New Models Codex Y2K20
The New Models Codex Y2K20 is a book produced by members of the New Models Discord server, detailing the events that unfolded during 2020. What began as an idea to create a sort of ‘yearbook’ specifically for the members of the server—a concise PDF or slide deck documenting the highlights of what felt like a paradigm-shifting year—turned into a 350+ page book. It included a poster and sticker pack, all designed, edited, and shipped by a core group of server members. We knew we wanted to capture the moment, and at a time when there was a heavy emphasis on the virtual (Zoom life was the new normal, delivery apps, hangouts in Discord), we pushed ourselves to create a physical object. It was a type of expression that couldn’t be shared without intentional effort (or lost if a file server went down), an artifact that took up space and stood out in real life as a reminder of the collective experience everyone on the planet shared.
The Process
The production and editorial team on Codex consisted of members across the United States, Europe, Australia and Singapore (unofficially called the CodexCru), who meet bi-weekly, then eventually weekly, for close to one year to ideate, workshop, research and discuss the ultimate direction and shape of the project.
I served as the co-editor of the textual content alongside another CodexCru member. We established guidelines for submission, a review process and completed several editorial passes for the finalized version of all written work for the book. I worked with the individual writers to develop their ideas to align with the concept of the book and contributed my own essay. For accessibility, we used Google Docs as our submissions portal, sharing docs and editing work directly in the program.
We conducted multiple server-wide research sessions where we invited all members of the community to join us in deciding which events to highlight based on how much discussion they generated within the server. With Covid-19 as the main event node from which all other events seemed to transpire, we built out a content plan that focused on subjects that spoke the what we termed the “Syndemic”: an account of interactions between the biological and social conditions. This included the uprisings across the globe against police brutality stemming from the George Floyd protests in the United States, the rise of Qanon and other fringe political beliefs taking hold, meme warfare and stonks, the casino-like nature of the global economy being crippled by shipping disruptions.
Once we had gathered our initial material with input from the server, we began to solicit longer form pieces and eventually opened up submissions from the community.
In short time it became clear that we needed to find a funding source to complete the project we set out to make. I helped draft the initial document that became our pitch deck to present to potential sponsors. We quickly secured funding from two institutions, which allowed us to offer an honorarium to contributors and pay for the production and publication.
The Impact
The initial run of 500 copies sold out within an hour. A second run was produced, this time with an embossed cover, which also sold out. Proceeds from the sale of the book were reinvested into the community, creating a fund for the community to access for more swarm projects. An example of this is the Crude Futures Zine and Card Game. Creating this book is a highlight of my career as a writer, editor, and creative individual. Along with bringing me deep joy and connection during an otherwise dark period, it taught me valuable lessons about community-building and creative collaboration that I am grateful for. I leveled up my skills as a writer and editor, experienced the creation of a book from start to finish, and captured a moment in time in a truly unique way.