This four-week course is for writers who are curious about digital storytelling but aren’t sure where to begin. You won’t be learning to code or wrestling with software. Instead, you’ll spend time thinking, imagining, designing and developing the ideas and vocabulary you need to bring ambitious digital projects to life, whether on your own or alongside future collaborators.

Each week, we’ll explore a different part of the digital storytelling landscape, including:

How algorithms can open up new ways of writing

Stories that respond to readers, including interactive fiction and narrative games

Writing for space, place and atmosphere

Digital literature and screen-based forms

Virtual and augmented reality as storytelling environments

How to turn your vision into a plan someone else can help you build

Drawing on real examples from games, digital literature and immersive art, and rooted in current research from the NET Lab’s Writing with Technologies series, the course gives you both the inspiration and the practical tools to move forward.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a project concept you’re excited about and the confidence to know what to do with it next.

This beginner-friendly course is for writers who are curious about digital storytelling but have no idea where to start and aren’t looking to learn to code. No technical knowledge needed for this course, just bring your imagination and your writer’s instincts. To get the most out of this course you should have past writing experience before taking part in this course.

MIX 2025: WRITING WITH TECHNOLOGIES | CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS  

Wednesday 2 July 2025 at Bath Spa University’s Locksbrook Campus , UK 

Now in its eighth year, Bath Spa University’s MIX has established itself as an innovative forum for the discussion and exploration of writing and technology, bringing together researchers, writers, technologists and practitioners from around the world to make, think and talk. After our unique collaboration with the British Library in 2023, MIX 2025 will be hosted in the beautiful city of Bath at Bath Spa University’s Locksbrook Campus. 

As part of our programme, New York Times bestselling writer and publisher Michael Bhaskar, currently working for Microsoft AI and co-author of the book The Coming Wave: AI, Power and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma, will appear in conversation. 

MIX is situated within Bath Spa University’s world-class Creative Writing department within the School of Writing, Publishing and Humanities, as well as the Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries, which also co-hosts the online magazine of writing and technology, The Writing Platform. MIX 2025 is part of the MyWorld programme, which explores the future of creative technology innovation.  

Themes for this year’s discussions include: 

Issues of trust and truth in digital writing  

The use of generative AI tools by authors, poets, and screenwriters 

Debates around AI and ethics for creative practitioners 

Emerging immersive storytelling practices  

In a world where we are facing the challenges of disinformation, replication, and increasingly limited or siloed perspectives, it can feel that there is no place for truth, and that originality in human creativity has been devalued. While many practitioners in the fields of electronic literature and digital art have been experimenting with generative AI tools for decades now, many writers are disputing what they see as the vast infringement of copyright made by the technology corporations behind many LLMs (Large Language Models) and datasets. The writers’ strike in the USA made plain many of the concerns of the creative industries when it comes to the downgrading of their work through automation.  

In addition, the environmental cost of the energy required to generate the computational power behind these tools is often ignored. And while the biases and falsehoods demonstrated by LLMs are well known, there is much more to discuss when it comes to considering the ethics of our engagement with these technologies. And yet, for many creators, AI tools boost productivity, increase resilience, and positively challenge our notions of authorship and authenticity.  

Through our work on the UKRI-funded research project, MyWorld, we have hosted a series of webinars on Writing and Technology, with a focus on the debates and issues with regards to LLMs and AI tools. The 2025 MIX one-day symposium will build on and develop these fascinating and crucial conversations, enabling us to look at the promise of AI tools and the way they can enhance and support creativity, as well as honing our critical thinking in this rapidly developing field.  

MIX 2025 will investigate the intersection between these themes and the challenges and opportunities for interactive and locative works, poetry film, screenwriting, writing for games as well as digital preservation, archiving, enhanced curation, and storytelling with AI. We also welcome papers or presentations on the innovative use of AI tools in creative writing pedagogy. 

Interested in joining us?  

We are looking for proposals for either 15-minute papers or presentations or 5-minute lightning talks from technologists, artists, writers, and poets as well as academic researchers and independent scholars. We are particularly interested in the work and views of creators, audiences and communities currently underrepresented across writing and technology.  

