frequently asked questions

1. what is the rebel reader project?
The Rebel Reader Project [RRP] is a experiment in the open-sourcing of publishing & media, the goal of which is to take the concept of open source as it works in coding and applying it to books (and beyond!).

The original book "The Rebel Reader" was printed in short-run in August 2002 as a student work. The goal was to collect witers who had introduced new ways of thinking through their writing and inspired the writer, artists and filmmakers of our generation. I worked for months collecting work, researching authors, and trying to decide what was worth culling from the public domain and putting in the collection. Despite my efforts, I felt that book fell short of what I wanted it to be. The text represented too much of myself and not enough of what it was meant to be—a collection of defiant writers.

What I mean is that I ended up with 3 feminists and only one Black author, more than a handful of fiction writers, but no poets or playwrights. so what i decided is that this wasn't a project for one person—it had to be opened up to other people's perferences and prejudices if it was going to be the collection it should be.

So I turn the project over to you. Bring yourself to the table. If enough people get involved we may be able to debug the whole book.

2. You call this open source fiction? huh?
yes, as a matter of fact, i do. as part of my master's work at lesley university in cambridge, ma, i decided to figure out how open source worked, and how people like me could adapt it into something that would suit their needs. there's a lot of research that went into that, and to get some info on it, check out the project philosophy, diy and academics sections of this site.

there's a good chance you're not going to do that, so here's the short form: by "open source" [os] i'm referring to os as in linux, as in mozilla, as in php, as in png files (shoot me, i still use gifs), as in openoffice, and thousands of other projects. let's call it a method. it's a way of sharing the work involved in writing a successful program/utility/whatever. that's what i'm trying to do here—come up with a collaborative way to do books. time will tell how well it works, but as for now, i'm just going to say that i'm pretty damn proud of the setup.

as always, you can duke out your thoughts on this idea in the os what? section of the forum.

3. oo! oo! there was this book i read in high school and it was called _____ and i totally think it should be in the rrp ...
well, good for you! check out the join section of this website, as well as the guidelines section and you'll be well on your way.

and, oh, we already have "the awakening". sorry.

4. psst. can i steal your idea?
well, of course you can. if you're interested in establishing your own open & collaborative project, see the diy section of this website. you may also contact me at rrp@spitfirepress.com

5. how often do people actually ask these questions?
let's just leave it at "frequently" ... shall we?

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