<nettime> Second Report: The first Nettime Book

[nettime maillist <nettime@Desk.nl>]

Second Report: Nettime Publication

Ad Hoc Kassel Committee (The Nettime Brothers, Critical Art 
Ensemble, Matt Fuller. Janos Sugar, Diana McCarty and Patrice 
Riemens will be a part of the editorial process, but were not present 
during this first phase of selection.)

The first phase of the editorial process is almost complete. After 
considerable deliberation, the committee selected 80 texts. We wanted 
to include more, and in fact, the first version of the list included 120 
texts. Unfortunately, due to page limits, it is not possible to publish 
such a lengthy work. We estimate that the book will be 21 x 21cm in 
size and 300 pages in length. Investigation of cost factors played a big 
role in the decision to make the book this length. The Nettime dream of 
a phonebook-sized publication could not be realized because such a 
large book would be too costly, both to produce and to buy.

The editorial committee is now going to begin the process of contacting 
authors. As soon as we receive confirmations of participation, a general 
list of contributors and titles will be posted. 

Texts for this publication were selected in accordance with the 
following criteria:

1. The committee decided to make the book a document that reflects 
the current discourse on Nettime, much like the ZKPs. This project is 
not going to be a history of Nettime, nor will it be an anthology of 
Nettime´s Greatest Hits. Doing such a project would be too much like 
producing a final statement for a list that is still developing.

2. The texts selected were all living texts--they are relevant to 
technoculture and politics now. Texts taken from past ZKPs had to 
meet this criterion.

3. Texts that have been published elsewhere were not selected. Using 
this criterion helped to reduce the star factor that makes so many 
current anthologies redundant.

4. Texts were chosen that reflect the diversity of the list.

5. Significant texts that need to be translated into English were also 
selected.

6. This project is not an academic project, and texts were selected 
accordingly. (While some academic essays were selected, these are in 
the minority.)

The editors are requesting some new texts from authors concerning 
issues of high velocity--ones that need to be as up-to-date as possible.

The tentative schedule for the publication is as follows: The deadline 
for receiving articles is 1 December 97. Compilation and copy editing 
will be ongoing from December through February. Design will take 
place in March and April. A design committee will be formed in March 
and will meet in Amsterdam that same month. The book will appear in 
late summer 1998.

The second phase of editing will be copy editing. If there are any 
Nettime members with strong langauge skills in English who would like 
to volunteer their services, we would be very grateful. To volunteer 
your skills write to <book@icf.de>. We need your help.

As list members know, the working title for the volume has been the 
"Nettime Bible." Clearly, we need a new one, since no one is being 
canonized, nor has Nettime produced any sacred texts. So, if you are 
feeling inspired, and have a better title idea, please send them to 
<book@icf.de>.

The committee would also like to remind the membership that this 
book is one of many publishing initiatives beyond ZKP. Committee 
members hope that this project will be successful enough to justify 
continuing it in a series that parallels ZKP. 

Also, related publications will soon appear in Hungary and Croatia, and 
a German Nettime spin-off, _Netzkritik_, has already appeared. The 
committee expects to see more compilations of this variety. Finally, a 
further selection of academic texts from the Nettime list will be 
reviewed as soon as the list of titles for the current project is 
completed. 

Since this book will be 'published by nettime', we are still looking for 
a viable means to finance publication of the book. Multiple grants from 
different organizations should provide the needed budget for printing 
and designing the book. Any contributions regarding possible sources 
are welcome. As far as we know, the book will be distributed via 
Shake (Milan/London) and Autonomedia (New York). 
Any profits of the book will go toward the next publication.



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