Speaker: Alison Norrington

Alison Norrington is Conference Chair to StoryWorld Conference and a PhD candidate, researching participative, crossplatform storytelling. An English author, playwright, journalist and founder of storycentralDIGITAL Alison consults to publishers, broadcasters and authors globally on transmedia strategies, participative experiences, production, architecture and planning, and utilizing social media. Alison has written for WIRED magazine and hosts workshops in London, NYC and Europe. She has presented at conferences, including Digital LA, Digital Hollywood, TOC, Romance Writers of America & Eurovision TV Summit.

What Alison will be doing at DIY DAYS

talk

Top down/bottom up – where’s the value?

There’s an increasing amount of noise around transmedia storytelling, multi platform narratives and cross platform partnerships and its easy to become lost in the buzzword bingo. It was in 2006 when Alison was halfway through writing her 4th novel, Staying Single, that she also needed to pull together an idea for her MA Dissertation in Creative Writing & New Media. It made sense that the two came together. Staying Single was a first in cross platform chick lit – a genre that remains fully untapped in the transmedia space and for which Alison is in production of Loving NY. ‘Top Down/Bottom Up’ looks beyond the buzzwords to reveal the value of 2-way narratives, mistakes made and lessons learned within a genre that is heralded as completely lean-back.

DIY DAYS asks Alison

What are you currently working on that you’re excited about?

I’ve been completely entrenched in programming StoryWorld conference for the last few months. It’s hugely exciting though and I’m delighted at the opportunity to bring together grassroots practitioners and indie creators alongside producers, digital media execs and Emmy-award winners with cross platform properties from TV, film, publishing, gaming and mobile. I’m working on 2 indie teams on two separate, and amazing story worlds too, and am itching to get back to producing my 5th romcom story ‘Loving NY’ which is partnered with Skype and features book, live event, product launch and web series as components of the storytelling.

What are you currently watching, reading or playing?

I haven’t had much time for any of these lately, but have to say I’m working my way through watchig the box sets of True Blood and Mad Men again – I love HBO! I’m also slowly getting through Joseph Campbell’s ‘Creative Mythology’ and loving ‘David Ogilvy – Confessions of an Advertising Man’. My teenage sons play Heavy Rain, Assassins Creed and GTA on X-Box and I love watching those stories unfold too.