Mongolia is one of the world’s most secretive countries; its prisons dark places where inmates are held nine to a cell in conditions that few in the West have witnessed or recorded. Brussels-based photojournalist Julia Calfee has spent the past five years in the country, documenting aspects of Mongolian life that include a strong belief in ghosts.

In Buddhist and shamanistic traditions ghosts are believed to be displaced souls that have been unable to leave this world. So they roam, often possessing humans and are held to be responsible for many negative forces. Criminals, in particular, are believed to be possessed of evil spirits. ei8ht is the first UK magazine to publish Julia’s prison work from Mongolia, featuring previously unpublished images, and coincides with the publication of her book Spirits and Ghosts.

In conjunction with the online journal www.foto8.com Ghosts of Mongolia extends EI8HT’s reputation for publishing thought-provoking photo stories that, in this issue, include a rare glimpse into: immigration and land reform in north-eastern Brazil; a shoemaking factory in China; the changing face of Spain; the tragic death of Rosie, a baby with a rare brain disorder; the experience of The Observer’s Foreign Affairs editor, Peter Beaumont, as an non-embedded journalist during the recent Iraq conflict.

Published quarterly, EI8HT is and is available by annual subscription (from £34 / €55) or by single copy, priced £8, from selected bookshops in the UK and Europe.

Editor’s notes: EI8HT welcomes reviews of the magazine and editor Jon Levy is available for interview. In the first instance, contact Gordon Miller, as below.

Spirits and Ghosts by Julia Calfee is published by powerHouse Books, priced £25.
Contact:
Jon Levy, editor
Gordon Miller, publisher
EI8HT
18 Great Portland Street
London W1W 8QP
T +44 (0)20 7636 0399
F +44 (0)20 7636 8888
W www.foto8.com