The manifesto seems to sum it up nicely. Rule 12 is of special merit. From their blog...
1. A Review of 'Eastern Orthodox' Books
Unmercenary Readers exists to provide a forum for the discussion of books, essays and monographs which in some manner might be said to relate to the Eastern Orthodox faith - or may simply be of interest to persons attentive to both Orthodoxy and literature.
One need not be Orthodox to provide a review, the subject matter should simply be "said to relate to the Eastern Orthodox faith" in some manner. Byzantine Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and others are welcome to post and comment.
3. Submissions Accepted 24/7
We have a perpetually open call for reviews. Review submissions by any writer may be sent to our Editor at hxstanley at gmail dot com at any time.
There is no rule with regard to length, though reviews over 2000 words will be of an exemplary caliber or particularly interesting to the Editorial Board or a paring will be requested. The Editor and Editorial Board reserves the right to refuse any review submitted to us or to remove it from the site.
The primary intention of this site is to review books that have some connection to Orthodox Christianity; however, we will gladly consider and accept reviews of any written material deemed 'of interest' by the Editor and Editorial Board even if it has no overt connection to Orthodoxy. Obviously, reviews will most often relate to Orthodox dogma, kerygma, praxis, history, culture or aesthetics in some manner.
4. Written Material Only
We will review books, we will review serious essays, we will review poems. Unmercenary Readers does not review film, music, liturgical services, websites, blogs, tweets, television or radio (even Orthodox radio, television, tweets, blogs, websites).
This is a site for bibliophiles, by bibliophiles; while FBBB apparel would seem appropriate it is not in keeping with our unmercenary status. (Incidentally, we reserve the right to become mercenary at a later date in a related but distinct forum and with proper notice.)
Reviews can take virtually any form – written reviews will be the norm, but Unmercenary Readers will consider and accept images, video and audio reviews that can be posted on a blog, (i.e., fine art must be photographed; we're not sure how to post PowerPoint presentations a la David Byrne's latest works) so long as the review is bibliophilic in subject.
5. Seasonal Symposia
Unmercenary Readers will hold four Symposia a year; we will call for reviews of a book selected by our Editorial Board. Submission deadlines and a posting schedule of accepted reviews will be published in advance.
6. Play Nice (Our Rules)
Reviews and comments must be, if not nice, civil.
An Orthodox bishop is reputed (known) to have said at a convention in recent years: “I am Robert’s Rules of Order” and Justice Potter Stewart noted in Jacobellis v. Ohio that he knew inappropriate material when he saw it. In similar fashion, the Editorial Board of Unmercenary Readers will determine what is civil and nice, and what is not. Submissions not meeting our criteria will not be accepted, any and all comments not meeting the same bar may be deleted.
We are, of course, always open to suggestions, criticisms, comments, mockery and vitriol regarding our determinations as to who has been naughty and who has been nice.
7. Editorial Pseudonyms
Whereas the intellectual (and faux intellectual) world of Anglophone Orthodoxy is small, parochial, even, we, the Editor and Editorial Board of Unmercenary Readers, will write pseudonymously.
Pseudonymity in anglophillic letters, an introduction:
Until 1974 - when the unfortunate editorship of John Gross had its way - the distinguished Times Literary Supplement offered only anonymous reviews. Surely T.S. Eliot’s body, the hand of which wrote some of those anonymous reviews, would have turned in its grave were his soul not departed from it. While anonymous and pseudonymous reviews are still found in some peer reviewed journals in certain fields, the removal of the anonymous review from the TLS essentially marked the death of that venerable literary tradition in English letters. There is a longstanding relationship between religious writing in English and the use of pseudonyms. Sometimes this results in hanging; consider the man who wrote as Martin Marprelate, whose writing C. S. Lewis so admired. The use of (sometimes presumed) pseudonyms has its own long history within Eastern Christianity, from the Protoevangelium of James to the life of Barlaam and Ioasaph to the more recent writings of the “Monk of the Eastern Church”. Pseudonymous writing in literary arenas had largely fallen out of use in recent times, giving way to preferences for intellectual voyeurism.
