About
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Vastarien. The forbidden tome. The impossible otherworld. A textual entryway into
"...a place where everything was transfixed in the order of the unreal. . . . Each passage he entered in the book both enchanted and appalled him with images and incidents so freakish and chaotic that his usual sense of these terms disintegrated along with everything else. Rampant oddity seemed to be the rule of the realm; imperfection became the source of the miraculous — wonders of deformity and marvels of miscreation. There was horror, undoubtedly. But it was a horror uncompromised by any feeling of lost joy or thwarted redemption; rather, it was a deliverance by damnation. And if Vastarien was a nightmare, it was a nightmare transformed in spirit by the utter absence of refuge: nightmare made normal."
Our name is drawn from Thomas Ligotti’s classic story of the same title (quoted above). Vastarien is a source of critical study and creative response to the corpus of Thomas Ligotti as well as associated authors and ideas. The inaugural issue is going to be something unusually special, filled with in-depth essays, interviews, weird fiction, terrific poetry, and fascinating hybrid pieces by some of the best authors out there. An interview with Thomas Ligotti and an introduction by him, neither of which have ever been presented in English, are included.
And we are open for submissions for issues 2 and 3 right now.
All galley proofs for Issue 1 have been approved. Final cover art is by the incomparable Dave Felton for the inaugural issue of Vastarien. We're only waiting to make it available upon the successful completion of this Kickstarter campaign, which will cover our costs for issues 1-3 and set the foundation for its continuing publication in 2019 and beyond.
As a journal, our interests include but are not limited to the following subjects:
- Supernatural horror (both fiction and film)
- Philosophical pessimism
- Gnosticism
- Buddhism
- Nihilism
- Surrealism
- Decadent and fin de siècle literature
- Pessimistic and morbid poetry (Trakl, Thomson, Brennan, Leopardi, Larkin, Wiloch, Barnitz, etc.)
- Aberrant psychology (depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, anhedonia, depressive realism, etc.)
- Euthanasia/Right to Die Horror in the visual arts
- Antinatalism
- L’école belge de l’étrange
- Corporate degradation
- The architecture and topography of Detroit and its suburbs
- Horror and pessimism as it relates to most any field (geography, psychology, astronomy, music, film, etc.—kind of a catchall category)
Budget
We plan on creating and implementing issue 1-3 of Vastarien as modestly as possible, avoiding unrealistically huge and unsustainable expenses. That stated, as the journal continues through 2018 and beyond, we hope to create an environment that pays the authors and artists more than a token amount.
Issues 1 - 3 (Spring, Summer, and Fall 2018 Issues):
- Author and Artist Payments -- $3,635
- ISBN Purchase -- $375
- Postage -- $600
- Promotion -- $300
- Taxes and Fees -- $530
(subtract $527 raised in pre-Kickstarter fundraising)
Total: $4,913
GOAL ACHIEVED!
STRETCH GOAL BUDGET
Issues 1 - 3 (Spring, Summer, and Fall 2018 Issues):
Author and Artist Payments (5 cents a word) -- $10,888
ISBN Purchase -- $375
Postage -- $600
Promotion -- $300
Taxes and Fees -- $4,257
(subtract $527 raised in pre-Kickstarter fundraising)
Total: $15,893
STRETCH-GOAL ACHIEVED!
You backers have made this dream of many years come true. Thank you!
Risks and challenges
Issue 1 is ready for publication now -- it is formatted and ready to be published as soon as production costs and fees are met. The Kickstarter campaign will cover our costs and, hopefully, help pay for future issues (and a payment upgrade for our wonderful authors and artists).
Any new literary endeavor risks failing due to lack of interest or editorial life changes, but we feel that a journal like VASTARIEN has a tremendously solid foundation. Matt Cardin and Jon Padgett, the Co-Editors-in-Chief, have been producing and editing content about and/or inspired by Thomas Ligotti for over twenty years now, and it is doubtful that either will cease any time soon. Notably, VASTARIEN is the first project of the fledgling Grimscribe Press, which plans to produce Ligottian content -- fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art, and hybrid pieces -- for many years to come.
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Funding period
- (30 days)