"Calling all authors, 'zine makers, comic-book writers, diarists, poets and storytellers: Our library needs your words!"

Shane Zucker (left) and Steven Peterman
(right) of Art House Co-op.

So says the Art House Co-op, an organization that started three years ago with the goal of bringing art to the masses. Since then, they have interacted with tens of thousands of artists from around the world, all brought together with the common goal of creating art and sharing it with each other. They host several collaborative art projects each year. A popular project is The Sketchbook Project, in which the Art House sends sketchbooks out into the world to be filled and later displayed.

Now they are hosting The Fiction Project. For a $25 fee, anyone can receive a notebook to fill as they wish. Each artist is sent a journal and must adhere to only two rules: the journal must be used in some way -- as opposed to filling a completely different book -- and the book must stay within its original dimensions.

Each journal also will be assigned a theme, either at random or an artist may pick from a list during sign up for the project. Some themes include"in flight," "facing forward," "it will be fun, I swear" and "a day in the life." Themes are open for interpretation, and are meant to be more of a guide than a strict rule for the work. Art House also says they suggest journals be filled with at least 51% writing.

In the spirit of collaboration, Art House also says you can share one journal with a friend--or group of friends!--to fill it's pages. Once it is returned, it will be part of a mobile display that will visit galleries and museums across the country. Each book will receive a special barcode to allow for tracking, so you can follow where your book is and how many people see it. Plus, for an extra $20, Art House will make a digital copy of your work to be archived with the Brooklyn Art Library.

So all you aspiring novelists out there, here's your chance to be a part of a global fiction project. I'm thinking of doing this myself. Anybody want to join?

--Danielle Capriato
DCapriato@News-Herald.com