I'm writing about a new project that hopes to enlarge the audience for your work on the Neighborhood. The project is a Mr. Beller's Neighborhood audio map, available via an iPhone/Android app.

The Mr B. app will marry audio recordings of the writing on the site with mobile GPS, so that someone walking around New York could experience the city a bit like a person walking around a museum with an audio tour.

I am hoping you will agree to do an audio recording of your essay. The people with whom I am collaborating, Electric Literature, have set up a recording studio in Brooklyn, and I'd like to encourage you to go in and record your essay on their professional equipment. If you are not in New York but are interested in recording you piece you could do your own recording and send it in for use in the app. If you are not interested in recording but would like your story on the app, Electric Literature can have an actor perform the story.

As with your writing, the rights to this recording belongs to you. We get to publish it on the website and use the recording on the app, but retain no rights to it beyond the right to use it. We can't pay anything because I don't expect it to make money, sad to say. Please take me on my word that if it does generate revenue I will share it with the contributors. It's this leap of faith that allowed Mr. Beller's Neighborhood to flourish and find a small but consistent audience over the ten years of its existence.

Finally, as this project hasn't been announced yet, please be discrete.

Please send an email to editors _at_ electricliterature.com to set up your appointment at the Electric Literature recording studio, or give them permission to record your piece.

Also, feel free to write me directly with any questions.

tom _at_ opencity.org

With best regards, and many thanks,

Thomas Beller