about nthposition
Thanks for visiting the site. The name nthposition was chosen after discovering that the deeply meaningful ones were taken. A Google search revealed that "all elements in front of the nth position are less than or equal to this element, and all elements that follow are greater than or equal to it". So it's no better or worse than any other site, and has no particular editorial policy apart from a preference for good, interesting writing.
nthposition was started in early 2002. The site was shortlisted for the 2002 European Online Journalism Awards. It was the smallest site to be shortlisted: others included Dow Jones, Time Europe, BBC, El Mundo, New Scientist and the Guardian.
nthposition was nominated for a People's Voice award in the 2003 Webbys, and, in January 2004, won a Readers' Poll award in the 2004 Utne Independent Press Awards.
In 2005, nthposition was selected as Webby Worthy in the 9th Annual Webby Awards, "only awards show for internet sites that matters," according to the LA Times. It's a category for "sites exhibiting remarkable achievement that were not chosen as Nominees", and given the number and calibre of sites involved, we were delighted.
nthposition has been reviewed or mentioned in: Reuters, and French and Russian newswires; Gulf Daily News (Bahrain); L'Orient Le Jour (Lebanon); Dawn (Pakistan); Canoe News, Cyberpresse, Edmonton Journal, Globe and Mail, Guelph Mercury, Montreal Gazette, National Post, Ottowa Citizen, Canada.com, CBC radio and television (Canada); Fall River Herald News (MA), LA Times, The Michigan Daily, Village Voice, CNN, ABC News, Fox News, National Public Radio and Pacifica Radio Network (USA); Victoria Sun (Australia); Guardian, Times and BBC (UK); Internetworld (Sweden); Irish Times, Sunday Tribune, Galway Advertiser and RTE; Le Monde (France); plus any number of online magazines and sites. The Weekly Standard, gratifyingly, loathed us. The site was Internet Magazine's Site of the Week on 17 June 2002 and the Guardian's on 31 January 2003.
The 100 poets series of anthologies - available for free download from the site - was described by the Guardian as "remarkable for its global range and depth", by the London Times as "one of the best examples of how the internet has been used to champion a cause" and by Private Eye as "genuinely innovative".
We don't pay ourselves or anyone else, and we don't accept advertising - we're independent (or 'impoverished', as we like to put it). There's no budget for marketing or similar indulgences, so if you like the site, please tell your entire acquaintance. And if you have a minuscule amount of spare cash, buy a copy of our anthology of poetry and fiction and help pay the bills. You know you want to. It's even had good reviews. Don't make us beg.
nthposition privacy policy
If you'd like to be updated on new articles, please subscribe using the panel on the right-hand side of each page. (It's free, obviously.) nthposition won't collect any personally identifiable information about you, or share your email address with any third party - we have neither the technology nor the inclination. We certainly do not use Google Analytics, which is probably illegal under the UK Data Protection Act, nor cookies. We'll only email you when we put up new articles, which tends to be once a month.
Poetry submissions
"a fascinating resource of contemporary poetry" - Orbis: Quarterly International Literary Journal
"showcases some of the freshest, most urgent voices in poetry and fiction today" - Verse
"For my money Jacket, nthposition, Perihelion, Boomerang, Stride, and
Riding the Meridian are some of the world's best [Internet poetry mags]." The Writer's Handbook 2005 (Macmillan)
nthposition is open to all kinds of poetry - from post-modern to mainstream. We'll gladly consider submissions by previously published poets. Submissions should include 2-6 poems sent as text in the body of an email, along with a brief biographical note (and the editor's machete will be applied to anything longer than two or three sentences), to Todd Swift. Apologies, but because of the sheer number of submissions, we can only notify people whose work we accept, and the list of contributors is generally fixed three to six months in advance. HTML is a blunt instrument and may not be suitable for poetry which relies on typography for its effect. Copyright remains with the author, but if your work is accepted, it will - along with the rest of the site - be archived into the British Library's permanent collection. Because each issue features only around 10 poets, we sometimes cannot accept even good poetry - sorry. Poems selected will remain online for at least six months.
All other submissions
How can one put this without sounding ungracious? The site is done in our free time after the rent has been paid, is a reflection only of our taste, and represents only the smallest fraction of the work submitted. Please do not be offended if your work is not among the 5% of submissions accepted - it's not personal (unless, of course, you've left in a hail of typos, decided that clarity is a bourgeois affectation or think we'll be amused by racism and other nastiness). As we barely have time to read all the submissions, there is no way we can critique your work or recommend a publisher. Nor is there a hope in hell that we will publish your manuscript on (to cite a couple of recent examples) silkworm farming or diabetes. Copyright of work which is accepted remains with the author, but if your work is accepted, it will - along with the rest of the site - be archived into the British Library's permanent collection. To minimise admin and avoid confusion, please include a brief (two or three sentences) biographical note. It can be as immodest as you like, but no longer, and all whimsy will be excised. In fact, if your bio is whimsical, we'll reject the piece out-of-hand. If you don't include a bio, we'll also reject your piece out-of-hand. Pieces which are being submitted elsewhere will also be binned. Did that sound ungracious? If you're still keen, send an email to Val at the address below, and good luck.
Links policy
As with everything else on the site, it's all a matter of our taste. No blogs, though (there are simply too many), and link farmers will get a flea in their ear.
The flannel panel
Editor:
Poetry editor: Todd Swift
Weird music editor: Ian Simmons
Press relations: Val
Site comments/problems: Val
Link exchanges: Val
Typos and grammatical errors: Val
Anything not listed above: Val
Hosting is done with charm by Knightsbridge Online, who have been unfailingly helpful, especially to the lovely Markus Aranko, who designed the current site. Thanks, also, to the equally lovely Julian Baker, who designed the previous noticeboard, to Ray Larabie, whose font Gunplay is used for the title, and the wonderful and omniscient Mr Kirkland, who sorts out techie catastrophes and provides hours of amusement with his sentence game.
Copyright
The content on nthposition.com is copyright 2002-2007 by nthposition and individual contributors, and may not be reprinted or retransmitted in whole or in part without express written consent. Thanks, have a good day and stop by again.
