Call for Papers
Objective: A proposed anthology of papers and essays
on Moby-Dick, addressing the meaning and metaphorical significance
of the white whale.
Needed: Articles, academic papers or essays (in MLA
Style, if citations are used). Non-exclusive rights requested.
Reprints are acceptable.
Statement: In Moby-Dick the significance of
the white whale to Ahab is discussed, and Chapter 42 ("The
Whiteness of the Whale") specifically details its significance
to the narrator. This raises the larger question of what the
white whale means, or was supposed to mean, to us, the audience.
The challenge for contributors to this anthology is to answer
that question -- to answer it as clearly as the subject allows,
and with whatever arguments seem necessary and sufficient.
Reading Period: November 30, 2008 - November 30, 2010
(deadline was extended due to lack of appropriate submissions
from locations outside Nigeria)
Contact: cetusalbus@timonsesaias.com (inquiries only)
submissions (North America):
Timons Esaias
White Whale Project
6659 Woodwell Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15217-1320
USA
submissions (elsewhere): email
for permission and submission address
latest update: http://www.timonsesaias.com/moby.html
Editorial preferences: The idea is to encourage a wide
range of styles and approaches, from contributors in a variety
of disciplines. Nonetheless, the editor admits to a preference
for clarity over unnecessary academic jargon.
Editor will further acknowledge
an absence of love for phony expressions such as "speaks
to us of" and "illocutionary force ." If you find
yourself using the word "liminal" more than once a
year, consider discussing with your therapist, before submitting,
whether this is a scholarly device to avoid stating a firm position.
Finally, not answering the thematic
question of the anthology will exclude your submission from consideration.
Guidelines and Details
- Submissions in hardcopy only, except outside North America.
Request permission before sending by email.
- Manuscripts will not be returned.
- For reply, include #10 (business) SASE.
- Essays, papers, and journal articles of all types are welcome.
If footnoted, please use MLA style. Length is open.
- No abstract is required.
- Regardless of approach, all submissions must primarily
address the Project's thematic question: what does the white
whale mean? This may focus on what Melville intended, and/or
-- if different -- what it means despite the author's intent.
(Exception: the editor may also consider including a limited
number of essays discussing primarily what the white whale meant
to the contributor alone. If you are submitting such a piece,
please indicate this in your cover letter, by designating it
a Category B entry.)
- Please include a brief cover letter, with contact information.
Bio optional.
- Editor seeks non-exclusive rights only.
- Editor hopes, upon acceptance of the projected book by a
publisher, to provide an immediate $100 advance against royalties.
Contributors will share in any royalties, with details on acceptance.
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