But then the internet came along.
Various online intellectual communities have become mesmerized with their own masked balls., i.e., their a- or pseudo-nonymity. The negative aspects of this new and easy anonymity have been written about and discussed at great length in recent years - most notably within North American Orthodoxy, as related to speaking out against (alleged, sometimes since proven) actions and abuses by hierarchs, synods and authorities. Nonetheless, within the confines of a modicum of civility, we find that there are benefits to the form.
For instance, pseudonymous reviews encourage a discussion of the text in which the text is the central object of consideration rather than the reviewer. Thus, if there is to be an expression of personal animus or an argumentum ad hominem, at least the pseudonymous form requires a more creative and reserved expression of such rhetorical barbarism. Pseudonyms under the guidance of and known to an Editorial Board, rather ironically, allow for a more free and open discussion within the narrow confines of a small intellectual environment – the very sort of environment that Anglophone Orthodox letters most certainly is.
Additionally, responsible pseudonymity under the guidance of the Editorial Board will allow hierarchs, clergy, monastics and professional church workers the opportunity to speak publicly in ways otherwise unwise due to the threat of retaliation (e.g., the recent excommunication of a parish treasurer for raising questions about a church's finances, investments and controls). Due to this, the Editorial Board will also not accept those 'under obedience' in any formalized ways as members of the Board. This isn't an organ for any one theological, cultural or political position within Orthodoxy - well, apart from being for and about Orthodoxy and the Orthodox as she/they/he/she are presented and discussed in writing.
8. Pseudonymous Submissions Encouraged
As per the the seventh point, the Editorial Board encourages our reviewers to write under pseudonyms; pseudonyms are not required.
Pseudonymous authors are responsible for the revealing their identities or not. The Editor and the Editorial Board will always know the true identities of reviewers as a basic cost of entry and as a lever in maintaining civility and accountability, but neither Unmercenary Readers, its Editor nor its Editorial Board will reveal an author's true identity, publicly or privately.
Unmercenary Readers will also accept reviews written with explicit “real” attribution. We accept reviews that are cross-posted from bloggers who wish to post the review on their own sites as well as here. Such might post here pseudonymously and elsewhere explicitly, vice versa, or either pseudonymously or explicitly everywhere while cross-posting or not. The decision of the reviewer in this matter will be respected.
9. No Whining About Pseudonyms
Criticism of the anonymous and pseudonymous review and comment policy will not be accepted because it's annoying and you have been well-warned. Any criticisms you have of a pseudonymous format should be emailed to unmercenaryreaderdoesnotcare at gmail dot com.
10. Regular Contributors
Unmercenary Readers will invite Contributors to become members of the site and more regularly publish reviews.
Contributors must choose a stable pseudonym and will be listed in the sidebar along with links to their reviews. If you are interested in becoming a member, please email the Editor at hxstanley at gmail dot com.
The pseudonymity of Contributors is required on this website only. Should you wish to reveal to the world that you indeed are HarlequinRomance#1Fan on your own blog, that is entirely your business. We only ask that all of our Contributors remain pseudonymous here.
11. We are Unmercenary, but...
We allow any blogger to copy and post elsewhere any review posted on this site, in full or in part, so long as the name (real or pseudonymous) of the author is given and a link to this site is provided. Attribution and link must be prominent. If the post has been cross-posted from the author’s own website, links to both the author’s website and to the review post on this website should be clearly provided. Non-pixel reproduction of any text on this blog is permitted only for personal or ecclesial purposes.
No use of any of the material on Unmercenary Readers can be used in a way that results in profit - except along with us (though, let's be honest, none of us likely will, so don't get your panties in a twist; this is all about reading Orthodox and Orthodox-related books and talking about them, i.e., it's an online book club not a mercenary venture.)
12. Twelve
We're Orthodox. It was, therefore, deemed appropriate to have three, twelve, thirty-three, forty or one hundred points to the Manifesto. This is number twelve. There was no two because we're Orthodox; there's only a two during Great Lent, sometimes, mainly in monasteries.
