We are open for NORK vol.6 submissions,theme for our next issue is memories.

For NORK volume 6 we want to collect stories, present-day excerpts from diaries and wonderings lurking behind the shelves of memory. We want to create a beautiful, flickable memory book that goes beyond imagination. We want to publish crisp, energetic, and original pieces of writing and stunning artworks & illustrations. We want to feature mind blowing typeface designers bringing individuality to life & playfulness to the design. We want to present a bold, honest, and glorious display of memories. And we also want to construct new memories, fresh ideas and bring back forgotten truths.

Contrary to what motivational quotes would have us believe, we all know that we don’t just live in this very moment. We daydream about our future every day. More often than that, we relive things that have happened in the past. We tend to live in memories; we build our ‘now’ based on our personal histories, either good or bad. We remember how mama told us to stay warm and put on a hat. We keep in mind that ‘talk first, think later’ most likely will get us into trouble. We remember that doing good feels good.

I have always been passionate about how memories are built; how our brain selects the ones to keep and the ones that will be forgotten. Sometimes I even wonder if my memories are real or I have made them up by convincingly copying a story I have heard into something that might seem like a memory but has never actually happened. 

And how about the long-lost memories that are triggered by smells or sounds? They have been hiding so deep among the countless shelves of what has been that we don’t even realise they are there until they suddenly re-emerge. And even then, we might not still remember, we are only touched by a sense of something. Afterwards we would spend hours and even days trying to recall the events, smells, places, and faces… Then there are those fascinating time capsules – the memory notebooks we gave each other at school and that contain all our thoughts, likes and dislikes, favourite pop songs and those cliché yet incredibly sweet statements that just make our bellies hurt from laughing. And then there are those memories that will always keep us company; we might even try to forget them, but they are like a tattoo we got when we were seventeen – it’s ugly but it’s there to stay.

Are we our true selves without our memories? 

If you are a writer, poet, illustrator, designer (or anyone really), you are passionate about memory theme and want your work to be featured in NORK vol6, please send us an email with your work (or idea proposal) to hei@norkmagazine.com
Deadline March 1st