To propose your paper or presentation for MIX 2025, please submit a 300-word summary and a 150 biography of yourself and any co-presenters via our website.  

This will be a boutique version of MIX, with ticket numbers limited to 70.   

£45 full price / £25 students/concessions.  

Deadline for submissions of proposals: 5pm Monday 10 February 2025  

Notification of acceptance: Friday 28 February 2025   

Email enquiries: mix@bathspa.ac.uk  

www.mixconference.org  

The Writing Platform is commissioning articles on how artificial intelligence is being used as a tool for writing for the screen and stage as well as how it is depicted on screen and stage. 

We are looking for articles that engage with the debates and concerns around generative AI and creativity and are keen to publish submissions that explore the benefits, risks, and ethical issues of these tools in relation to their environmental and societal impact.  

We are also interested in emerging writing processes, including co-collaboration and co-creation with generative AI and its impact on creativity. This extends to exploring how AI is represented in fictional forms, such as novels, films, television, games and theatre.  

We welcome articles that deal with experimentation, personalisation, playfulness and technological innovation and encourage submissions with an international focus. Your proposed article might fit into one of the following categories;  

Resource: For example, a how-to guide. 

Research: For example, a paper, article or overview of a research project from an academic or practitioner perspective. 

Experience: For example, an account of a storytelling experience or writing process that you have experienced or developed. 

News: For example, highlighting a new project or opportunity in the field that our readers might not have heard of before. 

Projects: For example, a reflection on a project that you have developed or one that you have been inspired by. 

We are looking for 300 – 3,000-word articles, including 2 to 3 images. We have a small commissioning fund of £100 per article for freelancers and non-salaried researchers.  

To propose an article, email us at hello@thewritingplatform.com with a 100-word overview of your idea and which category or categories it would best fit into.  

We have a rolling deadline for submissions and would advise you getting in touch ASAP to discuss your proposed article.  

Wednesday 2 July 2025 at Bath Spa University’s Locksbrook Campus   

 Now in its eighth year, Bath Spa University’s MIX has established itself as an innovative forum for the discussion and exploration of writing and technology, bringing together researchers, writers, technologists and practitioners from around the world to make, think and talk. After our unique collaboration with the British Library in 2023, MIX 2025 will be hosted in the beautiful city of Bath at Bath Spa University’s Locksbrook Campus. 

As part of our programme, New York Times bestselling writer and publisher Michael Bhaskar, currently working for Microsoft AI and co-author of the book The Coming Wave: AI, Power and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma, will appear in conversation. 

MIX is situated within Bath Spa University’s world-class Creative Writing department within the School of Writing, Publishing and Humanities, as well as the Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries, which also co-hosts the online magazine of writing and technology, The Writing Platform. MIX 2025 is part of the MyWorld programme, which explores the future of creative technology innovation.  

Themes for this year’s discussions include: 

Issues of trust and truth in digital writing  

The use of generative AI tools by authors, poets, and screenwriters 

Debates around AI and ethics for creative practitioners 

Emerging immersive storytelling practices  

In a world where we are facing the challenges of disinformation, replication, and increasingly limited or siloed perspectives, it can feel that there is no place for truth, and that originality in human creativity has been devalued. While many practitioners in the fields of electronic literature and digital art have been experimenting with generative AI tools for decades now, many writers are disputing what they see as the vast infringement of copyright made by the technology corporations behind many LLMs (Large Language Models) and datasets. The writers’ strike in the USA made plain many of the concerns of the creative industries when it comes to the downgrading of their work through automation.  

In addition, the environmental cost of the energy required to generate the computational power behind these tools is often ignored. And while the biases and falsehoods demonstrated by LLMs are well known, there is much more to discuss when it comes to considering the ethics of our engagement with these technologies. And yet, for many creators, AI tools boost productivity, increase resilience, and positively challenge our notions of authorship and authenticity.  

Through our work on the UKRI-funded research project, MyWorld, we have hosted a series of webinars on Writing and Technology, with a focus on the debates and issues with regards to LLMs and AI tools. The 2025 MIX one-day symposium will build on and develop these fascinating and crucial conversations, enabling us to look at the promise of AI tools and the way they can enhance and support creativity, as well as honing our critical thinking in this rapidly developing field.  

