BTS: A Critical Reader (under contract with Duke University Press)

The call for submissions is now closed. Thank you!

Co-edited by Patty Ahn, Michelle Cho, Frances Gateward, Vernadette Gonzalez, Rani Neutill, Mimi Thi Nguyen, and Yutian Wong 

Submit: Google Form

Contact: criticalbtsreader@gmail.com

URL: https://criticalbtsreader.com/

We invite submissions of fan-produced artwork to feature in a critical volume on BTS [see call for proposals]. Just as the essays included in this collection use BTS as a critical lens, we seek  artwork that offers an aesthetic and cultural frame on BTS’s social, political, cultural impacts. K-pop is a vast textual universe by design, providing fertile ground for an array of invited as well as uninvited forms of productions, responses, and readings by fans. As many essays in this volume point out, BTS inspires an unparalleled level of intimacy, reciprocity, and devotion animated by their fans.  

We seek artworks representing diverse forms of expression, critique, meaning, and connection that together make ARMY one of the most powerful and complex fandoms in the world. Contrary to increasingly common characterizations of ARMY as “toxic,” “competitive,” and “pathological” within popular media, we hope to demonstrate how BTS fans create and circulate art as a means of forging community, expressing generosity, and “speaking from the margins” of official culture. 

Types of Fanart Accepted

While we recognize and honor the fan production and labor which sustain K-Pop as an industry and make it a meaningful and enjoyable space for so many of us, in all its transmedia forms, we specifically invite visually dynamic works that look beyond text as a primary mode of expression. This includes: 

• Two-dimensional graphic works such as hand-drawn imagery and computer-generated digital art
• Three-dimensional art objects which can be visually documented such as visually dynamic signage/banners/posters, keychains, fans, clothing items, etc. 
• Photographic art, including standalone and series of images
• Time-based media such as vids, audio remixes and covers, video documentation of interpretive performances, etc.
  • While the proposed volume will be mostly image- and text-based, we may create an online compendium to the volume.

Submission Instructions

Please submit a digital copy or photographic documentation of your artwork by SEPTEMBER  1, 2022 DECEMBER 31, 2022 [updated deadline] using this Google Form. You may upload up to 5 files per submission (for instance, you may want to submit multiple angles of a three-dimensional object). The Google Form will additionally ask you to provide the following information:  

• Name(s) of the original creators of the submitted artwork. 
• Primary contact email
• Pseudonyms or handles used to publish the piece
• 250 word bio
• 250-500 word artist’s statement
• Brief explanation of the artwork submitted 
• Description of social impacts the artwork might have had, however big or small in scale [optional]

Each artist may submit up to 5 different artworks, but a new Google Form entry must be completed for each unique submission. You are also welcome to submit to this call for fanart even if you submitted a proposal to the call for papers. Before rendering and uploading digital files of your artwork, be sure to read through the resolution requirements below to ensure they conform to our publication standards. 

Please contact the editorial team at criticalbtsreader@gmail.com if you encounter any issues with the submission form or have any questions about the details of this call. 

Resolution Requirements

• Scanned images – Please make sure images are scanned on a professional quality scanner in color (RGB mode) at a minimum of 300 ppi at 6” wide. Save and submit all scans as TIFF files. 
• Digital art – All images should be at least 6” or 1800 pixels wide at a resolution of 300 ppi (pixels per inch). TIFF format preferred, but high-resolution JPEGs also accepted. Do not submit any BMP, GIF, PNG, PICT, or PDF art files.
• Photographs, inc. photo documentation of artwork – All photographs should be captured with a digital camera at the highest quality image (this would also be the largest file size option). Images that are out of focus or not properly exposed will not be accepted. 
• Time-based media (video, audio) – All video and audio files should be captured, edited, and uploaded at the highest possible resolution (video – at least 1080p / audio – WAV/uncompressed). Please upload your video or audio file to an online streaming platform (e.g., Vimeo, YouTube) and submit a direct link along with a password should the editorial team need it to access the material.

About Rights and Permissions

• The original artist should copyright their work and will always retain the rights to their work.
• If an artwork is selected to be included in the collection, it will be reprinted only with the permission of the original artist (artist must sign an agreement form with the publisher).   
• Since this edited volume will be published by an academic organization, none of the contributors, including the editors, will receive financial compensation. Any proceeds earned will be donated to a community-based organization in Korea.