BWF EXCLUSIVE
After our Story+ digital futures workshop, we had a chat with Joanna Ellis, head of digital publishing developer The Literary Platform. Joanna was a keynote speaker at Story+ and we talked about the intersection of writing/publishing and new digital technologies.
When asked how it was collaborating at the Festival with other luminaries representing different aspects of the publishing/creation field, Joanna remarked on what they found in common:
‘We all seem to have reached a very similar point at a very similar time, and so you have three slightly different takes on actually a very similar idea, which is around the disconnect between the cultural act of writing and connecting with readers versus the commercialisation of that cultural product. And it’s always been there, and I think what the digital age has done is shine a particularly strong light on that disconnect and the fact that the commercial and the cultural don’t always fit hand in glove.’
We asked Joanna what she thinks about the new digital technologies and whether authors ought to feel compelled to embrace them. She responded:
‘It’s like cars and bicycles—you have cars, but you’ve got more bicycles than ever, and [the old technology] doesn’t go. And candles, which are completely opposite of technology, but more candles are being manufactured than ever… there’s a sense that more technologies come, but old technologies don’t go.
‘What interests me though is again coming back to this idea that it’s a brilliant time in many ways to be a creator, there are so many opportunities you can choose: You can choose to create a linear narrative, you can choose to create an interactive narrative, you can choose to mash media together and try to create something new. So what technology does is bring with it a set of tools that enable writers and creatives and artists to actually push the creative boundaries, and culturally I think that is thrilling … The positive of having all these technologies is that there’s not just one way of being, there are just more ways of being, more ways of expressing.’
Joanna stressed, however, that while it’s important for authors to stay curious and keep an open mind about new technologies, at the same time they shouldn’t force themselves to adopt something that doesn’t feel right.
Here at BWF we were relieved to hear that the book—the beautiful, printed, covered book—is here to stay. Video may have killed the radio star, but new technologies, rather than killing the book, simply add a new dimension of possibility for creators.
And we are excited about all these new possibilities. Follow BWF post-festival for more of our interview with Joanna, including specific apps and technologies to help authors boldly go forward into the digital world.
- Written by Kimberley Ellis (Marketing Intern)