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- Issued: January 19, 2024
- Response deadline: February 2, 2024
- Pitch responses: February 7, 2024
- First drafts due: February 21, 2024
For our second issue of 2024, Anthropology News invites you to explore the anatomy of deception and dissect the truths and untruths that form our understanding of reality. What forms do these deceptions take? What lies do people tell themselves? What lies do they tell others? Are these depictions conscious or subconscious, harmful or benign, or even helpful in certain contexts? Are they structured as conspiracies, creating alternate versions of reality?
Who are the architects of alternate realities, and who do they seek to convince? Do deceptions work on us or shape us in unexpected ways? Does deception form an integral part of human behavior across societies? Are there structures and systems in place that aid or deter these practices? How do people navigate intricate webs of deception in their everyday lives?
Whether you’re discussing little white lies, deploying half-truths, uses of subtly or subversion, withholding information, sleight of hand maneuvers, hacking the system, overblown descriptions, or anything in between or beyond, we invite you to consider the ways in which deception and our definitions of it shape human life.
As always, we seek pitches from a range of perspectives on this topic, with a variety of formats: personal narratives, formal scholarship, photo essays, graphic ethnography, multimedia (sound and film) pieces. Anthropology News is the American Anthropological Association’s (AAA) award-winning member magazine, and its focus is insightful anthropology stories for anthropologists and anyone with an interest in anthropology. Vivid description, captivating tales, and adventurous forms of writing are at the heart of what we do. Think short-form magazine-style stories with scientific bite—low on jargon, high on storytelling. Read more about us here, and consider how you might tell anthropological stories for a general audience as you consider the direction of your pitch.
Please send a 300-word pitch that outlines the story or argument of your piece, and a 50-word bio to [email protected] by February 2, 2023. For a photo essay pitch, please include one or two images with your text. For a comic/graphic ethnography pitch, include examples of your work. For a sound or film piece, include a short clip.
First drafts will be due by February 21 and will go through a developmental process with AN’s editorial staff. Full feature stories are ~2,000 words. Photo essays comprise six–eight high-resolution images and a 750-word introductory essay. Comic/graphic ethnography pieces span up to six print pages. Sound and film pieces should be around 10 minutes in length.
Please note: with the 2024 edition, Anthropology News has discontinued its print edition and is now published fully online, to accommodate the flexible modes of delivery that allow authors to incorporate ever-more creative multimedia content; thus, the March/April 2024 issue will be published only on AN’s website.