[Reader-list] RESTORYING: Narratives from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh: Call for entry

[rohitrellan at aol.in]

RESTORYING: Narratives from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh
Call for entry
Last Date of Submission 7.11.2011
Pakistan, India and Bangladesh

‘Guftagu bund na ho 
Baat se baat chale 
Subh tak sham-e-mulaqat chale 
Hum pe hansti hui yeh taron bhari raat chale’ 

(Keep the conversation going. 
One word leading to another 
The evening rendezvous lasting till dawn,
The starry night laughing down with us.) 

-Ali Sardar Jaffri/ The Youthful Boatman of Joy


THE PARTITION ANTHOLOGY 
Over six decades since the epochal event of Partition,  the interest and engagement with the division of the Indian subcontinent into two and then three sovereign independent states has barely diminished. Mapmaking, exodus, memories and curiosity have become permanent in the lives of the citizens of South Asia on all sides of the various borders.
For over three generations now, the most definitive formative moment in modern South Asian history, Partition has remained an area of constant engagement for scholars, artists, journalists and commentators, who have given form to their explorations through academic research, reportage and creative encounters through art, literature and films. However, akin to cross-border migration, this cross-border engagement continues to be an ongoing exercise.
The current generation of young scholars, activists, artists, media persons and creative professionals, did not live through this epoch-making event. They are in fact still struggling with facts and figures even as they explore the socio-political imperatives, identify common ground, and try to make sense of extant memories and images. They are attempting to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of Partition in an effort to come to terms with both the tangibility of the schism and life beyond, as well as the many related events that play themselves out in sectarian rhetoric all over South Asia. 

With the proposed Graphic Anthology on Partition under the aegis of the Goethe-Institut’s larger project 'Restorying: Narratives from Pakistan India and Bangladesh', an attempt is being made to give form to such an engagement in a graphic narrative with recourse to the possibilities of visual storytelling. At the same time, as we all know, no single narrative can comprehensively tell the story of Partition, nor can it hope to represent the entire gamut of responses that the memory, history and legacy of Partition evokes. For this reason, artists, writers and storytellers from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are being brought together to contribute to this unique effort. 

The Partition Anthology thus seeks graphic narratives or comics from comic book artists, writers, artists, illustrators, film makers, theatre artists and storytellers across Bangladesh, Pakistan and India..

PROJECT DETAILS 
• Restorying: Narratives from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, will have Vishwajyoti Ghosh, author of Delhi Calm as Volume Editor. The book will be published by YODA PRESS in partnership with Goethe-Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan. 
• Artists, writers, illustrators, film makers, photographers, theatre practitioners, storytellers and graphic novelists from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are invited to contribute to the anthology that would be released in August 2012. 
• The anthology will publish only ORIGINAL, UNPUBLISHED stories by the authors. The anthology does not seek illustrated versions of classic narratives, or any author’s text whose consent has not been taken. 
• Around 20 selected narratives will be published in the anthology. 
• The narratives can be by a single author or through collaboration between more. 
• We seek a range of stories within the genres of fiction, reportage, non-fiction, documentary, poetic narratives, even abstract narratives, and so on, as long as there is a comprehensible story in evidence. Experimentation is more than welcome!

OTHER IMPORTANT DETAILS 

Copyright: All rights will rest with the authors for their respective pieces. However it will be expected that the contribution is first released in the Anthology and then if anywhere else. Also publishing the contribution simultaneously elsewhere is not expected. In the case of collaboration, the contributing artists will enjoy equal authorship.
Honorarium: All contributions will be awarded a one-time fixed honorarium for the same. In case of a contribution having more than a single artist, the honorarium will be divided equally among the number of contributors.
Size: 
Page Size: 16.5 cm. (width) X 23 cm. (height),
Artwork Size: 13.2 cm. (width) X 19.5 cm. (height).
In case of bleed the page size will be the final size.
Colours: Black & White only.
No. of Pages: A contribution may be extend from a minimum of 4 pages to a maximum of 16 pages. This would also include a single page/part-title page for the cover of the contribution.

The deadline for sending in storylines/style sheetsis 7 November 2011. Submissions/ queries to be sent by mail to:partitionantho at gmail.com 

ABOUT THE PROJECT PARTNERS
CURATOR/EDITOR: Vishwajyoti Ghosh, a graphic novelist and filmmaker is the author of the graphic novel Delhi Calm, a political graphic novel set during the Emergency of the 70s. Based in New Delhi, Ghosh has worked across the subcontinent with organizations in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. As a founder member of the Pao Collective, he also remains an active and dynamic participant in graphic/comics artists’ collective projects and works often with graphic artists from different parts of South Asia.
PUBLISHER: YODA PRESS has been publishing quality titles since 2004 in an effort to build cohesive lists on subjects which represent the alternative contemporary South Asia. Its focus on sexuality, new perspectives in Indian history, urban studies and popular and visual culture has been widely appreciated, and after eight years in the publishing trade, it can now claim to have a list of titles by a whole range of specialists, scholars, activists and litterateurs reflecting contemporary concerns and cutting-edge strategies. YODAKIN, the bookstore started by YODA PRESS in Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi offers books and periodicals by independent publishers, documentary cinema by Indian filmmakers, selected world cinema, and music by independent record labels and musicians. With YODAKIN, the publishing house now has a space where it connects with like-minded enterprises and individuals, and where it curates an entire series of events around the issues and strategies discussed by the titles on its publishing list.