MIX 2025 will investigate the intersection between these themes and the challenges and opportunities for interactive and locative works, poetry film, screenwriting, writing for games as well as digital preservation, archiving, enhanced curation, and storytelling with AI. We also welcome papers or presentations on the innovative use of AI tools in creative writing pedagogy. 

Interested in joining us?  

We are looking for proposals for either 15-minute papers or presentations or 5-minute lightning talks from technologists, artists, writers, and poets as well as academic researchers and independent scholars. We are particularly interested in the work and views of creators, audiences and communities currently underrepresented across writing and technology.  

To propose your paper or presentation for MIX 2025, please submit a 300-word summary and a 150 biography of yourself and any co-presenters via our website.  

 This will be a boutique version of MIX, with ticket numbers limited to 70.   

 £45 full price / £25 students/concessions.  

Deadline for submissions of proposals: 5pm Monday 10 February 2025  

Notification of acceptance: Friday 28 February 2025   

Email enquiries: mix@bathspa.ac.uk  

 www.mixconference.org  

From generative writing tools to augmented publishing processes, artificial intelligence is rapidly changing and challenging the landscape of creative writing and publishing. This free four-part webinar series, the second series of webinars from MyWorld and Bath Spa University’s Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCCI) and Narrative and Emerging Technologies (NET) Lab, offers an in-depth look at AI’s emerging influence across writing and publishing in multiple fields.   Featuring talks from writers, creators, academics, publishing professionals and AI experts, the series will explore questions such as:    

• How might AI impact the craft of writing?   

• How is AI reshaping the landscape of creativity?   

• How can AI transform game development and player experience?   

• How can AI help screenwriters to develop complex character and dialogue?   

We hope to inspire lively debate and a sharing of ideas and there will be time for questions and discussions. All four webinars in the series are free to attend. 
 

Webinar 1: AI and Creative Writing Practice   

Tuesday 19th November 9AM -10AM (GMT)   

From generative writing tools to augmented publishing processes, artificial intelligence is rapidly changing and challenging the landscape of creative writing and publishing. This free four-part webinar series, the second series of webinars from MyWorld and Bath Spa University’s Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCCI) and Narrative and Emerging Technologies (NET) Lab, offers an in-depth look at AI’s emerging influence across writing and publishing in multiple fields. 

Join writers James Bradley, Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and Mujie Li to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on the craft of writing. We will discuss how AI tools can enhance the creative process through the practical applications of AI in research, editing and idea generation. We will explore ethical considerations, copyright issues and the environmental impact of AI tools as well as the limitations of AI for capturing human emotion and nuance and the risk of losing our unique voices. Presented in collaboration with the University of Adelaide and chaired by Professor Patrick Flanery.

Book now: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/thestudiobathspa/t-vvamxol 

A recording of the webinar will be sent to everyone registered. 

Speakers: 

Dr James Bradley OAM is a writer and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade and Ghost Species, a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, and a work of non-fiction, Deep Water: The World in the Ocean. He is currently an Honorary Associate at the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney, and his new novel, Landfall, will be published in 2025.    
 
Yudhanjaya Wijeratne is an author, data scientist and journalist from Sri Lanka. He is also the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Watchdog Sri Lanka, a factchecker, investigative journalism hub and community tech builder. His fiction includes novels like Numbercaste, the Wretched and the Damned, and The Salvage Crew, as well as short stories and the occasional bit of game design. His work has won the Gratiean Prize, been nominated for the Nebula and Independent Games Festival awards, appeared in venues like Wired, ForeignPolicy and Slate, and been Washington Post and Audible bestsellers. He has also shown up on Forbes’ 30 Under 30, been a Dangerous Speech fellow, and spoken at TEDx. He has several cats who care about none of these things and spends most of his time on his homestead in the mountains, learning the care and feeding of potato plants.  
 
Mujie Li is an experimental writer and a researcher of digital media and culture. Her research explores how literary aspects (such as writing, reading, text and language) in digital and computational technological conditions work together to shape digital aesthetics. She is the author of the novella Mirage Time (2017, published by Dostoyevsky Wannabe). Recent article: ‘Media Language and the Technological Imaginary’ (2024).   

Chair: 

Dr Patrick Flanery is Chair and Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide. He is the author of the novels Night for Day, I Am No One, Fallen Land, and Absolution, which was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize. His short fiction has appeared in Granta and Zoetrope: All Story. His work has been supported by fellowships at MacDowell, the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, the Santa Maddalena Foundation, and the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study.

In this time of rapid technological advancement, the intersection of artificial intelligence and creative practices has become a focal point of academic research within MyWorld. Recognising the importance of this fast-evolving landscape, Bath Spa University’s Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCCI) and the Narrative and Emerging Technologies (NET) Lab recently curated the Writing with Technologies webinar series. This four-part series, part of MyWorld, a UKRI-funded project that explores the future of creative technology innovation by pioneering new ideas, products and processes in the West of England, offered an exploration of AI’s influence across writing, publishing, pedagogy and performance, offering insights for researchers and practitioners. 

The series began with a thought-provoking session on reimagining writing practices through AI. Rianna Dearden from Charisma Entertainment shed light on the application of AI tools in game development workflows, illustrating the potential for AI to enhance interactive storytelling. Reham Hosny of Minia University in Egypt expanded on this theme, examining AI’s role in amplifying socio-political narratives and its potential for facilitating change. The session was further enriched by Joanna Zylinska from King’s College London, who offered valuable insights into AI’s impact on screenwriting and film production processes, highlighting the potential of AI in visual storytelling. 

The second webinar delved into the effects of AI on the publishing industry, featuring talks by Nicola Solomon from the Society of Authors and Sara Lloyd of Pan Macmillan. They both critically examined the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in publishing, touching on crucial topics such as AI’s role in book acquisition, editing processes, marketing and the evolving landscape of authors’ rights. This session underscored the need for adaptive strategies in response to AI’s disruption of traditional publishing models. 

The series then shifted focus to education to explore the integration of AI tools in creative writing pedagogy. Speakers Lillian-Yvonne Bertram from the University of Massachusetts, David Devanny from Falmouth University and Mark Marino from the University of Southern California shared innovative approaches to incorporating AI in creative writing instruction. Discussions centred on the pedagogical applications of developing ‘small language models’, the concept of AI as a collaborative writing partner, and students’ perceptions of these emerging technologies. This session provided valuable insights into the potential for AI to revolutionise creative writing education and opened up new avenues for pedagogical research. 

The final webinar examined AI’s potential in live performance, featuring talks by Piotr Mirowski from Google DeepMind and Goldsmiths, University of London and Sharon Clark from UWE and Raucous. Their cutting-edge research on AI-assisted script generation and the development of interactive characters highlighted the exciting possibilities at the intersection of AI, performance arts and audience engagement. This webinar demonstrated the potential for AI to not only assist in content creation but also to alter the nature of performance and audience interaction. 

Throughout the series, several key themes emerged that have significant implications for creative technology research and practice. The importance of interdisciplinary approaches was evident, demonstrating the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration in understanding and harnessing AI’s potential across creative fields. Ethical considerations were a recurring topic, highlighting the need for ongoing discourse surrounding AI’s role in creative processes. The exploration of AI in educational contexts provided a foundation for developing new teaching methodologies in creative writing, while insights from publishing professionals underscored the need for adaptive strategies in response to AI’s disruption of traditional industry models. 

Perhaps most importantly, the webinar series pointed to numerous avenues for future research. These include examining the long-term impacts of AI on creative processes, exploring the copyright implications of AI-generated content and investigating the evolution of human-AI collaboration in the creative industries.  

From generative writing tools to augmented publishing processes, artificial intelligence is rapidly changing and challenging the landscape of creative writing and publishing. This free four-part webinar series from The Writing Platform editors working within MyWorld and Bath Spa University’s Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCCI) and Narrative and Emerging Technologies (NET) Lab offers an in-depth look at AI’s emerging influence across writing, publishing, pedagogy and performance.   
 
We hope to inspire lively debate and a sharing of ideas and there will be time for questions and discussions.  
 
All four webinars in the series are free to attend and will be held on Zoom and everyone is welcome.  

