I’ve written in the past about De Capo’s “Best Music Writing” book series, an annual purchase and usually one of my favorite reads of the year. In recent years, as some of the best music writing has been increasingly found in blogs and the underground press, it’s been interesting to see the anthology reflect that evolution and include writing from non-professional bloggers, zinesters and other non-professional writers. Last month, The Village Voice reported that Daphne Carr, longtime editor of the anthology planned to publish the Best Music Writing series indpendently, with an open submission process that considers:
“features, essays, profiles, news articles, interviews, creative non-fiction, fiction, book reviews, long-format reviews, blog posts, and journal articles on musical and music culture-related topics. We also actively seek work that doesn’t fit into these categories-more whimsical and/or emergent forms of music writing, such as tweets, blogs, Tumblr posts, substantive online comments/discussions, and joint writing efforts.”
This is exciting news for readers of the anthology and for fans that write about music.. Some of the most interesting music writing I’ve read in the past decade or so – the most impassioned, funny, critical and knowledgeable stuff – increasingly comes from the fan community, from non-professionals writing for non-traditional publishing outlets: personal blogs, Twitter feeds, etc. Carr has done a great job of identifying such writers and publications in past anthologies but I really appreciate that this new submission policy broadens this spectrum even more. Writers of all genres and backgrounds who have contributed exceptional music writing may reach a bigger audience because of this new submission policy. It’s great news for music fans and music writers. The 2012 Best Music Writing book has a Kickstarter campaign going, check it out and support the project if you can.