Nestle, Marshall: "Archiving Pleasures"; a history, in progress

Archiving Pleasures: an international history of the founding and the future of LGBTIQ archives

Call for contributions for new book by Joan Nestle, co-founder Lesbian Herstory Archives, NYC and Daniel Marshall, La Trobe University / Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

The Project

Thirty years ago, in places as far apart as New York City and Melbourne, LGBTIQ activists and their allies built community archives from almost nothing. In so doing, they innovated new archival practices, built new ways of

doing community around the archives' collections and in many ways transformed conventional ideas about what archiving was, what was worth collecting and whose history ultimately counted.Thirty years on these archives face new questions and at the same time their founders are looking more and more to another generation to continue their work.

Scope of book

This book will chart the historical development of LGBTIQ archives around the world, using first hand accounts of those who dreamt and built such collections, moving from the 1960s to the present time. Now is the time to publish such a work, as these archives and their founders undertake intergenerational handover and transition. This book will focus on the tensions and the pleasures of divergent ways of doing queer archiving that are brought into focus by international and intergenerational perspectives.

Your Contributions

We seek:

Personal accounts of the creation of LGBTIQ archives since the 1970s.

Reflections by users of collections, including reflections on the types of communities (e.g. grassroots, institutional, public), knowledges, pleasures and tensions produced by these archives;

Contemporary experiences of generational transition within

archives; and

The challenges faced by LGBTIQ archival projects in the 21st century.

Manuscripts can be between 10 -15 manuscript pages. However, it is

our desire for the book to incorporate a range of writing styles - including critical and historical essays, memoir, roundtable discussions and commentaries using excerpts from archival materials such as oral histories or photographs. We will always be available to talk with our contributors as they develop ideas about their contributions. Contributions are welcome in all languages.

Please send us a description of your proposed contribution by September 1, 2008. Drafts are due by 1 December 2008.

Joan Nestle, Co-founder, Lesbian Herstory Archives, NYC, USA: cellonest@yahoo.com

Dr Daniel Marshall, La Trobe University: Daniel.Marshall@latrobe.edu.au

1st Floor, 215 Franklin St. Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia

Dr Daniel Marshall, Research Fellow,Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society La Trobe University, Room 1.12, 1st Floor, 215 Franklin St Melbourne 3000, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9285 5160. Email: Daniel.Marshall@latrobe.edu.au URL: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/arcshs/staff/daniel.html