De Montfort University (Leicester) holding workshop about opportunities for writers in new media.

UNIVERSITY GETS CREATIVE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF WRITING

Experts at De Montfort University are holding a free public workshop for individuals in the creative industries to learn about opportunities for writers in new media later this month.

Sue Thomas, Professor of New Media and Programme Leader of a new Online MA in Creative Writing & New Media at De Montfort University, has organised the event with a range of speakers from internet and virtual reality experts to award-winning online authors.

To be held on Friday 23 June, the Creative Writing and New Media Workshop also includes a demonstration of the BBC-supported high definition virtual studio in the University's Fused Media Lab which is part of a £3.7m investment in media technology.

Places are limited on the workshop, which includes free lunch and evening reception, and registration is essential. The programme, registration form, DIY delegate list, discussion area and directions are all at http://nlab.wikispaces.com .

The workshop will take place in the Faculty of Humanities at De Montfort University's Clephan building, Bonners Lane, Leicester.

Practical workshops will include "Encounters with Web Fiction" by writer and De Montfort University new media researcher Jess Laccetti, and "The Digital Playground: Writing with and for Children" with Helen Whitehead, from Kids on the Net.

There will also be a workshop on "Writing New Media Fiction" by award-winning interactive author Kate Pullinger.. Kate is a Royal Literary Fund Virtual Fellow and Visiting Research Fellow at De Montfort University where she has helped set up the new Online Creative Writing and New Media MA course. Her multimedia online novel Inanimate Alice project is currently wowing the world of internet fiction.

De Montfort University's lecturer, Christopher Walker will lead a workshop on TV scriptwriting. Students and graduates are writing scripts for current TV shows including New Tricks, Shameless, and Doctors, and write an online soap opera for BBC Leicester.

Prof Thomas said: "This event, like many others here, will make the leading expertise within De Montfort University available to creative industries and individuals, both in the East Midlands region and further afield, so that they can make the most of developing digital technology opportunities."

The workshop also marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of the trAce Online Writing Centre, which was founded by Prof Thomas. The day will start with a presentation by Randy Adams, editor and visual consultant of trAces: A Commemoration of Ten Years of Artistic Innovation at trAce, and end with a presentation by Prof Thomas looking at the future of writing in a changing media environment.

"This workshop is an ideal opportunity to look towards new opportunities as well as marking how much has been achieved in the world of digital technologies and creative writing, and is fantastic opportunity for anyone in the creative industries looking at the future of new media writing" said Prof Thomas.

For more information on the new MA in Creative Writing and New Media run by De Montfort University see http://www.hum.dmu.ac.uk/blogs/cwnm The course is designed for writers interested in exploring the potential of new technologies in their writing through online study combined with a week-long workshop on site at the University.

....An excellent free event just 3hrs drive away - Im already at a conference that weekend - but let us know if you plan to go.

Related Links:
nLab
De Montford University
http://nlab.wikispaces.com
http://www.hum.dmu.ac.uk/blogs/cwnm
Kate Pullinger..
Jess Laccetti,