TO THE JOURNAL
SUBMISSIONS FOR ANOBIUM: VOLUME 3 ARE OPEN UNTIL JULY 15, 2012.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TO KNOW WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN ANOBIUM: VOLUME 3:
Anobium: Volume 3 will be released in August 2012. The title of the collection is: Noospheria.
The term ‘noosphere‘ was realized by Russian scientist Vladimir Vernadsky who used it to describe the sphere of human thought. Much like the Earth’s other spheres (atmosphere, biosphere, etc.), the shape of the noosphere is indefinite, asymmetrical, malingering. Though we take the economy of informational and linguistic exchange for granted, the structure of this invisible mental ‘sphere’ is itself riddled with anomalies.
For example, consider Errol Morris’ 1978 documentary Gates of Heaven. Initially, it is a film about pet cemeteries and the people who maintain them. But soon, we’re led to confront the concept. Why pet cemeteries? What caused these places to come into being, and why, despite their apparent absurdity, do we continue them? These seems like aberrations. We don’t want to think that they might be more indicative of a more pervasive human impulse.
Think of other stories, like the Soviet nuclear satellite crash in the Northwest Territories in 1978. The desire to seek new earths. A man committing suicide by bow and arrow. A Philadelphian meatball heist. A small-time con-artist who legally changed his name to Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop.
Like the pet cemetery, these seem like aberrations. One-offs? But what makes a satellite crash any more strange than a car crash? What are these ‘strange’ scenarios if not thumbnails, or fragments, of the greater noospheric structure? What if this impulse for the absurd describes the actual foundation of this mental sphere?
In Anobium: Volume 3 – Noospheria, we are looking for writing which examines or subverts the suppositions, anomalies, and inconsistencies of the noosphere.
Send your prose, your essays, your aphorisms, your poems, your experiments, your criticisms. This is a complex subject and we will need writing of all forms. If you have something and you’re not sure about it, e-mail us. We want to work with you, and we want to make something special.
[For further noospheric research, consider watching movies like Werner Herzog's La Soufriere, Chris Marker's Sans Soleil, Maya Deren's At Land, Errol Morris's Tabloid, or Giorgos Lanthimos's Dogtooth. Books like Ludwig Wittgenstein's On Belief, Roberto Bolano's Antwerp, Franz Kafka's Amerika, Jesse Ball's The Way Through Doors, and more.]
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WHAT WE WANT:
We want your prose and poetry. Essays, fictions, poems, prayers, paeans, incantations. Anything and everything. We want things that say something, rather than things that talk about saying something. Think Esoteric. Psychedlic. Existential. Strange. Fantastic. Surreal. Sub-real. Agnostic. Insectile. Sell us your snake oil.
We aren’t strict on word counts. Most of the prose pieces we accept are not less than 200 words and not more than 2,500 words. Of course, we can always can fudge the numbers. As for poetry, we prefer hybrid and experimental compositions. The rest is for the birds.
Some of our favorite writers are Franz Kafka, David Foster Wallace, Roberto Bolaño,Vladimir Nabokov, Jose Saramago, Sam Lipsyte, Haruki Murakami, Blaster “Al” Ackerman, Daniel A.I.U. Higgs, Rikki Ducornet, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Italo Calvino, Michael Chabon, Hunter S. Thompson, Jorge Luis Borges, Charles Baudelaire, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Arthur Schopenhauer and others.
WHAT WE DON’T WANT:
Sophistry, pedantry, life lessons, warm beer.
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TECHNICAL RULES FOR SUBMITTING:
All submissions should be e-mailed and attached as a .docx, .doc or .rtf file.
In the subject line of your e-mail, please write “SUBMISSION: LAST NAME, FIRST NAME – TITLE OF SUBMISSION.” Like “SUBMISSION: Lynch, David – Eraserhead.”
In the body of your e-mail, please include:
- Title of submission.
- Word count (for prose).
- Your name, e-mail (and website/blog, if applicable).
Submit up to five poems or up to two prose pieces.
DO NOT SEND MULTIPLE E-MAILS.
Simultaneous submissions are cake. Just let us know if your piece has been accepted elsewhere (legal issues).
Upon acceptance, Anobium reserves the right to edit your work as we see fit, though we will seek your approval beforehand.
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WHERE TO SUBMIT:
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PAYMENT AND LEGALESE:
All contributors will receive a complimentary copy of the issue in which they are published and a discounted rate on extra copies of the issue. Because we are young, we cannot yet afford to pay our writers.
Anobium requires First North American Serial Rights. Upon publication, all rights revert to author. We’d like you to credit us if your work is accepted elsewhere after we publish it. All is fair, etc.
