Zarf Updates

I am delighted to pass the word that NarraScope 2025 has posted its schedule and its registration link. Come see us in Philadelphia on June 20-22!

We've also announced our keynote speakers -- yes, this year we have two of them:

Vision Keynote: Hidetaka “SWERY” Suehiro

Saturday’s keynote will be delivered by SWERY, the internationally-acclaimed designer of cult favorite Deadly Premonition, the surreal horror-adventure that earned a Guinness World Record for its polarizing reception.

Local Hero Keynote: Dain Saint

Sunday’s Local Hero keynote will be delivered by Dain Saint (he/they), a Philadelphia-based storyteller and artist who has produced games through Cipher Prime Studios, interactive theatre with Obvious Agency, and journalism with the Philadelphia Inquirer.

(I'm quoting from our announcement mailing list. The keynote news went out last night.)

And of course the schedule has, what is it, about 75 other speakers listed? We've scaled up the conference this year. More rooms, more talks, more kinds of talks -- there's going to be some papers from the academic side of things. So we're aiming to scale up attendance as well.

The usual Friday workshops will happen, although that schedule isn't set yet. We will also have an on-site NarraScope Showcase event on Friday afternoon. So if you can make it to Philadelphia, please consider making it a three-day weekend.

If you can't make it to Philadelphia, you can register to attend online. We're keenly aware of the current economic and political issues, particularly for people travelling from outside the US. Rest assured that our hybrid model is still in full swing. All Sat/Sun talks will be livestreamed.

(For those of you waiting for the 2024 talk videos: we are very grateful for your patience. Now that reg is open, Matt has promised to spend some time this week plowing through the video backlog.)

Earlybird registration prices run through April 11. There's also info for conference hotel rates, which have various cutoff dates and availability limits. So plan early.

As always, I look forward to seeing you at NarraScope. Since I'm not running the show this year, I'll even have time to sit in on the talks and chat with people. Excitement!