Open Call: Marking The Day
World Death Day falls annually on the last day of the year in the calendar that the greatest number of people use. Although originating and orientated around the cycle of European seasons, with the historic midway point of winter signifying reemergence into the life of spring, this is a metaphor available to all situations, regardless of location or culture. The point is to take the time to make the observation that life is bound in time - that its ending is not the end, not the end of life, but simply an ending all of its own, distinct from all others. In this we can see two things: one is that mortality does not mean the death of all life now. The second and more important point is that in accepting death in the future, our living present is enriched.
While World Death Day is fundamentally about acknowledging mortality, so that we might both learn how to accept it, it has also been established to pursue the following hypothesis: that in recognising the end of life, life itself gains meaning, urgency and worth; that the certainty of death can bring clarity and potency to the ephemeral nature of the living. Moreover, it is hoped that by placing World Death Day into the public domain, people the world over, especially those who do not already have an annual observance and acknowledgement of mortality, will be able to create their own. In this sense World Death Day aspires to be seen as a movement as much as an observance.
In this movement, where all participants can observe and acknowledge mortality entirely on their own terms, it is anticipated that people will interpret it freely, building their own rituals, finding their own meanings in whatever way makes sense within their own lives and cultures. With this in mind, worlddeathday.com seeks to document in an annual summation, what people have done, how they have acknowledged mortality, how they think about it, how it may have helped them to do so.
Participants are invited to contribute their original, unpublished short stories, fiction, poems, photographs, journalism, essays and longform writing on the theme of Marking The Day, some of which will be selected for publication on this website, others in forthcoming editions of The Ferryman. For very short pieces, it is recommended to publish them yourselves using the hashtag #worlddeathday.
Submission Guidelines
All submissions are to be sent by email to: submissions@worlddeathday.com
Fiction and non-fiction writing in any form must be under 4,000 words. This should be seen as an absolute maximum. Tight, clear, high quality writing is preferred.
Poetry must be no longer than 50 lines.
All writing must be sent as a .rtf file. Please note that we like to work with authors to get to their best work, so we may be in touch with suggestions.
For photographs include download links. Images should be no less than 2500px wide at 72dpi. Videos and films are also considered, please include links.
All entries must be your own original work and previously unpublished. Please include your name and title of the work at the top of your document and in the file name, in the following format: YOURNAME_TITLE
Feel free to add your website, or links to other writing.
If you’re not selected, we’ll let you know, but we cannot enter into dialogue or give in depth feedback on your work.
If you have an idea for a piece of writing, feel free to use the below form to pitch it.
