Nemonymous
A British experimental short-fiction publication that temporarily concealed its authors' identities to foreground the writing rather than author reputation.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Nemonymous was a British experimental short-fiction publication edited by D. F. Lewis and issued from 2001 through 2010. It described itself as a “megazanthus,” a hybrid term combining the ideas of a magazine and an anthology. Its defining editorial device was anonymity: stories were generally printed without author names, with contributors' identities ordinarily disclosed in a later issue. The arrangement was intended to reduce the influence of reputation, gender, nationality, popularity, and other biographical assumptions on a reader's response, creating what the project presented as a more level field for fiction. The first issue appeared in November 2001 under the subtitle “A Journal of Parthenogenetic Fiction and Late Labelling.” Rather than functioning as a conventional commercial magazine built around recognizable writers, Nemonymous treated concealment, delayed attribution, and the physical form of the publication as part of its literary concept. Contemporary reviewers emphasized both the quality of the fiction and the way the anonymous presentation redirected attention toward prose itself. Paul Di Filippo, writing in Asimov's Science Fiction, praised the publication's standard and its resistance to publicity-driven literary hierarchies. David Mathew of Infinity Plus likewise characterized the anonymous format as unusually bold but effective. Nine issues were published during the main 2001–2010 run according to the reference account. The later volumes increasingly resembled stand-alone books rather than conventional periodicals. These included Zencore in 2007, Cone Zero in 2008, Cern Zoo in 2009, and Null Immortalis in 2010. The series' formal experiments extended beyond anonymity. Nemonymous Two was reputed to contain the world's first blank story, while Nemonymous Six was described through the idea of existing only through its non-existence. The identities behind “Vanishing Life and Films of Emmanuel Escobada” and “George the Baker” apparently remained undisclosed permanently. Nemonymous published first appearances and new fiction by writers associated with science fiction, fantasy, horror, and the broader weird-fiction field. Lavie Tidhar's “The Ballerina,” published in Nemonymous 3, was identified as his first published short story. Other contributors included Tony Ballantyne, Keith Brooke, Simon Clark, Jay Lake, Joel Lane, Gary McMahon, Paul Meloy, Ekaterina Sedia, Steve Rasnic Tem, Mark Valentine, Jeff VanderMeer, Tamar Yellin, and many others. Several stories later received wider recognition through reprinting in annual or specialist anthologies. Steve Duffy's “The Lion's Den,” for example, appeared in The Best Horror of the Year Volume Two and The Weird and became a finalist for the 2009 World Fantasy Awards. Three Nemonymous volumes were finalists for the British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and the publication was also a finalist in the Best Small Press category in 2006. The project is therefore best understood not as a conventional ongoing magazine brand, but as an experimental literary publishing series whose anonymity, book-like design, and genre breadth were central to its identity.
History
Nemonymous was established in the United Kingdom in 2001 as an experimental venue for short fiction. Edited and published by D. F. Lewis, it rejected the ordinary magazine emphasis on author visibility by presenting stories without contributor names. Authors were generally identified in a subsequent issue, turning attribution into a delayed part of the reading experience. The editorial rationale was to limit preconceptions based on a writer's reputation, gender, nationality, or other personal associations and to make the text, rather than the author's public profile, the primary basis of judgment. The inaugural issue appeared in November 2001 as A Journal of Parthenogenetic Fiction and Late Labelling. The publication used the unusual description “megazanthus” to signal its position between magazine and anthology. Its physical presentation was also noted by reviewers, who saw it as a carefully produced, perfect-bound object rather than an ordinary newsstand periodical. Nemonymous subsequently developed into a sequence of experimental volumes. The reference account records nine issues between 2001 and July 2010, while the later releases—Zencore, Cone Zero, Cern Zoo, and Null Immortalis—were increasingly book-like. The series made experimentation part of both editorial policy and content. Nemonymous Two was reputed to include the first blank story, and Nemonymous Six was associated with the paradoxical claim that it existed only through its non-existence. Two works, “Vanishing Life and Films of Emmanuel Escobada” and “George the Baker,” apparently retained their anonymity indefinitely. These devices reinforced the publication's interest in the boundaries between fiction, publication, authorship, and reader expectation. Nemonymous published original stories by a broad group of writers in speculative, fantasy, horror, and weird fiction. Contributors included established and emerging authors, among them Tony Ballantyne, Keith Brooke, Simon Clark, Jay Lake, Joel Lane, Gary McMahon, Paul Meloy, Ekaterina Sedia, Steve Rasnic Tem, Mark Valentine, Jeff VanderMeer, and Tamar Yellin. Lavie Tidhar's “The Ballerina,” published in the third issue, was identified as his first published short story. Several Nemonymous stories later appeared in major genre anthologies. Steve Duffy's “The Lion's Den” was selected for The Best Horror of the Year Volume Two and The Weird and became a finalist for the 2009 World Fantasy Awards. Critical response focused on the quality of the writing and the success of the anonymous format. Paul Di Filippo praised the series in Asimov's Science Fiction for concentrating on writing rather than publicity, while David Mathew of Infinity Plus described the anonymous presentation as a courageous experiment that could create a form of prose democracy. Industry recognition followed: Nemonymous was a finalist for the British Fantasy Award for Best Small Press in 2006, and three issues or volumes were finalists for Best Anthology in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The series ended in 2010, leaving a small but distinctive legacy in independent speculative-fiction publishing.
