Distance of Touch is a magazine full of writing on larp and articles published in conjunction with the 2022 Knutpunkt conference in Sweden. It’s part of the tradition of annual Knutpunkt books but the style, format and approach is new: This is a magazine with colorful spreads, lots of pictures, interviews, lists, and popular articles.
What’s new in Nordic larp? What’s happening right now, or in the last few years? New larps, new ideas, new people, new phenomena. It should all be in Distance of Touch!
Imagine you’re at Knutpunkt. You’re talking with friends and someone has this magazine with them. You crack it open and look at a random spread. There should immediately be something there that you can scan quickly and then introduce as a topic of conversation.
This something can be an interesting larp some of you went to, a new concept that’s useful to you, a community issue, a listicle, etc. The goal is to make a magazine that has something interesting for every single person who comes to KP.
Article proposals and tips for ideas are welcome from writers new and old! We’ll help you with style and with making sure your work fits the general concept of the magazine.
Basic Info
Email: distanceoftouch@gmail.com
Deadline for submissions: 1st of February 2022
The New
Is there something in Nordic larp you feel more people should know about? Is there something happening that you think is going to be important? Have you noticed a phenomenon big or small that you think is interesting, funny or profound?
Let us know!
The purpose of the magazine is to capture this moment in Nordic larp. It can be about larp in the time of the plague or the tremendous development in online larp. It can also be about something else, something that’s been happening at grassroots level in the community, something we don’t even know to ask for!
The Magazine
The magazine will have 200 pages. Many articles will be one or two pages long, with some running over multiple spreads. Every spread will have entry points into the article in the form of pictures, subheaders, photo captions, etc. Some articles will be serious, others funny.
Submitting Proposals
You can submit ideas for articles, give a tip on a topic you’d wish someone else would write about, or propose photos or illustrations. If you have experience with journalistic writing and would like to write something, get in touch and we’ll find a topic for you!
If you want to submit an article, send an email to distanceoftouch@gmail.com with the subject line DISTANCE OF TOUCH: <title of your proposal>
In the email, you should explain your idea in a few paragraphs. You should also briefly mention who you are to give perspective on why you’re writing about this specific thing.
All articles need to have photos or other visuals. Please consider where these pictures come from and who you should ask for the rights to use them. The initial proposal doesn’t need ready-to-publish visuals but should include a sentence or two about what those will be.
A short article is between 500 and 2500 characters. An interview or a short feature can be between 4000 and 12 000 characters. A long feature can be between 12 000 and 20 000 characters.
If your idea seems best expressed as a long feature, consider splitting it into a cluster of shorter articles, such as a short piece about a specific technique and a short interview with a designer about how it’s used.
Visuals
All articles need visuals. You’ll want to make your article pop and invite the reader in and visuals are the best way to do it! This can be larp photos, illustrations or something else.
You’re responsible for clearing the rights to use the pictures you provide. This means asking the photographer, the illustrator, the larp organizer or whoever can grant you permission to use the pictures as part of the magazine in both print and PDF as well as publication on nordiclarp.org.
Using public domain images is always possible! If there are good images in the public domain that apply to your proposal, let us know!
You should always provide us with the credits for whatever visuals we use. This means the name of the photographer, the illustrator, etc.
If you have trouble coming up with ideas or if there are issues with rights, get in touch. We can help you! Creative solutions are possible for handling visuals for different articles.
Example Article Types
– Interview. Talk to someone interesting about something interesting.
– Listicle. You know the format from numerous websites. A possibly humorous article formatted into a list.
– Photo essay. For example, an interesting larp could be documented in photos.
– Feature article. What’s happened, where, why, when, who. Why is this interesting and relevant for the reader?
– New in larp. New ideas, techniques, concepts.
– The article cluster. An interesting topic could be covered in a cluster of three to five articles, each with their own perspective and format. For example, a short article followed by an interview and a listicle.
Running Series
The magazine will feature two series of short articles that quickly sketch out a short moment of larp play. Feel free to propose an article for either of these categories or both of them!
In both cases, the article should be 500-1000 characters long.
Player Mistakes. We’ve heard a lot about organizer mistakes but how about player mistakes? Write about a mistake you made.
The Wow. Tell us about a moment in larp that made you go wow! Amazing scenography, incredible nuance from a fellow player, a metatechnique that blew your mind! This can be anything that made you respond with amazement and awe.
Submit a Tip
If you feel that there’s something interesting that has happened in the Nordic larp scene in the last few years, feel free to give us a heads up even if you don’t personally intend to write about it. We can’t promise anything but it’s possible we’ll be able to match the idea with a writer.
In this case, it’s helpful if you’re able to give us the following:
– What’s the tip? What happened, what’s the idea, why is it interesting?
– Who are the people related to this? If we need to interview someone, or talk to someone, or to ask somebody about something, who would those people be?
– Is there any existing writing on this subject?
Framework
Team
Edited by Juhana Pettersson
Graphic design by Anne Serup Grove
Timetable
The deadline for all proposals is 1st of February 2022 but feel free to pitch right now. The sooner we get to work, the better.
Individual articles will have different deadlines through the spring, with the understanding that all must be written before 1st of May, 2022 at the very latest.
Rights
You’re submitting an article for release in the following contexts:
– The Distance of Touch book both in print and as a PDF.
– The Nordiclarp.org website.
Photos and other visuals should also be cleared for use in these contexts.