theNewerYork Anthology
Experimental forms of fiction get a voice with this crowd-sourced series
For those who have nothing left to pick over at the local bookstore’s summer display, theNewerYork looks to shake things up in the mainstream literary world by hosting alternatives to the “triumvirate” of poetry, short stories and novels. With the goal of establishing a community of writers interested in experimental short fiction, the LA-based publisher founded an eponymous series of anthologies, highlighting both new and forgotten forms of literature such as letters, glossary entries, aphorisms, chatroom transcripts and more.
Editor Joshua Raab gathers submissions from people all around the world (who aren’t necessarily writers by profession) by placing ads online and offline—another distinct difference from the traditional industry. Each book is then funded by a Kickstarter campaign and the result is a sometimes cynical, sometimes absurd and an overall creatively stimulating book that doesn’t wear your patience—partly because each piece is shorter than two pages and paired with colorful artwork. The book is slightly bigger than the size of your hand and is “measured to fit in your Levi’s back pocket.”
The success of the previous two anthologies has led to a third in the series and in our preview of theNewerYork Book III, we encountered a Morse code translation of a Shakespeare sonnet, a manifesto for mustard stains and a poetic essay on killing a bonsai tree. The reading experience is schizophrenic and is reminiscent of student journal publications, where submissions were rough-cut, less censored and raw. Overall, it’s an inspiring exercise in exploring new forms of expression.
TheNewerYork Book III is set to be published on 13 August 2013. Check out their website and Kickstarter campaign, which launches 8 July.
Images by Nara Shin