- 2010
Final publication period
[1]Null Immortalis was published and the Nemonymous run concluded in July 2010 according to the reference account.
- 2009
Cern Zoo published
[1]Cern Zoo appeared during the final phase of the publication and was associated with the series' continuing award recognition.
- 2008
Cone Zero published
[1]Cone Zero continued the series' transition from journal-like issues toward substantial anthology volumes.
- 2007
Zencore published
[1]Zencore was one of the later, more book-like Nemonymous editions.
- 2006
British Fantasy Award finalist for Best Small Press
[1]Nemonymous received finalist recognition in the British Fantasy Award's Best Small Press category.
- 2002
Nemonymous Two introduces an extreme formal experiment
[1]The issue was reputed to contain the world's first blank story, extending the series' interest in the limits of fiction and publication.
- 2001
First issue published
[1]The inaugural issue appeared in November 2001 with the subtitle A Journal of Parthenogenetic Fiction and Late Labelling, establishing the anonymous-author concept.
Products and positioning
Experimental, anonymous, small-press fiction publishing focused on speculative, fantasy, horror, and weird fiction.
Experimental fiction magazine and anthology series · 2001
Nemonymous
The core publication presented original short fiction without normally displaying author names. It combined literary-magazine circulation with anthology-like curation and used delayed or withheld attribution as an editorial experiment. Its contents ranged across science fiction, fantasy, horror, and weird fiction.
Book-length experimental fiction anthology · 2007
Zencore
Published in 2007, Zencore belonged to the later phase of Nemonymous, when the series' installments were presented more like books than conventional journals. It continued the imprint's emphasis on original, formally adventurous speculative fiction.
Book-length experimental fiction anthology · 2008
Cone Zero
Cone Zero was issued in 2008 as one of the substantial later Nemonymous volumes. Like the wider series, it was positioned around experimental short fiction and the disruption of conventional assumptions about authorship and anthology presentation.
Book-length experimental fiction anthology · 2009
Cern Zoo
Cern Zoo appeared in 2009 during the final stage of the Nemonymous project. It represented the series' shift toward book-like literary objects while retaining its connection to speculative and weird fiction.
Book-length experimental fiction anthology · 2010
Null Immortalis
Null Immortalis was the final named volume in the reference account and was published in 2010. It closed a decade-long sequence that used anonymity, unusual formats, and genre-crossing fiction as its principal distinguishing features.
Brand decisions
2007
Shift toward book-like editionsGeneration changeBackground
The later part of the series moved beyond the appearance and scale of a conventional short-fiction magazine.
Action taken
Zencore and subsequent late editions were produced more like books than journals.
Aftermath
The format reinforced Nemonymous's identity as an experimental anthology project before its conclusion in 2010.
2001
Adopt anonymous and delayed author attributionStrategyBackground
The project was designed to reduce the effect of author reputation and personal identity on how readers evaluated stories.
Action taken
Stories were generally published without author names, with identities normally revealed in a later issue.
Aftermath
The device became Nemonymous's defining editorial characteristic and drew favorable critical attention for directing focus toward the prose.
Recent events
- 2010
The Nemonymous series concludes with Null Immortalis[1]
Product generation
Null Immortalis represented the final period of the series, whose later installments adopted a more book-like form than a conventional journal.
- 2008
Nemonymous volumes become British Fantasy Award finalists[1]
Other
A Nemonymous volume was among the finalists for the British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, beginning a run of recognition that continued in 2009 and 2010.
- 2006
Nemonymous receives British Fantasy Award recognition[1]
Other
The publication was a finalist for the British Fantasy Award in the Best Small Press category.
- 2001
Nemonymous launches with anonymous experimental fiction[1]
Product launch
The first issue appeared in November 2001, introducing the publication's anonymous-author format and its self-description as a “megazanthus.”
Sources1 sources
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