Unmercenary Readers exists to provide a forum for the discussion of books, essays and monographs which in some manner might be said to relate to the Eastern Orthodox faith - or may simply be of interest to persons attentive to both Orthodoxy and literature.
One need not be Orthodox to provide a review, the subject matter should simply be "said to relate to the Eastern Orthodox faith" in some manner. Byzantine Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and others are welcome to post and comment.
3. Submissions Accepted 24/7
We have a perpetually open call for reviews. Review submissions by any writer may be sent to our Editor at hxstanley at gmail dot com at any time.
There is no rule with regard to length, though reviews over 2000 words will be of an exemplary caliber or particularly interesting to the Editorial Board or a paring will be requested. The Editor and Editorial Board reserves the right to refuse any review submitted to us or to remove it from the site.
The primary intention of this site is to review books that have some connection to Orthodox Christianity; however, we will gladly consider and accept reviews of any written material deemed 'of interest' by the Editor and Editorial Board even if it has no overt connection to Orthodoxy. Obviously, reviews will most often relate to Orthodox dogma, kerygma, praxis, history, culture or aesthetics in some manner.
4. Written Material Only
We will review books, we will review serious essays, we will review poems. Unmercenary Readers does not review film, music, liturgical services, websites, blogs, tweets, television or radio (even Orthodox radio, television, tweets, blogs, websites).
This is a site for bibliophiles, by bibliophiles; while FBBB apparel would seem appropriate it is not in keeping with our unmercenary status. (Incidentally, we reserve the right to become mercenary at a later date in a related but distinct forum and with proper notice.)
Reviews can take virtually any form – written reviews will be the norm, but Unmercenary Readers will consider and accept images, video and audio reviews that can be posted on a blog, (i.e., fine art must be photographed; we're not sure how to post PowerPoint presentations a la David Byrne's latest works) so long as the review is bibliophilic in subject.
5. Seasonal Symposia
Unmercenary Readers will hold four Symposia a year; we will call for reviews of a book selected by our Editorial Board. Submission deadlines and a posting schedule of accepted reviews will be published in advance.
6. Play Nice (Our Rules)
Reviews and comments must be, if not nice, civil.
An Orthodox bishop is reputed (known) to have said at a convention in recent years: “I am Robert’s Rules of Order” and Justice Potter Stewart noted in Jacobellis v. Ohio that he knew inappropriate material when he saw it. In similar fashion, the Editorial Board of Unmercenary Readers will determine what is civil and nice, and what is not. Submissions not meeting our criteria will not be accepted, any and all comments not meeting the same bar may be deleted.
We are, of course, always open to suggestions, criticisms, comments, mockery and vitriol regarding our determinations as to who has been naughty and who has been nice.
7. Editorial Pseudonyms
Whereas the intellectual (and faux intellectual) world of Anglophone Orthodoxy is small, parochial, even, we, the Editor and Editorial Board of Unmercenary Readers, will write pseudonymously.
Pseudonymity in anglophillic letters, an introduction:
Until 1974 - when the unfortunate editorship of John Gross had its way - the distinguished Times Literary Supplement offered only anonymous reviews. Surely T.S. Eliot’s body, the hand of which wrote some of those anonymous reviews, would have turned in its grave were his soul not departed from it. While anonymous and pseudonymous reviews are still found in some peer reviewed journals in certain fields, the removal of the anonymous review from the TLS essentially marked the death of that venerable literary tradition in English letters. There is a longstanding relationship between religious writing in English and the use of pseudonyms. Sometimes this results in hanging; consider the man who wrote as Martin Marprelate, whose writing C. S. Lewis so admired. The use of (sometimes presumed) pseudonyms has its own long history within Eastern Christianity, from the Protoevangelium of James to the life of Barlaam and Ioasaph to the more recent writings of the “Monk of the Eastern Church”. Pseudonymous writing in literary arenas had largely fallen out of use in recent times, giving way to preferences for intellectual voyeurism.
