is a small magazine project launching in winter 26/27
You're invited to contribute to the first issue:
No. 01 — Home (For Now?)
The magazine wants to capture one thing: what is it like being you right now?
Every contribution comes from friends, and friends of friends. Published once a year, the magazine becomes a small record of what it was like being this age, at this time in the world.
Submit by 6 December 2026
editor@incompletearchive.com
the incomplete archive of growing up is a small magazine project launching in winter 26/27. It wants to capture one thing: what is it like being you right now?
The idea for this magazine was born from days and nights that oscillated between the sheer joy of youth and a longing for something that no longer felt attainable. Sometimes asking: why do I find growing up so hard? Can we talk about it?
Every contribution comes from friends, and friends of friends. Published once a year, the magazine becomes a small record of what it was like being this age, at this time in the world.
The archive, by nature, will be incomplete. Works in progress are welcome.
The magazine's first issue asks contributors to examine this stage of life, when many of us are working out where and how to build a home, and who it's shared with. You may have just moved somewhere new. You may have never left the place where you grew up. You may have been trying to settle into a place for years, and it still doesn't quite feel like home. You may be exactly where you need to be.
Tell me about it. I want to know your story.
I expect most pieces to be in English. Other languages are very welcome; if you can, please include a translation with your submission. The magazine will be printed in colour.
Have a question about format or length? It's rather flexible, so if you're unsure, email editor@incompletearchive.com.
What format is it? Flip a card to see what I need.
File names: your name and the title, e.g. Samuel_Beckett_Kitchen_Tiles.docx
Ideally, share a Google Doc with editor@incompletearchive.com (make sure it's set to Editor access).
Other accepted formats: .docx, .txt, .md
The original file, at least 2,500 pixels on the long edge, as JPEG or TIFF. Phone photos are fine, as long as you send the original rather than a copy saved from a messaging app. As a rule of thumb, if it's over 1 MB, I can probably print it.
Screenshots are fine as they are. Please include a short note on how you'd like them laid out, or what ties the collection together.
Scan at 600 dpi in colour mode (even for black-and-white work).
No scanner? Use a scanner app to photograph it flat, straight on, in daylight, with no shadows.
Email your work to editor@incompletearchive.com by 6 December 2026, with:
Yilin has tried her hand at being a park ranger, a tree planter and an engineer, and now works as a global health policymaker. In an ideal world, she'd do them all at once. Raised in Canada speaking her parents' native dialect, Shanghainese, she now lives in Switzerland, where she is once again trying to learn the local dialect. She'd like to share her summer discovery of the Québécois trad music group É.T.É.
Every contributor gets a printed copy by mail in early 2027. Request extra copies when you submit, or here: Save me a copy please!
You keep all rights to your work. I may share some pieces on this website, but I'll always ask first.
Print space is limited, so I may not be able to include everything. Written pieces will be edited during December 2026. Nothing will be printed without your permission.
Not contributing but want one? Leave your details and I'll save you a copy.
Save me a copy please!