All Outputs (18)

On writing instability (2024)
Book Chapter

Abba examines the specific manners by which Ambient Literature is composed and experienced by a reader. Looking back to the canon of works produced under the project banner to date, and developing the Ambient Poetics proposed in 2016-18, he addresses... Read More about On writing instability.

Ambient Literature Guidebook (2024)
Book

Ambient Literature is a way to describe and codify immersive, narrative-led experiences that respond to the presence of a reader within their fabric.

Taking the form of a series of short conversations, this book explains what Ambient Literature i... Read More about Ambient Literature Guidebook.

A manifesto for slow immersion (2023)
Physical Artefact

Conceived as an answer to the question - how can we curate complex relationships in immersive narratives? This manifesto was presented at ZIPSCENE in Prague (Nov 2023) and distributed to attendees.

From bitter ground (2023)
Digital Artefact

From Bitter Ground is an experience that weaves between the printed page, a building that cannot possibly exist, and your presence within the whole work.

Taking the form of a set of books delivered to each of 2 readers, the work subsequently cons... Read More about From bitter ground.

A provocation for post-digital publishing (2022)
Physical Artefact

A series of practice-led arguments around affect, physicality and digital frameworks. Published April 2022.

Critical ambience (2020)
Book Chapter

This chapter argues that ambient cultural practices can be reframed as critically focused experiences rather than either passive backgrounds or immersive entertainment. We argue that ambient literature can leave the reader or listener with a heighten... Read More about Critical ambience.

Ambient Literature: Towards a New Poetics of Situated Writing and Reading Practices (2020)
Book

This book considers how a combination of place-based writing and location responsive technologies produce new kinds of literary experiences. Building on the work done in the Ambient Literature Project (2016–2018), this books argues that these encount... Read More about Ambient Literature: Towards a New Poetics of Situated Writing and Reading Practices.

These pages fall like ash (Second Edition) (2020)
Other

The work comprises the second edition of an original fiction by Tom Abba and Circumstance, with input from writers Neil Gaiman and Nick Harkaway. Twin cities, one imagined as parallel to another, real site, each possess distinct rules and cultures, d... Read More about These pages fall like ash (Second Edition).

Words we never wrote (2018)
Other

Words We Never Wrote addresses an emergent quality of ambient works. It constructs a non-linear experiential narrative within a bookended structure, asking its audience to engage with a physical ‘marker’ too - a series of built artworks (WWNW) and a... Read More about Words we never wrote.

A manifesto for ambient literature (2017)
Digital Artefact

A Manifesto for Ambient Literature comprises 22 pre-printed A5 cards, each comprising a provocation, gesture or argument drawn from a larger definition of Ambient Literature. Collectively, they represent a mid-way exploration of the research project,... Read More about A manifesto for ambient literature.

This is Not a Book (2016)
Other

Writing in the age of the web

These Pages Fall Like Ash (2016)
Other

The work comprises an original fiction by Tom Abba and Circumstance, with input from writers Neil Gaiman and Nick Harkaway. Twin cities, one imagined as parallel to another, real site, each possess distinct rules and cultures, details of which are pr... Read More about These Pages Fall Like Ash.

Archiving digital narrative: Some issues (2012)
Journal Article

The complexities of archiving digital content, particularly those story forms reliant on multiple platforms, highlights technical, cultural and curatorial issues that remain difficult to reconcile coherently. Seeking to frame the issues within this s... Read More about Archiving digital narrative: Some issues.

Hybrid stories: examining the future of transmedia narrative (2009)
Journal Article

Among recent examples of long-form sf drama, there is a tendency to extend the broadcast story across mulitple narrative platforms. The web, mobile telephony and print media are recombined with established broadcast platforms to produce a form of sto... Read More about Hybrid stories: examining the future of transmedia narrative.

As we might watch: what might arise from reconsidering the concept of interactive film? (2008)
Journal Article

Interactive film form has been conceived of in terms of branching; multi-linear narratives predominantly drawing on the mechanics of the computer games industry. Interactive engagements produced within this framework have failed to revolutionise eith... Read More about As we might watch: what might arise from reconsidering the concept of interactive film?.

The (mal)content generation: media practice in the digital environment (2008)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

In my role as Practice Section chair of MeCCSA I organised and chaired this panel bringing practice researchers and teachers together to discuss the impact of digital "content" on the field of media practice teaching and research.

MeiGeist (2008)
Other

The Alternate Reality Game funded by this AHRC Knowledge Catalyst Award presented a science-fiction narrative, set in the present day, in which the audience plays a key role in progressing and participating in the story. The audience or 'players' con... Read More about MeiGeist.

The future isn’t what they thought it would be
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The hype cycle for new technologies and their implementation continues to distract creators from making the most of what they already have in order to construct meaningful narrative experiences. This paper examines some of the more foundational probl... Read More about The future isn’t what they thought it would be.