Welcome to the one-year anniversary issue of The Signal House Edition.

Anniversaries offer us a chance to celebrate, but also to take stock, so perhaps it’s a good moment to take a look at the metaphor this enterprise rests on.

 

Signal houses, from which human operators direct trains along sections of track, are known by different names in different countries. One thing they have in common in the English-speaking world, is the name of the system by which the human operator manages the switches, signals and block systems to guide a train along a section of rail: interlocking.

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This seems like a good word for the moment: a pulling together; a series of connections; something made to work by joining with other parts.

Interlocking is also a good way to describe how each issue of The Signal House Edition comes together. Its twelve issues to date have been formed by work from seventy-four contributors from every continent on Earth except Antarctica (we’re working on it). It’s been read and looked at and listened to by thousands, from London to Lagos, Mauea to Melbourne. We’ve aimed to publish work with a wide range of interests and perspectives, and our anniversary issue is no exception.

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The Edition would not exist without the contributors, readers, patrons and advocates who have also joined our community over the past year. Thank you for your inspiration and support.

 

Our anniversary issue also heralds some exciting changes we’re making to The Edition. Firstly, we will be moving to a bi-monthly publishing schedule. This way, the work in the journal will benefit from a longer gestation and space will open up for us to introduce new projects including the launch of an online store for works on paper, IRL events, and, in between issues, our new online space: The Anteroom.

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We envision The Edition as a place where people can make connections with each other over time and space and we’ll continue to do so as we grow the journal through the next year. What new destinations await? The lights of the signal house turn green... Onward!

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- The Editors