Announcing the first issue of the ARDIN Journal of Interactive Narrative

Press release for download

24 May 2024

Amsterdam/Atlanta Association for Research in Digital Interactive Narratives, https://ardin.online

For immediate release 

Introducing the Journal of Interactive Narrative – The First of Its Kind

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Journal of Interactive Narrative (JIN) – the world’s first academic journal dedicated entirely to the growing field of interactive narratives. As storytelling evolves in our digital age, JIN will provide a vital platform for researchers, creators, and scholars to share groundbreaking work at the intersection of narratology, game design, artificial intelligence, media studies, education, fine art, and human-computer interaction.

The journal is available here: https://journal.ardin.online/

Open Access Diamond

Articles in JIN are published under the Open Access Diamond model, which means there are no fees to process articles and contents can be accessed at no cost on the journal’s website. Diamond Open Access articles are licensed under Creative Commons Licenses (CC) (see the copyright notice on the website for details), which means they can be freely shared so that other people can build their work based on them.

The Journal of Interactive Narrative is published in collaboration with ETC Press/Carnegie Mellon University, a leading academic open access publisher. 

What Are Interactive Narratives?

Interactive digital narratives blend traditional storytelling with digital technologies, allowing the audience to actively influence and shape the narrative experience. From interactive fiction to narrative-driven video games and interactive documentaries, augmented/virtual reality experiences, and beyond – interactive narratives open up vast new creative possibilities for immersive and participatory storytelling across media. The journal also covers analog interactive narratives, e.g. narrative-focused board games and LARPs (live action role-playing).

Until now, there has been no dedicated peer-reviewed journal focused on this rapidly growing interdisciplinary field. JIN aims to fill that gap, fostering dialogue, criticism, and knowledge-sharing among the diverse communities exploring the future of interactive storytelling.

Innovative Digital Publishing

What sets JIN apart is our innovative digital publishing model that goes beyond just disseminating written research. Each issue will embed fully playable interactive narrative experiences and artifacts directly into the journal articles themselves.

Authors can submit interactive fiction, narrative games, VR/AR pieces, and other interactive works to be included alongside their traditional research papers and critiques. Readers will be able to experience these interactive narratives first-hand as an integral part of the academic discourse. This is a much overdue advance in interactive scholarship.

The journal will also feature IDNs (interactive digital narratives) in each issue to celebrate such works as a full-fledged artistic expression. The first issue features Figurski at Findhorn, a work by Richard Holeton. 

Open Call for Submissions

JIN invites researchers, creators, artists, game designers, writers, and scholars from all relevant disciplines to submit their work for consideration. We welcome long-form research articles, critical essays, interactive narrative pieces, multimedia works, and more.

Our editorial board comprises leading experts and pioneering voices spanning digital media theory, computational narratology, game studies, and creative writing. We are committed to upholding rigorous academic standards while nurturing innovative ideas at the cutting edge of interactive storytelling.

The inaugural issue of the Journal of Interactive Narrative is available now at https://journal.ardin.online/. The Call for Papers for the second issue is available here: https://journal.ardin.online/cfp-vol2

Join us as we forge new frontiers for interactive narratives as an artistic and professional practice as well as a growing scholarly field. The future of storytelling is interactive – let’s explore it together through JIN.

Contact:

Hartmut Koenitz, Editor-in-Chief

journal@ardin.online