em writing and music [buy a copy] [em three press info & free downloads]
concept:
[?]


the product
the writing
the theme
the look
the music
the rewards
the webiste
the name

the product...
em writing & music is a new publication dedicated to promoting progressive new writing, new music and graphic art.

Each issue consists of a paperback packed full of new writing, with a free tape (or CD, in the case of em three) of new music from original and exciting new acts on the circuit.


the writing...
The writing is selected to be appealing to everyone - this is not an academic publication. Our editors look for writing that has massive emotional impact - that is, pulse-racing heart-wrenching stomach-turning innards-in-the-mouth stuff. And when we say writing, we mean writing in all its glorious forms:
- short fiction
- short poetry
- drama (short plays and extracts of longer plays)
- graphic writing (extracts from graphic novels, cartoon strips)
- intrepid and hip travel writing
- extracts of new novels.

(Sorry, but we don't publish reviews. Enjoyable as many reviews are, we decided that objective critical appraisal did not really fit into the spirit of em.)


the theme...
We have only one theme: short. As a certain bearded fellow once said:

"Brevity is the soul of wit."

It's also the soul of em. As you've probably gathered, we're keyed into what's new, and we can't help but notice how the cultural attention span is waning. This isn't necessarily wrong, since in this information snowball that is the Western World, who can be blamed for trying to consume as much and as diverse information as possible? So we like writing that's short, straight to the point, compact, but still manages to tug your heart-strings. The writing we promote is the popular music of the literary world. Litpop, if you will.


the look...
To heighten the reading experience, a selection of new designers have collaborated, combining images with the text, in a way that supports the reading, and doesn't detract from it. If you really want the full monty, play the tape at the same time, and let those soundflavours flood in.
We are also keen to involve new artists - but please note, artists - due to printing costs, we can only reproduce your work in black and white.


the music...
The 60 minute tape contains new music, carefully selected from top-quality demos kindly donated by bands, musicians and DJs who quite sensibly want the free publicity, and want to be associated with em. The editorial brief is much the same as the fiction - massive emotional impact. As for muscial style, any style is the best style. We love it all...


the rewards...
Since we are a very small self-funded operation, and the nature of the project means that one issue could contain 100 artists, we could only ever have afforded a token payment for contributors. So, recognition is the only means of payment we can offer. Please don't think we're exploiting you to make money ourselves-quite the opposite. em is very much a labour of love, and an expensive one at that. We'd like to encourage a "partnership" with the artists that contribute; we can't operate without your work, but we represent a cheap and prestigious publicity engine, getting you seen and heard by people that wouldn’t normally bother. For new artists especially, this will be considerable, since we are attracting work from extremely well known writers on the merit of our vision and ideas. And as long as we can deliver a diverse yet strong range of material, and we can create the right kind of media profile, people will read it, and the new writers will get the recognition they deserve. We have procured the services of an experienced book publicist to make this possible. If we do make some money, we will make sure all our contributors are amply rewarded. We will of course send you a free copy of the issue in which you appear.


the website...
This site is intended as a taster of em writing & music. If you have enjoyed your stay here, please subscribe to the paper & tape version.

Also note that this site is not intended to be a showcase for cutting edge web technology - just simple and easily navigable. We want the work of our contributors to shine through, because that's why we're doing it in the first place, to keep writing & music alive.

the name...
Everybody asks us why it's called em. Well, it's one of those multi-faceted things. We wanted something short, so that it could be used in a variety of contexts, to build a kind of semiotic language of em. And an em is the broadest typographical mark - a dash the width of an 'm' - and that is a lot of what em is about; breadth. It's also "me" backwards. Errrr....there will be a prize for any better reasons.





design & content © em writing & music
all works © the respected artist(s)
email the editor

info
[?] concept
about em; its aims and inspirations

[:] people
dodgy mugshots of the characters responsible for putting em together

[=] diary
the editor's very occasional and not very interesting diary

[+] submissions
how to submit your work to em [note: we are currently not accepting submissions]

[£] buy
how to buy em, and consequently maybe persuade us to do another

[!] reviews
critical acclaim for em

[*] links
links to our friends, colleagues and resources

[m] contact


em one & two:
Samples of various bits of the previous 2 issues can be got here:
writing

music

images