Have you got a techno-tale to tell?
21 September 2011
 |
Bournemouth University celebrates new media writing. |
Twitter, tablets and the web are changing the future of the written word and Bournemouth University is celebrating this storytelling revolution with its second New Media Writing Prize.
Stories come in many forms - film, radio, sound, animation, books and games - and these are increasingly converging in multimedia platforms.
Competition organiser Jim Pope said: "Digital media, such as the iPad, offers amazing opportunities for writers to incorporate images, video, sounds, animation, and game-play into their stories. We want to showcase the best of new storytelling. Last year's competition attracted some brilliant work and we can't wait to see what arrives in our inbox this year!"
Judges are looking for good storytelling (fiction or non-fiction) designed to be read or viewed on a PC or Mac, the web, or a hand-held device such as an iPad or mobile phone. It could be a short story, novel, documentary or poem using words, images, film or animation, along with audience interaction.
There are two categories - student and professional. The student category of the New Media Writing Prize is sponsored by Adido, a cutting-edge full service digital marketing agency that was started by four Bournemouth University graduates in 2003. They are donating a laptop to the best student entry. Find out more about this exciting agency by going to www.adi.do/. The overall winner will each receive an iPad. Both winners will have their piece promoted by BU and published on the high profile new media web-hub 'The Literary Platform'.
Last years student winner, Lorenza Samuels, studied MA Radio Production at BU. Her winning submission was an interactive story, which allowed the audience to investigate a young girl's disappearance by listening to voicemail messages, reading emails and viewing photos on a virtual digital camera. The reader can choose how the story plays out, email their endings and listen to various scenes.
"We are in a new media and interactive world these days. Everyone is hooked up to Facebook, Twitter, iTunes and the like," Lorenza said. "I feel theatre, storytelling and poetry should always have the audience partaking, asking questions and feeling connected with the piece. I believe new media allows this process to work brilliantly."
The closing date for entries is 31 October 2011 and winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at Bournemouth University on 23 November 2011.
For more information visit the website.