Please register now to book your place on each session and feel free to contact us (l.chapman@bathspa.ac.uk) with any enquiries. 

 To book: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/thestudiobathspa/t-nozmpog 

 A recording of the session will be sent to everyone who is registered, so if you can’t make the session and want the recording please book a place.  

This year, The Writing Platform turns ten years old. To celebrate a decade of sharing knowledge and expertise around digital innovation in how we make and publish stories we are commissioning articles on the future of digital storytelling to imagine what the next ten years might hold. 

We want to publish articles of approx 750 to 2,000 words on all aspects of innovative storytelling through new forms of narrative delivery and audience interaction. We are looking for articles on storytelling that makes creative use of new technologies or creative ways of repurposing older technologies. These might be reflections on developing your own project or on current issues in digital storytelling. We are particularly interested in emerging writing processes, including co-collaboration and co-creation with generative AI and other forms of data-driven storytelling, such as ambient literature. We are interested in the debates and concerns around AI and creativity and are keen to publish articles that grapple with the benefits and risks of AI from a range of perspectives. 

We are also looking for articles that revisit the topics of our early articles with a reflection on what has changed. For example, you might want to give your advice on how to create a storyworld, create characters or  create plot or reflect on why print still matters in the digital age, poetry or transmedia storytelling.

As always, our attention is on narrative storytelling and poetry and we are interested in experimentation, personalisation and playfulness with form and content as well as technological innovation. We welcome articles with an international focus.

Your proposed article might fit into one of the following categories; 

Resource: for example, a how-to guide

Research: for example, a paper, article or overview of a research project from an academic or practitioner perspective

Experience: for example, an account of a storytelling experience or writing process that you have experienced or developed

News: for example, highlighting a new project or opportunity in the field that our readers might not have heard of before

Projects: for example, a reflection on a project that you have developed or one that you have been inspired by 

We are looking for 750 – 2,000 word articles, including 2 to 3 images. We have a small commissioning fund of £100 per article for freelancers and non-salaried researchers. 

To propose an article, email us at hello@thewritingplatform.com with a 100 word overview of your idea and tell us which category or categories it would best fit into. 

We have a rolling deadline for submissions and would advise you getting in touch ASAP to discuss your proposed article. 

Join members of The Writing Platform team for MIX 2023; the biennial conference on where and how creative writing and emerging technologies meet. Co-hosted by Bath Spa University and the British Library at the British Library, London, on 7th July 2023, the conference coincides with the Digital Storytelling exhibition of digital literature and emerging formats, which highlights digital publishing over recent years, and includes a virtual reality showcase. Our keynote, Adrian Hon, is the co-founder and CEO at Six to Start, creators of game-like stories and story-like games, including the world’s best selling smartphone fitness game, Zombies, Run! 

Spend a day among writers, technologists, artists, practitioners and academics to explore the rapidly developing practice of storytelling in immersive environments. 

Tickets from £17.50 – £35 (including lunch)

Visit mixconference.org for the full programme and booking information.

7 July, 2023 at the British Library, London

Plus an optional afternoon tea and tour of the Digital Storytelling with the exhibition’s curators on 6 July, 2023

MIX 2023, the biennial conference on where and how creative writing and emerging technologies meet, will be co-hosted by Bath Spa University and the British Library. It will coincide with the British Library’s Digital Storytelling exhibition of digital literature and emerging formats, which will highlight digital publishing over recent years. MIX 2023 will enable scholars and practitioners to come together to explore the exhibition at the British Library as well as share current research and practice in the rapidly developing field of storytelling in immersive environments.

Major themes for MIX 2023 will include text in immersive media, interactive and locative works, digital and film poetry, narrative games as well as digital preservation, archiving, enhanced curation and storytelling with AI.

MIX 2023 is looking for proposals for 15 min papers or presentations and 6 min lightning talks from technologists, artists, creative writers and poets working in the digital realm as well as academic researchers and independent scholars. They are particularly interested in the work and views of creators, audiences and communities currently underrepresented across writing and technology. Papers, presentations and lightning talks focused on teaching and pedagogy are also welcome.

Visit the MIX website or email MIX@bathspa.ac.uk for more information.