DCRC - Digital Cultures Research Centre

The University of the West of England (UWE) Digital Cultures Research Centre and Centre for Fine Print Research convene a two-day sandpit, 11-12 July 2012. This hands-on event investigates the future opportunities for publishing and the book arising in a post-print age, where being digital is no longer a novelty, but a fact of life.

This collaborative event brings together a vibrant mix of publishers, writers, designers and creative practitioners interested in the future of publishing. We’ll produce a set of coherent responses to key problems within the field: the role of the publisher in a digital landscape, the qualities of the material book, “textuality” and design - each of which demand consideration to lay groundwork for new forms and shapes for the book.

Themes for the event

Over the past decade, digital production methods advanced quickly - effecting significant impact on the distribution and networked capabilities of the books and print landscape. However, by comparison, the material qualities of the book as an object have remained largely unchanged.

UWE is exploring collaborations with creative industry partners that see the digital books ecology as an emerging area of interest for practitioners and publishers to investigate within academic and commercial contexts. Our aim is to help you consider digital and books through a different lens and to address future projects with a renewed sense of vigour.

Day 1

Delegates explore the material qualities of the book through practical sessions and short development activities designed to ask key questions as to the roles of play, experience design and audience participation in developing of new content and form within the digital and post-digital environment. These pragmatic workshops take place in the Centre for Fine Print Research. Participants leave with new ways to answer these questions and more:

• How can we work with authors of natively digital content?
• What could the editorial process for digital content demand?
• What might a 'book' designed as an experience look like?
• Is 'book' even the most appropriate description, or are we developing something completely new?

Day 2

The focus shifts to practical implementations addressing the ideas raised during the opening day. Steven Hall (Raw Shark Texts) leads a morning session dedicated to ‘unchapters and exploding frameworks’. Each delegate shares a challenge with the group, which will be addressed through participatory problem-solving. Activities move to the Digital Cultures Research Centre, situated in the harbourside Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed.