The inaugural RESCRIPTION PROJECT was held in 2012 in Chicago from May to December. The project resulted in a full-length book, Rescription, collectively authored by the project’s participants, Jeff Bakkensen, Pat Chesnut, Sean Conner, Joshua Covell, Benjamin Goluboff, Sophie Summertown Grimes, Nicholas Hayes, W. Doak Neal, Stephanie Plenner, Steven Ramirez, Ben Smith, Steven Teref, and Benjamin van Loon.
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Below is the original info about Chicago’s RESCRIPTION PROJECT:
Every writer has a completed draft buried in their closet. It’s a case-closed piece of fiction that for all intents and purposes is “done”—abandoned and left to decompose in the wake of future endeavors. Anobium’s Rescription Project brings these dead drafts back into the light where they will be broken down, reassembled, and sent into the wild.
The Rescription Project is a five-month collective project that will involve 10 writers with 10 dead ideas. These writers will collaborate to resuscitate these drafts by allowing each respective writer, with their own machinations, to leverage their talent for the work of others. At the conclusion of The Project, Anobium will publish a book of these collectively ‘rescripted’ stories; mere ‘drafts’ which would have otherwise seen nothing but dust, skeletons, and silverfish.
With this project, the status of ‘author’ is no longer a singularity. At the start of the five-month process, each writer submits one piece of fiction to the group, with the acknowledgement that in turning it over, it will no longer be their own; like jazz, but on paper. The completed product will be the product of all ten ‘authors,’ working in tandem.
With each submission, the writer will present a set of expectations for what can and cannot be manipulated with the draft. The piece is then passed on and each subsequent writer will spend spend roughly two weeks on doctoring it before passing it on again. The end goal will be a more complete piece—tweaked, subverted, diverted.
The Rescription Project is an experiment in authorship and revision. As such, the ten writers will meet once a month during the course of the project to: 1) explore how the collective process challenges their perception of ‘writing alone,’ 2) discuss the merits of navigating another writer’s world, 3) enjoy beer, wine, food, or some combination thereof.
Those interested in participating in The Rescription Project must have a narratively complete text (i.e. the idea of the story is executed completely) which has not previously been published. Writers must be based in Chicago, have access to Google Groups, and be willing to attend monthly meetings held over a five-month period. A project fee of $40 is encouraged of all writers and will be used to offset printing costs of the completed publication. If you’re interested in participating—or if you have questions—send an email to XXXXXXX with “THE RESCRIPTION PROJECT” as your subject. If you would like to apply, please also include a short bio and attach a ready-to-be-rescripted story. More details to come.
[This group was facilitated by Benjamin van Loon (Managing Editor, Anobium) and Sean Conner.]
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