''Nemonymous'' was a

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

publication that labeled itself a "megazanthus" (a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsD. F. Lewis. This publication was distinctive in that all stories were published

anonymously Anonymity describes situations where the acting person's identity is unknown. Some writers have argued that namelessness, though technically correct, does not capture what is more centrally at stake in contexts of anonymity. The important idea he ...

, with the identities of contributing authors being normally withheld until the following issue, an arrangement intended to temporarily strip the reader of any prejudices surrounding the author's name (including popularity, gender and place of origin), and thus level the playing field for the writer. (Later issues did not follow this exact model.)

History

The first issue of ''Nemonymous'', subtitled ''A Journal of Parthenogenetic Fiction and Late Labelling'', appeared in November 2001. Nine issues were published through July 2010. The final four editions were more like books than journals: ''Zencore'' (2007), ''Cone Zero'' (2008), ''Cern Zoo'' (2009) and ''Null Immortalis'' (2010). All stories saw their first publication in ''Nemonymous''. A few notable republications after appearing in ''Nemonymous'': "The Assistant To Dr Jacob" by Eric Schaller and "England and Nowhere" by Tim Nickels were chosen for

Year's Best Fantasy and Horror ''Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' was a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press from 1987 to 2008. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition included a number of retrospective ...

anthologies. "Scenes From an Unfinished Film" by Gary McMahon was chosen for Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror. "The Lion's Den" by Steve Duffy was chosen for ''The Weird'' edited by

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...

and

Jeff VanderMeer Jeff VanderMeer (born July 7, 1968) is an American author, editor, and literary critic. Initially associated with the New Weird literary genre, VanderMeer crossed over into mainstream success with his bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy. The t ...

. Two stories apparently remain anonymous in perpetuo: the influential "Vanishing Life and Films of Emmanuel Escobada" and "George the Baker." Also, Nemonymous Two in 2002 is reputed to have published the world's first blank story. And Nemonymous Six existed only through its non-existence, according to records. ''Nemonymous'' published brand new fiction by many authors including stories by:

Allen Ashley Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...

, Daniel Ausema, Stephen Bacon, Tony Ballantyne, Rosalind Barden,

Keith Brooke Keith Brooke is a science fiction author, editor, web publisher and anthologist from Essex, England. He is the founder and editor of the infinity plus webzine. He also writes children's fiction under the name Nick Gifford. Biography and publishi ...

, David J. Brown, Tim Casson,

Mike Chinn Mike Chinn is a horror, fantasy, science fiction and comics writer from Birmingham, England. Chinn has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection and Best Short Story. He created the Anglerre fantasy series and Robot Kid s ...

, Simon Clark, Dominy Clements,

Brendan Connell Brendan Connell (born 1970) is an American author and translator. Though his work often falls into the horror and fantasy genres, it has also often been called unclassifiable and avant-garde. His style has been compared to that of J.K. Huysmans an ...

, Lesley Corina, Gary Couzens, Jetse de Vries, Steve Duffy, Lawrence Dyer,

Scott Edelman Scott Edelman (; born 1955) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer and editor. Career In the 1970s, he worked in American comic books, in particular writing horror comics for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. For Marvel he ...

Paul Evanby Paul Evenblij is a Dutch author of speculative fiction. He has won the Paul Harland Prize for his short stories in both 1988 and 2001. An English language collection of stories, ''Systems of Romance'', he wrote in conjunction with Paul Harland w ...

, David M. Fitzpatrick, Gary Fry, Avital Gad-Cykman, Terry Gates-Grimwood, Richard Gavin, John Grant, Roy Gray, David V. Griffin, Colin Hains,

A. D. Harvey Arnold D. Harvey (born 1947) is an English historian, novelist and hoaxer. He originated a hoax claiming that Charles Dickens met Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and has published work under a variety of other names, including Stephanie Harvey, Stephen Harvey ...

, Jeff Holland, Andrew Hook, Brian Howell,

Rhys Hughes Rhys Henry Hughes (born 1966, Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh fantasy writer and essayist. Career Born in Cardiff, Hughes has written in a variety of forms, from short stories to novels. His long novel ''Engelbrecht Again!'' is a sequel to Mauric ...

