Transliteration
Finding language in the bodies of trees.
We are going through complex times, characterized by multiple crises that converge and amplify each other. However, at Wimblu we believe that this polycrisis is, at its core, a crisis of relationship. Disconnection and loss of bonds with other humans, with the rest of the living world and with ourselves are both cause and consequence of the different crises we are going through. The webs of relationships that sustain us and give meaning to our lives are being torn apart by collective panic, polarization, extremism and the structural violence of hegemonic systems. This turns the question of how to coexist with other people, with other beings and with our landscapes; how to navigate our differences and vulnerabilities with empathy, that is, how to live in peace, into a fundamental question for our times.
This is why we have decided to dedicate the tenth volume of our magazine to the theme of Peace, because we know that the stories we tell ourselves about the world and about others determine the possibilities of relationships. With this edition we want to explore ways of navigating conflict without violence, ways of offering grace to each other and ways of imagining and creating coexistences that safeguard differences in a harmonious way. We want to ask how we might expand our perceptual, affective, and political worlds to bring more beings—human and nonhuman—into our field of consideration and care. We want to seek guidance in the counsel of all beings, to feel and think peace through the body and the landscape, to cultivate an interspecies understanding of peace. We want, above all, to dare to dream of a world in which all beings can be happy and free, not because conflicts and differences are over, but because we will know how to approach them with responsibility, care and empathy.
What we are looking for:
We are looking for stories that speak of peaceful forms of organization and coexistence rooted in the earth, that explore ways of establishing agreements beyond the human, that offer creative, ecological and imaginative approaches to understanding and navigating conflict, that speculate on what peace means to other beings. Stories that overcome antagonisms and dualities, that offer nuanced ways of approaching the complexity of the ecosocial crisis; stories that recognize the intersections between peace, justice and freedom, and that bring inner and outer peace into conversation. Stories that celebrate, no longer the victorious heroes, but the archetype of the mediator, stories that offer myths of shapeshifting and dialogue between worlds, stories that can take a critical look at current conflicts while imagining other possible worlds. In other words, stories that can help us make new pacts with the living world and that give us the moral imagination to repair the bonds that have been broken.
About our format and style:
As always, with our tenth volume we want to address this theme from our characteristic approach: creative nonfiction stories in multiple formats (multimedia, short film, text, or photo essay) that connect ecology, culture and spirituality. Some criteria we consider essential for the selection are that the works tell a specific and situated story (that they are not just ideas, comments or abstractions), that we can distinguish in them an original and authentic authorial voice or gaze, that they are capable of creating intersections between different themes, and that they are open and spacious enough for readers to find their own place within them.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with our content and style before applying! Below you will find more information and examples of stories that have been selected in previous calls, and in our archive live more than 60 stories from our previous volumes that you can also review. We look forward to your submissions!
Who can apply:
Persons of any age, nationality, gender or ethnicity. Proposals may be submitted in Spanish or English.
How to apply:
Read our guidelines here and apply to the call for volume 10 by filling out this form.
Deadline for submission of proposals: March 31st, 2025