But then the internet came along.
Various online intellectual communities have become mesmerized with their own masked balls., i.e., their a- or pseudo-nonymity. The negative aspects of this new and easy anonymity have been written about and discussed at great length in recent years - most notably within North American Orthodoxy, as related to speaking out against (alleged, sometimes since proven) actions and abuses by hierarchs, synods and authorities. Nonetheless, within the confines of a modicum of civility, we find that there are benefits to the form.
For instance, pseudonymous reviews encourage a discussion of the text in which the text is the central object of consideration rather than the reviewer. Thus, if there is to be an expression of personal animus or an argumentum ad hominem, at least the pseudonymous form requires a more creative and reserved expression of such rhetorical barbarism. Pseudonyms under the guidance of and known to an Editorial Board, rather ironically, allow for a more free and open discussion within the narrow confines of a small intellectual environment – the very sort of environment that Anglophone Orthodox letters most certainly is.
Additionally, responsible pseudonymity under the guidance of the Editorial Board will allow hierarchs, clergy, monastics and professional church workers the opportunity to speak publicly in ways otherwise unwise due to the threat of retaliation (e.g., the recent excommunication of a parish treasurer for raising questions about a church's finances, investments and controls). Due to this, the Editorial Board will also not accept those 'under obedience' in any formalized ways as members of the Board. This isn't an organ for any one theological, cultural or political position within Orthodoxy - well, apart from being for and about Orthodoxy and the Orthodox as she/they/he/she are presented and discussed in writing.
8. Pseudonymous Submissions Encouraged
As per the the seventh point, the Editorial Board encourages our reviewers to write under pseudonyms; pseudonyms are not required.
Pseudonymous authors are responsible for the revealing their identities or not. The Editor and the Editorial Board will always know the true identities of reviewers as a basic cost of entry and as a lever in maintaining civility and accountability, but neither Unmercenary Readers, its Editor nor its Editorial Board will reveal an author's true identity, publicly or privately.
Unmercenary Readers will also accept reviews written with explicit “real” attribution. We accept reviews that are cross-posted from bloggers who wish to post the review on their own sites as well as here. Such might post here pseudonymously and elsewhere explicitly, vice versa, or either pseudonymously or explicitly everywhere while cross-posting or not. The decision of the reviewer in this matter will be respected.
9. No Whining About Pseudonyms
Criticism of the anonymous and pseudonymous review and comment policy will not be accepted because it's annoying and you have been well-warned. Any criticisms you have of a pseudonymous format should be emailed to unmercenaryreaderdoesnotcare at gmail dot com.
10. Regular Contributors
Unmercenary Readers will invite Contributors to become members of the site and more regularly publish reviews.
Contributors must choose a stable pseudonym and will be listed in the sidebar along with links to their reviews. If you are interested in becoming a member, please email the Editor at hxstanley at gmail dot com.
The pseudonymity of Contributors is required on this website only. Should you wish to reveal to the world that you indeed are HarlequinRomance#1Fan on your own blog, that is entirely your business. We only ask that all of our Contributors remain pseudonymous here.
11. We are Unmercenary, but...
We allow any blogger to copy and post elsewhere any review posted on this site, in full or in part, so long as the name (real or pseudonymous) of the author is given and a link to this site is provided. Attribution and link must be prominent. If the post has been cross-posted from the author’s own website, links to both the author’s website and to the review post on this website should be clearly provided. Non-pixel reproduction of any text on this blog is permitted only for personal or ecclesial purposes.
No use of any of the material on Unmercenary Readers can be used in a way that results in profit - except along with us (though, let's be honest, none of us likely will, so don't get your panties in a twist; this is all about reading Orthodox and Orthodox-related books and talking about them, i.e., it's an online book club not a mercenary venture.)
12. Twelve
We're Orthodox. It was, therefore, deemed appropriate to have three, twelve, thirty-three, forty or one hundred points to the Manifesto. This is number twelve. There was no two because we're Orthodox; there's only a two during Great Lent, sometimes, mainly in monasteries.
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