You were there. You saw it. You felt it. Help us preserve what the headlines missed.
6. America's Illegal War — Iran Beyond the Headlines
While the world focuses on nuclear sites and political fallout, we are seeking firsthand accounts from ordinary people inside Iran: students, parents, workers, artists, and elders who are surviving beneath the pressure of international aggression.
What does it mean to live where global policy becomes local crisis?
What We're Looking For (Among Others):
Personal narratives about food and medical shortages, blackout routines, and disrupted infrastructure
Stories of caring for children, elders, or disabled family members during military escalation
Accounts of resilience, creativity, and daily resistance in the face of isolation and instability
Reflections on how the June 21 strikes and years of sanctions have affected your neighborhood, job, education, or ability to dream
Cultural essays that reveal Iran’s humanity in a time when it’s being reduced to a “threat” or a target
You do not have to be a writer to be heard. You only need to be someone who has lived through what most of the world will never understand unless you tell them.
This submission category is open to pieces written in English or Persian. We will provide translation support where needed.
Ideal for: Any Iranian civilian currently living in Iran; residents of cities directly affected by the June 21 missile strikes (e.g., Isfahan, Natanz, Fordow); family members of Iranian civilians currently living outside of Iran; students, healthcare workers, teachers, parents, artists, and elders experiencing the compounded effects of sanctions and war; anyone living under infrastructure collapse, resource shortages, or heightened state repression since the attack and before.
If you’re living it, your voice belongs here. Your survival is not secondary to war. This voice is the story.
7. Testimonies from Genocide Survivors and Descendants
This call is for survivors, descendants, and witnesses of genocide ready to share personal stories of loss, resilience, memory, and resistance. Whether you lived through it or carry its legacy, your voice helps preserve truth and defy erasure.
We’re collecting first-person narratives that bring human depth to history too often reduced to dates and numbers, especially from those affected by the Holocaust, the Armenian, Rwandan, Cambodian, Bosnian, Indigenous, and Herero & Nama genocides.
What We’re Looking For (Among Others):
Personal essays about surviving or inheriting the trauma of genocide;
Stories passed down through generations—what was said, and what was not;
Reflections on cultural loss, identity, silence, survival, and justice;
Acts of defiance, recovery, or remembrance in the face of annihilation.
Ideal for: Holocaust survivors and descendants, Armenian and Rwandan diaspora, Cambodian refugees, Bosnian Muslims, Indigenous writers across the Americas, Namibian voices, and anyone carrying the memory of a people nearly erased.
This is your story. It deserves to be heard, preserved, and honored.
Submission Guidelines for All Calls
We welcome submissions across all open categories. Please follow the general guidelines below to ensure your work is properly considered:
File Uploads: You may include up to five files with your submission. Accepted formats include Word documents, PDFs, audio recordings, photographs, and video files that support or accompany your written narrative.
Cover Letter: A cover letter is required for all submissions. This should provide a brief introduction (if you’re comfortable), explain the context of your piece, and note whether anonymity is requested.
Document Format: Written submissions must be formatted as a Word Document or PDF, using 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and clearly titled.
Deadline: Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, unless otherwise stated in your specific call.
Anonymity and Privacy: If you request anonymity, we will remove all identifying details and handle your submission with the highest level of confidentiality. Your safety and privacy are top priorities for this project. We adhere to strict ethical editorial standards to protect the interests of every contributor.
Please carefully review the specific submission requirements for the call you’re responding to before submitting. We look forward to hearing your story and honoring it with the care it deserves.
Why This Matters
These stories are not side notes to policy. They are the cost. The burden. The human aftermath. By writing them down, you reclaim truth from the systems that tried to bury it.
Your voice might become testimony.
Your grief might become momentum.
Your resistance might be the very action that sparks change.
this is incredible. hats off to you! i’ll help spread the word. if you’re reading this YOU SHOULD TOO!