ET AL., AN EXPERIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE LITERARY & VISUAL ARTS

The NEWLIGHTS PRESS is seeking FOOLHARDY ADVENTURERS in the LITERARY & VISUAL ARTS to embark upon a PERILOUS JOURNEY through the land of EXPERIMENTAL ARTWORKS. What we RISK is the loss of FAME, FORTUNE, even the COMFORTABLE BOUNDARIES of our own WORK and IDENTITIES. What we will GAIN is a NEW, TEMPORARY WORLD of SHARED and INFINITE POTENTIAL.

Et Al. is an experimental journal focused on the possible intersections of the literary and visual arts. It starts from the idea of an “arts journal” as a (non)site of the collective production and reception of meaning; one object, in multiple, built from multiple inputs and transmitting to multiple outputs. While traditional journals operate by reproducing text and images as discreet entities centered around a common theme, aesthetic direction, or author-function, Et Al. will be built on the principle of active production and the legible intersection(s) of text, image, typography, material, printing processes, and the temporal structure of the book form. Each issue of Et Al. will be, in essence, an artists’ book of rhizomatic (non)authorship, textually, visually, and structurally.

SUBMISSION DETAILS
Et Al. will consist of 4 issues, to be published at the theoretical rate of 2 per year. Each of the four issues will have a theme: 1) Material, 2) Structure, 3) Production, and 4) Potential. Submissions will be accepted on an ongoing basis (with a “soft deadline” for encouragement), and the individual issues will be considered filled when enough material condenses around that potentiality. The rough (ever subject to change) publishing schedule:

1 MATERIAL: November 2009
2 STRUCTURE: May 2010
3 PRODUCTION: November 2010
4 POTENTIAL: May 2011

The nature of this project requires that all contributors give up “absolute control” of how their work is presented (an illusion anyway). What this means is that images may be cropped, flipped, halftoned, overprinted, etc. and that text may be cut, interpolated into another text, disarranged, typographically disrupted, and/or spread across a series of pages. That being said, part of the process for the preparation of each issue will be an opportunity for each contributor to work back into their piece or pieces in its new form (details below). Submissions of fragments, unfinished, totally bizarre, or “what the hell do I do with this?” pieces is encouraged.

SUBMISSION FORMATS
Submissions of all types of visual, textual, and literary art will be considered. General guidelines for the different types below:

IMAGES: This category includes text as image. Keep in mind that these images will undergo (probably black and white) graphic reproduction. Submit no more than 5 images as digital files, JPEGs of 300 dpi at 100% of their original size. While email submissions are preferred, files over 8 MB should be sent on a CD (mailing address below). Ideas and suggestions for how the images should be used are welcome.

TEXT: Submit 2-5 pages of proofed writing (poetry, prose, fiction, scholarly, critical, what-have-you) as a Microsoft Word or PDF document. Ideas and suggestions for possibilities of the how the text can be formatted are welcome.

OTHER: Submissions for specific interventions into the form of the journal will also be considered (example: safety pin these 3 printed images onto the upper right corner of a page). You may submit up to 3 different proposals. Logistics for these types of submissions will be negotiated with the individual contributor, and each will probably have to change (at least a little) to fit into the overall structure of each issue. Please keep in mind that while we here at the NewLights Press are known for labor-intensive work, there is actually only one of us, and he has other things to work on too.

All submissions should be made via email to newlightspressATgmailDOTcom. Please use “Submission: Et Al.” as the subject line. Attach all submissions as separate files. Be sure to include the following information in the body of your email:

Your name
Your mailing address
Your email address
Which theme you are submitting for: (Material, Structure, Production, and/or Potential. Multiple theme submissions are okay.)
A little bit about yourself (if we don’t know you already) and relevant web links to see more of your work. The idea here, ultimately, is the growth of a community. Links will most likely become part of a simultaneous electronic announcement at the time each issue is published.

Mail physical submissions (only if you have to, and be sure to include the info listed above) to:

NewLights Press
601 William St. # 413
Oakland, CA 94612

Decisions as to what submissions will be included will be made as soon as they can be, but final decisions cannot be made until each issue begins to take shape. Some pieces will be accepted immediately to form the basic skeletons of the issues, others will need to be marinated and tenderized before they are ready. All responses to submissions will be made via email.

As each issue draws closer to publication, each contributor will have the chance to revise their piece(s). All contributors will be sent a PDF proof of their piece as it stands in relation to the rest of the journal, and they will have the chance to make edits (or suggestions of edits, depending on how drastic) before the pieces are committed to print. We want all the contributors to be both surprised and pleased by the final form that their pieces take.

(A brief editorial aside: A valid question at this point is: “You expect all of the contributors to give up “absolute control” of their work, but what you’re doing is taking that control for yourself. How is that sharing?” The answer: Yes, we agree, and that was the main theoretical problem we had to face when thinking this thing through. We hope to lessen our own control through the following means: 1) letting contributors respond to and rework their pieces after initial formatting, 2) opening the submissions to the “Other” category of structural interventions, and 3) by soliciting the input and help of other printers and bookmakers in production. If there are any volunteers for such a task, please let me know.)

10-20 contributors will be included in each issue. The journal will be produced in editions of 100-200, using a combination of letterpress, digital printing, collage, and hand-mechanical painting/drawing on a variety of materials. Each contributor will receive 2-3 copies of the issue that they are in.

Did we forget anything? Questions? Comments? Please use the comment option below.

The deadline for submissions for the first issue, “MATERIAL,” is May 31st, 2009. Thank you for your time and interest.