New to the Electronic Literature Organization? Not sure what to submit for this year’s conference and media arts festival, or what category is the best fit for your work? Please consult the following frequently asked questions for support, and feel free to reach out to the conference chair, Anastasia Salter (anastasia@ucf.edu) if you need additional support or information.
What is electronic literature?
The Electronic Literature Organization defines electronic literature as “literature produced for the digital medium,” or “born-digital literary art,” a category that includes interactive fiction; narrative and literary games; hypertexts; Twitter bots; generative poetry; virtual reality storytelling; mixed reality narratives; and many more experimental works–including some on platforms that are only-now emerging. To get a sense of the scope of electronic literature, we recommend looking at the Electronic Literature Directory: http://directory.eliterature.org/.
Should I submit a conference talk or a proceedings paper?
Conference talks work best for newer research, or for ideas and contributions that are still under development. Conference panels are particularly valuable for generative discussions, such as addressing urgent questions in the field from the perspectives of multiple participants. Proceedings papers are ideal for completed research, and are particularly valuable because they offer a way to immediately share your work with those who are unable to attend the conference: they will be peer reviewed and published open-access prior to the conference. This is part of our commitment to making the scholarship at the conference accessible to all, and we encourage you to participate if your research is at this stage.
What’s the difference between installations and performance pieces?
Installation pieces are frequently designed to be experienced through a particular interface, and may in some cases take time for a user to traverse. They might include physical elements (we particularly encourage you to think about ways to make use of materiality alongside the digital) or be designed as a solo experience through a headset. Performance pieces should be designed with an audience in mind, and might involve live readings, interpretations, or mixed media art events. For both installations and performance pieces, it is important to be as specific as possible in your technical and spatial needs so we can consider the suitability of each venue to your work and schedule accordingly if it is accepted.
What can I expect from peer review?
The conference organizers and curators rely upon a team of volunteer reviewers to provide feedback and evaluation of each anonymized submission, a process that can take 1-2 months from the final submission deadline. Peer reviewers are asked to consider the possible connections to our conference theme of (un)continuity as well as the general quality, relevance, and originality of each submission. We will provide you with the peer reviewer’s feedback in addition to notification of acceptance or rejection.