A yearly anthology of writing and illustrated essays from the people of Are.na.

For 2024, the Annual is themed “trace,” as in to find or discover through investigation; to copy, sketch, or superimpose; a mark, a sign, an inkling, a glimpse.

Among the written tracings, you’ll also find drawn tracings from the wider Are.na community submitted through trace.are.na. The drawings started with a glyph created by Desmond Wong, which originated in his fiction story “Tributaries.” Each time someone visited the site they were prompted to trace the drawing from the person before them, resulting in a gratifying game of visual telephone, and now, a material archive of transformation.

Contributors include David Reinfurt, Terry Nguyen, Daniela Bologna, Jon Chen, yana m’baye, Shelby Wilson, Amirio Freeman, Michelle Santiago Cortés, Sarah Chekfa, Michelle Kuan, Noa Mori Machover, Desmond Wong, Sanaa Asim, giorgia chiarion, Andrew Walsh-Lister, Laurel Schwulst, Tracy Ma, Christophe Clarijs, Sean Catangui, Meghna Rao, Lester Rosso, and Scott W. Schwartz

Book design by Leslie Liu, and cover design by Desmond Wong

Published by Are.na, 2024

Softcover, 225 pages, b&w, 4.5 × 7.7 inches