"Digital storytelling" is a strong and emerging genre in the contemporary media landscape, and we invite scholars to publish the results of their academic studies in this area. Joe Lambert of the Center for Digital Storytelling, professor Theo Hug of University of Innsbruck, and professor Knut Lundby, University of Oslo have agreed to act as an advisory board to the editors for this special issue.

Important dates: November 1, 2009: Final date for sending proposals to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , January 1, 2010: Final date for sending contributions to the editor and March 31, 2010: Publication.

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Seminar.net is a peer-reviewed academic e-journal in the area of media, technology, and lifelong learning. In 2009 the journal has attracted readers from 179 countries, with the largest groups residing in the US, India, and various European countries. In this academic area, Seminar.net appears to be the only publication that welcomes and supports the presentation of visual material, videos, animations, and genres that have emerged from expressions in the New Media in symbiosis with written articles. Seminar.net aims to expand the format of how academics can express their insights, wisdom, and scientific results.

One strong and emerging genre in the contemporary media landscape is “Digital storytelling”. Our desire is to publish a special issue of Seminar.net on this important development. We invite scholars to publish the results of their academic studies in the area of “Digital Storytelling”.

This special issue invites scholars to submit contributions that address how the genre is used in various contexts today – whether they are for educational purposes or for emerging new areas of use related to health, leisure, recreation, activism, community building, planning, professional communication, and reflection, and more. Furthermore, authors should aim their contributions towards building the knowledge about digital storytelling as a genre and its potential in the media society. We welcome, then, critical and well founded presentations of how the concept is being applied to various contexts, the methods and expressions used, and what directions future developments might go.

Scholarly publications in this field are generally mediated on paper. And there has been no shortage of superb exemplars of scholarly work this year: Story Circle: Digital Storytelling around the World, edited by John Hartley and Kelly McWilliams and Digital Storytelling, Mediatized Stories: Self-representations in New Media, edited by Knut Lundby, as well as a conference report, “Storytelling – Reflections in the Age of Digitalization” edited by Yvonne Gächter, Heike Ortner, Claudia Scwartz, Andreas Wiesinger et al. We think, however, that an exploration of a more multimedial approach to research in the field is needed. With this in mind, we believe that “Seminar.net”, unhampered by the limits of the medium of paper, offers an opportunity to express a richer account of the field. We invite, therefore, presentations that not only deal with “Digital storytelling”, but also employ multimedial material to demonstrate or express content, viewpoints or arguments. The main focus should be on how producers and viewers make, develop or receive digital stories. We encourage presentations that use digital stories as examples, demonstrations, and expositions. Naturally, we insist on the inclusion of certain traditional academic elements, such as an abstract and references, but we certainly accept contributions that employ conventional text in a less linear fashion than what ordinary paper journals allow.

All contributions will be peer-reviewed by independent reviewers, who are selected among members of our editorial board, and an expert panel. Joe Lambert of the Center for Digital Storytelling, professor Theo Hug of University of Innsbruck, and professor Knut Lundby, University of Oslo have agreed to act as an advisory board to the editors for this special issue.

Important dates

November 1, 2009: Final date for sending proposals to editor

January 1, 2010:    Final date for sending contributions to the editor
March 31, 2010:    Publication

On behalf of the editorial board:

Yngve Nordkvelle
Editor

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url:     http://seminar.net