What’s in a Name?
An Interview with D. F. Lewis
Luís Rodrigues: And in November 2001, Nemonymous was quietly born. Please tell us about the magazine’s innovative concept, your goals, and how everything started.
D. F. Lewis: Yes, it was quietly born. The collaborations were one thing, but probably not ‘pure’ enough for me. I felt the need to orchestrate other people’s words as discrete blocks of independent text. I also had several discussions on the net about literary theories I’ve always been interested in—for example, the Intentional Fallacy… together with a major passion of mine: modern ‘classical’ music. All seemed to point in one direction and, like Captain Nemo, I wanted to take other people on board with me to see the ‘underwater’ sights! Ideally, I would have wanted the stories to remain anonymous (or parthenogenetic) forever but, I guess, I would not have got any submissions at all without the promise of ‘late labelling’. The question of ego comes in here.
The goal? Well, it is for Nemonymous to become a proud entity in itself—not given away—but self-sufficient financially. From comments I’ve had so far, the approach of Nemonymous has given a revelatory and enjoyable new angle to short fiction reading. In fact, I’ve been amazed at some of the acclaim it has obtained. Much of this has to do with the financial investment I’ve made, and the skills of the cover designer and typesetter/printer whom I chose to use.
Accidentally effective? Or well-considered? Well-intentioned? Or just a crazy flash in the pan? Whatever the case, I do claim it is the very first time this approach has been attempted.
Luís Rodrigues: How have authors reacted to Nemonymous, both before and after its début? Do you still hope some will be willing to submit work to a truly anonymous anthology at some point in the future?
D. F. Lewis: I received lots of ridicule from various sources when they heard about Nemonymous. I still do. But many writers and readers are coming round to it (and those who were in Nemonymous Part One have been positively exultant!). I envisage (if I can keep Nemonymous going at all) that a permanent anonymous edition will be published one day (and it would be convenient, of course, if it is the final edition!)—anonymous to me, too, perhaps, if the contract transactions can be worked out… By the way, in 1999, I started a fiction collaboration email group (which is still going) whereby all resultant stories have been by-lined ‘Wordhunger’.
Luís Rodrigues: The concept of anonymity in Nemonymous relies heavily on authors not mouthing off about their presence in the magazine. Is there some kind of hideous punishment in store for those who break the rules? Does each writer know who the others are?
D. F. Lewis: I have a contract that I designed and, touch wood, I’ve had no problem so far. I find the authors are keen to get into the spirit of Nemonymous and maintain the veils and piques of their anonymity! I allowed the authors in Nemonymous Part One to know the identities of each other before the general readership did. I see them as a team… a submarine crew…