, Derek John, Paul Kane, Michael Kelly, Rachel Kendall, A. J. Kirby,

Jay Lake Joseph Edward "Jay" Lake, Jr. (June 6, 1964 – June 1, 2014) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. In 2003 he was a quarterly first-place winner in the Writers of the Future contest. In 2004 he won the John W. Campbell Award for B ...

Joel Lane Joel Lane (1963 – 26 November 2013) was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, critic and anthology editor.Chris Morgan, "Lane, Joel", in David Pringle, ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers'' (London: St. James Press, 1998) ...

Bob Lock Bob Lock (born 1949) is a Welsh science fiction and fantasy writer. Biography Bob Lock was born in 1949, in Gower near Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal are ...

, Tony Lovell, Gary McMahon, William Meikle, Paul Meloy, Tony Mileman, Regina Mitchell, Robert Morrish, Joe Murphy,

Robert Neilson Robert Neilson (17 November 1874 – 16 July 1946) was a Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p137 Rugby Union career Amateur career He also played for West of Scotland FC. Provincial career He was capped for Glasgow District ...

, Tim Nickels, Mike O'Driscoll, Reggie Oliver, Monica O'Rourke, Daniel Pearlman, Ursula Pflug,

Cameron Pierce Cameron Pierce (born May 23, 1988, Bakersfield, California, United States) is an American author of bizarro fiction currently residing in Portland, Oregon. The ''Bizarro Starter Kit (Purple)'' described his work as "Surreal nightmares that are ...

, Steven Pirie,

Joseph S. Pulver Joseph S. Pulver Sr. (July 5, 1955 – April 24, 2020) was an author and poet, much of whose work falls within the horror fiction, noir fiction / hardboiled, and dark fantasy genres. He lived in Germany, and died from COPD and other issues in a ...

, Jamie Rosen, Iain Rowan, Eric Schaller,

Ekaterina Sedia Ekaterina Sedia (born July 9, 1970) is a Russian fantasy writer. She immigrated to the United States and attended college in New Jersey to obtain her Ph.D. Her most famous work is '' The Alchemy of Stone'', a steampunk novel that examines sexism ...

, Jacqueline Seewald,

Marge Simon Marge Baliff Simon (born 1942) is an American artist and a writer of speculative poetry and fiction. Biography Early life Marge Simon was born in Bethesda, Maryland, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. Education and career She received her ...

, Sarah Singleton,

Steve Rasnic Tem Steve Rasnic Tem (born 1950) is an American author. He was born in Jonesville, Virginia. Rasnic attended college at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and also at Virginia Commonwealth University. He earned a B.A. in English educ ...

, G. W. Thomas,

Lavie Tidhar Lavie Tidhar ( he, לביא תדהר; born 16 November 1976) is an Israeli-born writer, working across multiple genres. He has lived in the United Kingdom and South Africa for long periods of time, as well as Laos and Vanuatu. As of 2013, Ti ...

, John Travis, S. D. Tullis,

Mark Valentine Mark Valentine is an English short story author, editor and essayist on book-collecting. Short stories Valentine's short stories have been published in a number of collections and in anthologies. ''The Collected Connoisseur'' (Tartarus Press, 2010 ...

, D. P. Watt, Neil Williamson,

D. Harlan Wilson D. Harlan Wilson (born September 3, 1971) is an American novelist, short-story writer, critic, playwright and English professor.

A. C. Wise Alison Campbell-Wise is a Canadian author of speculative fiction, active in the field since 2005. She writes as A. C. Wise, except for a few early stories under her full name. Biography Alison Wise was born and raised in Montreal. She currently ...

Tamar Yellin Tamar Yellin (born 1963) is an English author and teacher who lives in Yorkshire. Her debut novel, first novel, ''The Genizah at the House of Shepher'', won the 2007 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. Biography Tamar Yellin was born and raise ...

and others.

External links

Nemonymous from Megazanthus Press

Review of ''Nemonymous'' 10 by Matthew Fryer

(archived)

Interview with editor and authors
at TTA Press {{italic title 2001 establishments in the United Kingdom 2010 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct science fiction magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 2001 Magazines disestablished in 2010

History

See also

External links