***The submission period has ended. Contact nicolegeiger1@gmail.com with any
questions.***

**This book is separate from the NPS “Share Your Story” project. If you are an NPS employee you may submit the same (or different) stories to both the NPS project via the NPS web portal for employees and to this partner project.**

Storytelling has its roots around the campfire. Since humans learned to communicate, there has been the impulse to share experience and wisdom, inspire wonder, elicit laughter, and build community. On the eve of the National Park Service Centennial, when intense focus is placed on connecting people to parks, storytelling is a way to return people of any age or background to that long-ago campfire. To inspire both those who will serve and visit a unit of the National Park Service in the next 100 years, Yosemite Conservancy is publishing a book of 100 stories, chosen from individual submissions by people who are or have been intimately connected to an NPS unit as a National Park Service employee or volunteer. We hope that you will share your stories that, at their heart, seek to inspire the next generation. Your story may be a memorable park encounter, a moment of solitude on a scenic trail, or an experience at one of the historic battlefields or seashores; it may have happened forty years ago or just last week. Your story is needed to build the campfire and we hope you will join us there.

Who may apply?  Any current or retired National Park Service employee or volunteer.

What kind of story may I submit?  Submissions should be nonfiction and may convey anything you wish provided at their core they seek to inspire future generations of visitors or those who will serve.

How long may my story be?  Submissions may be no longer than 1,000 words.

What will happen to the stories?  A review team of retired NPS employees will serve as a blind panel to determine which stories best fit the guidelines for the book. Stories will be lightly edited. The book will be a trade paperback format that will hopefully be sold by cooperating associations in all NPS units. If your story is selected, you will be contacted and provided with a letter granting Yosemite Conservancy the right to publish your story in both print and digital form. Submissions will not be returned.

Is there a fee or payment?  There is no fee for your submission. Authors will not be paid if their stories are included.

Will I get a copy of the book?  If your story is selected, you will receive a gratis copy of the book.

Will my personal information be used in some way?  If your story is selected, only your name will be featured in the book. We do need to be able to contact you with questions about your story, a permission form, and a gratis copy of the book, so we ask that you provide your contact information at this time.

Deadline: The submission period has ended.