C A L L-4-S C I E N C E Writing
~Science Outside of the Academy~
~Science Outside of the Academy~
We have an open, ongoing call (no deadline) for science
writing. We are looking for essays (up to but not exceeding approximately 3,750
words) which will be published in stand-alone portable document format on the
Bibliotekos site (on the Science sub-page/tab).
What is science writing in essay form? It is not science
fiction. It is not science poetry. (We do not want creative works of any kind,
including creative non-fiction, that use *science* as a crutch, such as writing
in medical humanities or memoirs.) We are not interested in nature writing. All
of the previous genres have been done over and again.
As we did from a literary perspective in our five
anthologies, we are now interested in writing that strives to explain (or attempts
to explore) the human condition. How does science helps us understand the human
predicament – that is, our individual behavior, our morality and ethics, our relationship
with other individuals and with groups (or to animals and the environment). What
makes us tick, and not just the how but also a little of the why. So *science*
here could include biology, evolutionary biology, psychology, evolutionary
psychology, anthropology, primatology, neuroscience and such. In any case, the
science aspect of the writing must ultimately address human needs, desires,
motives, or emotions. How does science help us understand what makes us human?
We do not want you simply to report on what is happening in
science labs and quarters. (The science section of a good newspaper and some
blogs do that already.) We want the why aspect of what a scientist is doing –
the deeper themes being revealed and the larger picture uncovered as they
relate to humanity. For example, Mark Pagel, biologist, (among many others)
explores and explains how science can help us understand human culture, our “knowledge,
beliefs, and practices.” Since our aim is to extend the reach of scientific
research and scholarship to a wider audience, a readable style is necessary: do
not hesitate to be academic, but do not condescend to the audience. At the same
time, we do not want to publish highly technical, jargon-filled, footnote-laden
papers (since we do that in our sister publication the ASEBL Journal). This
means that if you have a Ph.D. in biology and want to write about your work in
a free and flexible, simple and direct, graceful manner, please do. (Think of
Lewis Thomas.)
We do not want to set tight guidelines and strict parameters
that are too refined and limiting, since that will exclude lots of good
material and the intellectual creativity that we have been so blessed to
receive in the anthologies. Query first (with a very brief forty word biography).
Do not send essays, articles, or papers unless invited to do so. We intend to
be selective, so be patient. There is no payment: your compensation is seeing
your work on the Editions Bibliotekos site – you will be among good company.
~
Currently, there is No call for creative work - the only call is for Science writing, as per above
General Information/Guidelines
Editions Bibliotekos publishes themed literary anthologies. When we have a Call, typically we are looking for short literary fiction of approximately 2,000 words. (Currently, there is No call for creative work.) However, we have accepted stories of 5,000 words – mainly because they have been able to sustain the reader’s interest throughout.
If you submit poetry, please submit between five to ten (short) poems. We think we did it best in Battle Runes when we published three clusters of poems by three different (and very fine) poets in an anthology that featured fiction. We’d like to imitate that pattern. (Any such submission of multiple poems should be made as one document.)
We prefer literary fiction, and you may read any of our anthologies to see what we admire. We have published authors (their short stories) such as Rivka Keren (Pain and Memory, Common Boundary, and Being Human), Nahid Rachlin (Common Boundary and Battle Runes), Tim Nees (Pain and Memory and Common Boundary), John Guzlowski (Battle Runes), Thom Brucie (Battle Runes), Jeff Vande Zande (Being Human), Gary Guinn (Puzzles of Faith) – all very strong fiction writers. We want words that transform personal experience into something deep and enduring for many other readers. An emphasis on exploring the human experience from a pose that is not self-involved is preferred. Holding the reader’s attention from beginning to end is paramount. Good writing is a long process of re-writing and revision: send in finished work.
Please note that the Call offers general themes – the collection title (and subtitle) might not have been determined yet but will become defined as the collection takes shape. After the Call you will see some topics mentioned, but these are offered as guidelines only.
We intend to publish in English, so submit in that language only. Submit your own, final work.
Once again: please query the publisher (with a clear subject line) at: publisher@ebibliotekos.com – hotmail users might want to contact us at EBibliotekos@gmail.com We prefer to hear from you first; and then if we are interested, we will invite you to submit (and after careful consideration we will make a decision regarding acceptance/publication).
~~~*~~~
SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES:
Query First: publisher@ebibliotekos.com - That’s the first step, as we are no longer operating under open submissions; thereafter, if we invite you to submit, follow these instructions (though an invitation to submit is not a guarantee of acceptance). Hotmail users might want to contact us at EBibliotekos@gmail.com Please have a clear subject line; any suspicious emails will be deleted.
If after your query we invite you to submit, the submission must be prose fiction between 2,000 - 5,000 words (or a cluster of poems), sent as text pasted into an email to publisher@ebibliotekos.com (This email is used for screening purposes; if, after our invitation to read your work, we indeed want to publish your writing, we will ask for one Word document later.)
Bibliotekos is happy to consider work that has been published previously. However, when we say previously-published, we mean once in either a literary journal or a magazine, print or online. (We have made rare exceptions and have re-published material that has previously appeared in a small press book, but as a small book publisher ourselves we are not inclined to do this.) We are not in the business of re-hashing work, so when you submit, please tell us where/when the piece was published before (if that is the case). There have been some instances where we’ve been interested in a piece only to find that it had already been published in a number of places. We are not going to recycle your work to give you an added publication credit. If the piece was in a journal, then maybe it is now time to see it in a book, the only instance of re-publishing that we see as appropriate. Of course there are always exceptions to such a rule; just be honest with us from the start (and we thank you for that).
Keep in mind that if you submit something already published you must hold the copyright and have permission to re-publish; attribution to the original journal will be noted (and thus we’d need the journal name and date of publication). In most cases, authors hold rights to their work after it has been published in a small literary magazine or journal; you might not hold such rights if your work was published in a newspaper, large national journal, or a book. Check first, or better yet, get permission for publication by Bibliotekos from the original book publisher.
We prefer fiction, and therefore please do not use real names of real people, as we cannot be responsible for any action that might subsequently occur from your revealing, without permission, true identities.
There should be no pagination, no headers, no footers, and no images in your text. Please make sure that your work has a title.
Note (again): provide a clear subject line, or else all emails will be deleted unread.
Editions Bibliotekos is a petit New York publisher, but we anticipate organizing readings from published material (though we cannot fund travel expenses) in the NYC metropolitan area. We have so far conducted three such readings: a group reading (Mitch Levenberg, Anne Whitehouse, Anique Taylor, Lynne Shapiro, and Ruth Sabath Rosenthal); Nahid Rachlin; John Guzlowski.
Our goal is to print in book format voices that might not have been heard otherwise. That’s the best we can do, but we think it is enough.
Terms: By the act of submitting work, the contributor agrees that, on acceptance, Editions Bibliotekos acquires one-time and non-exclusive anthology rights. That is, rights revert to the creator of the work upon publication, with the usual exceptions of: keeping the book in print; and an option to publish the work in a future electronic or (other) print anthology by Editions Bibliotekos (or a successor or other assigned publisher). A contributor may re-publish his or her work elsewhere in the future (as long as some acknowledgement is given to Editions Bibliotekos – the usual courtesy). In consideration for publishing your work, we will “pay” you with one copy of the published volume. This is an implicit agreement and quite standard.
[This page is periodically updated. Last update 23 February 2013]
