Aug 31-Sept 3, Antwerp: I’m going to be presenting a workshop and mentoring at the Headstart Institute. This is a week-long summer school for indie game developers, with workshops in a whole range of topics from interactive narrative (me) to sound design, marketing, production, how to quickly put together a custom controller, and lots else. The experience culminates in a game jam (which unfortunately I’m going to have to miss), and the mentors will be around all week to provide feedback. Housing and communal breakfast and lunch are provided. I don’t know of any other programs quite like this, and I’m myself excited to meet my awesome fellow mentors, many of whom I’ve heard of but not had a chance to talk to in person over the years. There are still a few spots remaining, so if that sounds good to you, come to Antwerp!
Sept 4, London (and this is the reason I have to leave Antwerp a bit early): I’m presenting on intimacy in games at Now Play This, alongside Meg Jayanth and Merritt Kopas. This is a ticketed event.
October 7, London Literature Festival: I’m on a panel with Cara Ellison and Naomi Alderman about stories and games.
Later in the year: I will be on the east coast of the US and Canada in the first couple of weeks of November, including doing a couple of talks at WordPlay in Toronto. I know a number of other IF people expect to be at that session as well. After that, I’m spending a few days in Boston and then going to PRACTICE in New York City. My schedule is filling in, but if you want to talk while I’m in town, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
March 2016: I’m part of a proposed panel for SXSW Interactive on interactive fiction, esolangs, and other juxtapositions of language and code. I don’t know whether this will be approved, but if you would like it to be, you can vote or comment on the proposal.
There are a couple of other items on the calendar that haven’t been announced yet, but when they are I’ll mention them here. And I’m trying to be good about keeping my Contact page updated with information about upcoming events that are announced and open to the public.
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More generally: I routinely give
— introductions to interactive storytelling
— workshops on choice writing and other IF design skills
— classes in specific IF tools
— in-depth talks on past projects and technical subjects
…and I’ve worked with a range of target audiences, from members of the general public interested in stories to game developers to graduate students working in procedural narrative. If you’d like me to present to your conference, classroom, or studio, please do get in touch and I’ll see whether it’s feasible.
(But if you’re considering coming to Antwerp, you should definitely do that. It will be much cooler than just me talking.)
Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling 