The typewriter revolution in Sweden

Many thanks to Charles in Gothenburg, Sweden, for sharing his family's enthusiasm for typewriters and for the COLD HARD TYPE project.

COLD HARD TYPE update, with deadlines

A Collaborative Project

Initial deadline for submissions: February 1, 2019

Deadline for revised work: April 2, 2019

Provisional publication date: June 1, 2019

E-mail all submissions to Richard Polt

at polt@xavier.edu, or mail by post to:

Richard Polt

Dept. of Philosophy

Xavier University

3800 Victory Pky.

Cincinnati, OH 45207-4443

USA

This book will be an anthology of futuristic typewriter fiction—a subgenre that has been explored occasionally in the typosphere. (Examples: https://filthyplaten.com/?s=apocalypse, https://joevancleave.blogspot.com/2018/07/mr-smith-from-corona.html, https://diane-maher.com/2018/07/22/typing-assignment-18-science-fiction/.) Stories, poems, illustrations and photos are welcome.

Imagine that digital civilization collapses, and that some people adopt typewriters as their tools of choice. What will their adventures be? These are the tales of their struggles, defeats, and triumphs as they try to bring back typewriters from the grave of “obsolete” technology and restore them to their rightful place in the sun. All contributions to COLD HARD TYPE will be set in the future and will involve typewriters as an essential part of their content. The final versions of the texts will also actually be typed on typewriters.

The basic premise allows for many possibilities: there are different scenarios for the partial or complete breakdown of digital technology and culture, various reasons for the collapse in different parts of the world, different stages of the process, and many possible results. The theme could be called “dystopian,” but maybe the new Age of Typewriters would be a utopia. It could be called “post-apocalyptic,” but the end of digital civilization does not have to come in a single, apocalyptic event. Stories can be set early in the process or centuries later. They may be funny, dark, violent, light, ironic, or profound. They can be suitable for an adult audience, but should not be out-and-out pornographic or sadistic. They can range from short-shorts (1 page) to a maximum of 5000 words.

Submissions should be sent to Richard Polt (see above). Drafts of fiction and poetry may be digital or typewritten, but the final version must be typewritten. Submissions will be reviewed by Polt (author of The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century, http://typewriterrevolution.com), novelist Fred Durbin (http://www.fredericsdurbin.com), and Broward College English professor Andrew McFeaters.

Submissions of illustrations may include color cover designs and grayscale interior artwork, including photos. (Dimensions will be announced well before the first deadline.)

Initial deadline for submissions: February 1, 2019. Submit a draft of your work by this date, at the latest. The editorial panel will consider it and may suggest corrections or revisions. In some cases, we may decide that the work does not fit this volume. However, we hope for wide participation and want this to be a fun, inclusive, and diverse project.

Deadline for revised work: April 2, 2019. This is the date by which we should receive any revisions. Texts must be typewritten. Detailed instructions for typing will be provided to participants well before this deadline; tentatively, texts should be typed single-spaced, in a readable pica typeface (not script), to fit within something like a 4.5 x 7.5 inch rectangle. Complete formatting instructions will be provided later in this process.

Provisional publication date: June 1, 2019. Around this time, the book will be available for purchase as a print-on-demand book. It will not be available in digital form. The price will be as affordable as possible; no one involved in the project expects to make any profit from it. The book will contain no digital text, only images of typewriting.

FAQ:

            Is poetry allowed? — Yes, but it must fit the theme of the book, and we expect that most contributions will be stories.

            May authors collaborate? — Yes.

            What about foreign-language or bilingual material? — The language for the collection is English, so submissions must be in good English, and any bits in other languages must also come with a translation, so that readers who do not know those languages can understand.

            Can work have been published previously? — Yes, but we do prefer contributions that are new or not well known.

            Can they be republished later? — Yes. You will retain copyright on your work, and after the book is published, you may publish your work in other formats, noting that it first appeared in Cold Hard Type.

            Will I be paid? — No. No one will make any money from this project. We will profit in the form of joy, fun, and the satisfaction of contributing to the typewriter insurgency.

            Will I at least get a free copy of the book? — No, but we will ensure that it is very affordable.

If you want to be sure to receive all updates on this project, send an e-mail to Richard Polt at polt@xavier.edu.

Cold Hard Type: a call for submissions to a new anthology

PDF version of this call for submissions

Updated information here.