Submissions

We welcome submissions. Whether you are an HEO at McMurdo, an ironworker GA at Pole, a Haz tech at Palmer, a climatologist at Vostok, or a station manager at Scott Base, you are qualified to describe Antarctica. If you have seen an Antarctica Imax movie in Washington, or have purchased a penguin stuffed animal in Denver, your perspective is the lifeblood of popular Antarctica, and we would like to hear from you.

We are interested in all things Antarctic.

If you took a cruise along the Peninsula, we wouldn't mind hearing how your boat skirted icebergs, but we are also curious about the tour company's Antarctic-themed decor on the ship. If you have never been to Antarctica, we would like to read your interview with your friend who has always wanted to go, and why.

If you have been to the ice, and if you submit stories of the serene beauty of camping in the icy wilderness, or of the latest Martian meteorite and its consequences for your field, we will read these stories with fascination, but there is little chance we will print them. These stories are printed ten thousand times each year around the world. On the other hand, if you provide an analysis of the blue FDX boot versus the white Bunny boot, we will slobber with delight. We are traffickers of the mundane. If you send us reviews of standard-issue clothing, Antarctic literature, employment Orientations, department managers, or heavy equipment, we will jabber about it for days to those around us. We would like to print your social tips for going to field camps. These may be relevant to people who work in Antarctica. We would like to know if you have had sex on an iceberg, or if you have ever almost died of hypothermia. These stories are fun for everyone.

Since most people in Antarctica live at the stations, we are interested in the stations. We are interested in stories that risk being forgotten. We would like to hear how you asked the Heavy Shop mechanics to fill your boots with glycol, or how you saw a skua devour a baby penguin, or how you were told to chase tourists away from Palmer.

If you work on the ice and you choose to submit an article, review, or letter, please specify whether you would like to remain anonymous. We will not print your name if you request anonymity. If possible include your tasking (Admin, GA, EO) or the base or camp you presently work at. In your submissions, there is little reason to use anyone's name where a job position will suffice. We will not be a vehicle for personal attacks.

We do not promise to print your submission, nor to get back to you. We will edit, and you will trust us.

Provided it is even barely coherent, we will print nearly anyone's movie review of John Carpenter's "The Thing", which has its own review section.

submissions@bigdeadplace.com is the place to send your submission.

Clear,
F. Scott Robert