Submissions

Scrappy Capy Distro will occasionally have open calls for submissions for anthology zines on a given topic. Check this page for instructions on how to submit, any particular guidelines for an open call, and what calls are currently open.

We are an anarchist publisher.

This means that first and foremost, texts need to be in alignment with the principles of non-hierarchy and anti-authoritarianism. There is no place for sexism, racism, queerphobia, xenophobia, ableism, or any other forms of discrimination.

We do not accept content generated by machine learning (ML), "artificial intelligence" (AI), or large language models (LLMs).

Process

  1. Write your text in English or German (ideally both).
  2. Save your document in .txt, .md, .odt, .docx, or .pdf format.
  3. Submit to us via our email address on our contact page. Include the name of the topic you're submitting to in the subject of the email. If you want your name or pronouns (in both English and German) in the final print, please include those in the email.
  4. We will review your text and may request some edits. You may accept or reject them and send us an updated version, but we are not obligated to accept texts as is.
  5. Authors will be notified if their text is accepted or rejected.
  6. We will translate your text from English to German or vice versa.
  7. The zine will be published, and authors will be notified.

Open Calls for Submissions

Ⓐuslander:innen

Tentatively titled Ⓐuslander:innen (German for "foreigners," literally "outlanders"), this next collection of texts will be a spiritual successor to our first zine berlin, you've hurt me / another berlin is possible and will continue to explore the themes of the (perceived-as) immigrant experiences of Berlin anarchists.

While we have already addressed this topic, there is the feeling that since October 7th, there has been a shift within the Berlin radical scene where there is an increasingly perceptible rift between the white/German side and the "other" side: that of the immigrant, of the person-of-color, of the foreigner. Maybe it's the topic of Palestine/Israel that forces this split, or maybe it's something else like Ukraine/Russia/NATO, or even just something like how one should behave at a demo or conduct a meeting.

In many conversations over the past years, there have been many stories of feeling side-lined or othered, of having our knowledge and past experiences in our regions of origin treated as irrelevant and useless here in the BRD. Some people have felt themselves shift over time to be more "Germanized," but not integrated, rather molded to fit a German way of being, to fit the German disposition.

For this zine, we are again using the anthology format where each text will be independent but thematically linked. We are looking for texts that touch on the themes of:

  • Arriving in Berlin and feeling out of place
  • Living a long-time resident of Berlin and still feeling out of place
  • Being treated as less knowledgeable, worthy, or useful compared to white/German counterparts
  • Feeling oneself shift to become less who they were before moving here and more "Germanized" or "Berlinified"
  • Comparing anarchist practices and norms in the region you came from versus Berlin and how think the "Berlin way" might benefit from experimenting with practices established in other regions
  • Finding affinity with people from your region or other "outlanders" in ways you have not with white/Germans
  • Freeing yourself from the prejudices or burdens you have felt in your home region and finding a home here (which is to say, we're not just looking for complaints only)

This list is non-exhaustive. The above are merely suggestions to inspire you on what to write. If you're concerned that your text might not adequately fit, please write to us and we can help guide you in the writing process.

Submissions are open from November 1st to December 31st. Submissions should be roughly 500 to 2000 words, but these are not hard limits.

Three versions of this zine will be published: one with each text translated to English, one with each text translated to German, and one in the original version in whatever language you are most comfortable writing in. We can only proofread and edit in English and German, so if you want to submit in another language (e.g., Polish), you must also submit a copy in English or German. If you speak multiple languages, you can translate your text on your own, and this might be ideal as us translating the English version of a Polish text to German might be an inferior translation compared to you translating the Polish version to German directly. If you are unsure how best to handle translations, please write us (the earlier the better!).