The Quick and the Dead: Publishing Histories
February–June 2027
The Quick and the Dead is an interdisciplinary program that mobilizes the creative and pedagogical potential of focused engagement with artistic lineages. Through collective research, reading and discussion groups, and public seminars, the program draws connections between these lineages and the work of contemporary practitioners.
In its fourth edition, Q&D turns to histories of independent and artist publishing practices. Eight artists, writers, and researchers take part in a tuition-free research residency to pursue self-guided study on publishing as an infrastructure of discourse, collaboration, and solidarity. The program unfolds through sustained dialogue with four Q&D advisors—Jenna Hamed, Gerardo Ismael Madera, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, and Sukhdev Sandhu—whose distinct methodologies offer insight and guidance for developing research.
Amid a global landscape marked by shrinking resources, conglomerate publishing, consolidated distribution, and escalating pressures on free speech, we want to contend, together, with the stakes of independent publishing. Its histories demonstrate how people have built durable cultural infrastructures for making, producing, and circulating art and ideas. A study of publishing histories is therefore inseparable from a study of the various forms of collective life and labor that make a given publication possible. We ask: What forms of collectivity have existed in and through publishing, and what can be learned from them to meet the current political juncture? This season of Q&D brings attention to the lasting imprint of these historical gestures as resources for the present.
Program Format
Q&D is a tuition-free program, guided by Wendy’s Subway’s commitment to independent, collaborative, and counter-hegemonic pedagogy. Participants bring their own research and methodologies to the group to develop a structure built on curiosity, exchange, political education, and interdisciplinary practice.
Q&D runs from February through June 2027. The program involves:
- Independent research, carried out in dialogue with the Wendy’s Subway team, the cohort, the advisors, and invited guests
- Monthly site visits to archives, artists’ studios, or publishing organizations
- Monthly public programs
- Monthly cohort reading and discussion sessions to share research in progress
- 1:1 mentorship tailored to each participant’s research
- Dedicated workspace access to the Wendy’s Subway reading room, with library and archive research support
This program is designed to complement the rhythm of everyday life by offering a rigorous, collective context and intentional, focused time for research that is not contingent on envisioning concrete outcomes or presentations of the work. Instead, Q&D is an opportunity to allow ideas and questions to emerge, to learn from one another, and to foster meaningful relationships through shared critical inquiry alongside a dedicated group of interlocutors.
Key Dates
Application deadline: December 7, 2026 (by 5 pm EST)
Notification: January 15, 2027
Program: February–June, 2027
Participants
Q&D is open to individual, New York City-based participants of all ages, disciplines, and backgrounds. At this time, applications submitted on behalf of a collective or group are not eligible.
We define researchers as those actively pursuing sustained inquiry around a particular subject, whether within, outside of, or in opposition to conventional academic institutions. We welcome applicants with a wide range of backgrounds, including but not limited to: art, writing, film, performance, scholarship, and/or organizing.
Proposals
Proposals may outline prospective research on a new subject, or a desire to deepen ongoing work.
Subject matter may range widely, for example (but in no ways limited to): a single writer/artist’s contributions across different publications and imprints; the constitution and afterlives of a publisher’s catalogue; decentralized editorial models; radical periodicals, newspapers, newsletters, or other ephemera; independent distribution networks and their geopolitical histories; publishers’ self-archiving protocols; and more. We especially welcome proposals that center publishing practices outside of the Western canon.
Selection Process
Applications are reviewed by the Wendy’s Subway team in an initial round; participants will be selected by the Wendy’s Subway team and the Q&D advisors from a pool of 15 finalists.
Participants are selected through a holistic evaluation of: the proposed project’s scope and relevance to this year’s Q&D focus; consideration of generative resonances among proposed projects and practices in the cohort with an eye toward connection and overall group composition; and the project’s alignment with the mission, curatorial focus, and political commitments of Wendy’s Subway. We invite proposals that clearly answer the questions of why this topic of study, and why now?
Commitment
We ask that participants commit to attending and participating in the full schedule of Q&D programs. We estimate a weekly time commitment of approximately four hours. Programming takes place primarily on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
Participants are invited to explore different ways of surfacing their research within the Wendy’s Subway reading room, which may include displaying library collection highlights, developing a digital Featured Shelf, or other interventions in the reading room.
Cost
This is a tuition-free program. All reading and viewing materials will be provided. Please note that while researchers do not receive a stipend, Wendy's Subway is committed to ensuring that full attendance at all Q&D programs does not present a hardship for participants.
Location
The program is open to New York City-based participants. The majority of programs and meetings will take place in person in Wendy’s Subway’s reading room in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Site visits will all take place across New York City and/or virtually for invited guests/speakers living and working outside of New York. Meetings with advisors may take place in person or online.
Language
Q&D cohort meetings, engagements, and public programs will primarily be conducted in English. Multilingual programs will be accompanied by live translation/interpretation, as needed.
Accessibility
Accessibility information about the reading room can be found here. If you have access-related needs or inquiries related to this program, please email programs@wendyssubway.com