pitch call for issue 2: vessel
Ephemeral is a storytelling collective based in the Colorado Plateau: we seek to harness creative sparks created through ephemeral—short-lived!—experiences that are informed by the landscape and culture of this western desert. We do this mainly through our magazine, published a few times a year.
For this second issue of the magazine, the theme is vessel.
When I think about vessels, I think about how water is held, and how water holds me. Whether the vessel is the Colorado River or my friend’s outdoor clawfoot tub, plunging into the grips of freezing water is a necessary ritual for me and many other desert dwellers (from beavers to Wim-Hof bros). For me, these vessels offer a cleansing baptism, washing away stagnant energies and smoothing over grooves of thought. They are basins for rebirth. In the vastness of the Southwest, the overwhelming heat, and the unforgiving cliffs, to dive into cold water and ease into its electric icy grasp is to sit into my desert vessel and let it transport me.
In issue two, vessel, we’re collecting stories about things that can hold and carry and transport: about bodies of humans, bodies of water, bodies of landscapes. Does your cup that runneth over symbolize a finite limit, or overflowing abundance? Safety or containment? How does a conversation emerge from a cup of coffee, what do fire pits hold besides aromatic juniper flames, and where do bicycles really take you?
We want to explore stories of how we shape vessels and how they shape us back. Draw, write, map, photograph, jest, sculpt, list, or versify the things that hold us; containers, basins, bodies, boats. Vessels.
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Examples of what we’re looking for: a reported essay on pottery sherds found within Bears Ears National Monument, an illustrated comic on your worst (best?) river trip, a poem about what you named your bike, a satirical history of the Colorado River, a photo story exploring your friends’ favorite mugs, an fictional story from an outlandish POV about building a home in the desert. Please try to stretch your story creatively before sending us a personal essay pitch! Could you tell the story from the POV of the vessel? Could it be a poem, a song, a list, a photo story instead? We’ll help you think on it.
These submissions need to be based around the landscape and culture of the Colorado Plateau and created by the people who live here. They can be tales of fiction, reported articles, poetry, lists, satire, and essays; we’re also collecting photo stories, collages, drawings, and maps.
If you’re noodling on an idea but you’re not sure it fits, send us a pitch! If you’re feeling inspired, send us a full piece!
Send your pitch or work to ephemeral.editor@gmail.com by January 13. Please include:
A brief personal bio
Title of piece
One or two paragraphs explaining your idea and how it relates to the theme
If written, an approximate word count
(Optional) Previous relevant work
By January 13, send us a pitch (an idea), or if you’re an overachiever, you can send us a finished piece. We will accept, edit, or deny pitches within a week (the earlier you submit, the more time you’ll have to refine and collaborate with editors). If your pitch is accepted, your first draft will be due by February 10. We’ll publish in the spring, and partial profits from the published magazine will be redistributed equally among contributors.