Nemonymous was a short fiction publication that labeled itself a "megazanthus". It was published in the United Kingdom and edited by British writer D. F. Lewis. This publication was distinctive in that all stories were published anonymously, with the identities of contributing authors being normally withheld until the following issue, an arrangement intended to temporarily strip the reader of any prejudices surrounding the author's name, and thus level the playing field for the writer.
History
The first issue of Nemonymous, subtitled A Journal of Parthenogenetic Fiction and Late Labelling, appeared in November 2001. Nine issues have been published through July 2010. The final four editions were more like books than journals: Zencore, Cone Zero, Cern Zoo and Null Immortalis. All stories saw their first publication in Nemonymous. A few notable republications after appearing in Nemonymous: "The Assistant To Dr Jacob" by Eric Schaller and "England and Nowhere" by Tim Nickels were chosen for Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies. "Scenes From an Unfinished Film" by Gary McMahon was chosen for Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror. "The Lion's Den" by Steve Duffy was chosen for The Weird edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. Two stories apparently remain anonymous in perpetuo: the influential "Vanishing Life and Films of Emmanuel Escobada" and "George the Baker". Also, Nemonymous Two in 2002 is reputed to have published the world's first blank story. And Nemonymous Six existed only through its non-existence, according to records. Nemonymous published brand new fiction by many authors including stories by: Allen Ashley, Daniel Ausema, Stephen Bacon, Tony Ballantyne, Rosalind Barden, Keith Brooke, David J. Brown, Tim Casson, Mike Chinn, Simon Clark, Dominy Clements, Brendan Connell, Lesley Corina, Gary Couzens, Jetse de Vries, Steve Duffy, Lawrence Dyer, Scott Edelman, Paul Evanby, David M. Fitzpatrick, Gary Fry, Avital Gad-Cykman, Terry Gates-Grimwood, Richard Gavin, John Grant, Roy Gray, David V. Griffin, Colin Hains, A. D. Harvey, Jeff Holland, Andrew Hook, Brian Howell, Rhys Hughes, Derek John, Paul Kane, Michael Kelly, Rachel Kendall, A. J. Kirby, Jay Lake, Joel Lane, Bob Lock, Tony Lovell, Gary McMahon, William Meikle, Paul Meloy, Tony Mileman, Regina Mitchell, Robert Morrish, Joe Murphy, Robert Neilson, Tim Nickels, Mike O'Driscoll, Reggie Oliver, Monica O'Rourke, Daniel Pearlman, Ursula Pflug, Cameron Pierce, Steven Pirie, Joseph S. Pulver, Jamie Rosen, Iain Rowan, Eric Schaller, Ekaterina Sedia, Jacqueline Seewald, Marge Simon, Sarah Singleton, Steve Rasnic Tem, G. W. Thomas, Lavie Tidhar, John Travis, S. D. Tullis, Mark Valentine, Jeff VanderMeer, D. P. Watt, Neil Williamson, D. Harlan Wilson, A. C. Wise, Tamar Yellin and others.
