The Concept

[Edited] January 2008, by Craig Bezant

Why would you want to cram another e-zine onto the pile?

Whilst consulting with colleagues, I had to ask myself this question before committing to Eclecticism. Thankfully, the answer arrived quickly, fuelled by my enthusiasm. Let me tell you a little about what I hope to achieve:

Eclecticism is a new Australian-run e-zine that hopes to draw a comparative field of contributors from around the world.

There are different sections in the e-zine. First is the Themed section - I enjoy seeing this in many other magazines, especially when it produces work one usually wouldn't have considered writing. But I do not want to stifle other creative pieces, hence the Open section. This will be broken down into genres (as best we can) or individual authors, to help with the downloading of the magazine and give the peruser a choice.

And this leads to perhaps the most important answer to explain what prompted this e-zine's creation - the reader. You are reading this now. You are a reader. Even contributors are readers. Simple, right? So I wanted to give you more to read, something you may not get elsewhere, something large publishers wouldn't risk mass-producing (which leaves a lot of open avenues these days). You, the reader, help mass-circulate this e-zine. You can sign up to the subscription notices, can recommend this to everyone you know, can download the e-zine twenty times if you like - because it's all free. It costs you nothing but your time, which even in today's society I know you can find, because if we cannot take the odd moment to sit and read some great writing and look at fantastic artwork then we have lost part of the existence that makes us different from the other animals.

For those with a limited time (but still some), Eclecticism aims to:

• Expose emerging writers and artists along with those who are established
• Give those who've only ever wanted to write 1 or 2 stories a chance to see their work in print
• Present said work in an enjoyable format so anyone from an office-worker on a quick lunch break to an avid reader needing a night-worth of couch entertainment can find some satisfaction.

I hope you understand what prompted Eclecticism's creation, and hope you enjoy its progress in the future.

- Craig Bezant [Creator and Editor]