Great news for Future and Form, the UEA Creative Writing department’s epic programme of experimental works and public events that explored the future of literary writing in the context of emerging technologies and future forms of storytelling.

Future and Form was not only nominated for a prestigious UEA Innovation and Impact award, but it actually won the Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement award.

(I understand this may be the first time a team from a Humanities department has won such an award – it’s usually something that goes to the scientists!)

To give you an idea of the scale of the project, it’s worth noting that over five hundred writers, academics, artists, creatives, students and school children were involved in making Future and Form. It was launched at Norfolk and Norwich Festival 2021, with further representation at the national Being Human festival and Norwich Science Festival in the autumn of that year.

Nearly all the big cultural organisations in the region – art galleries, museums, nature reserves, theatres, arts centres – became key stakeholders and a whole host of creative technologists, theatremakers, digital media professionals, archivists and researchers were involved

It should be noted too that a lot of the work on Future and From took place during the pandemic and required everyone working with us to adapt to working online or in highly controlled, highly constrained physical environments.

To deliver a full programme of productions and events in such circumstances was something of a miracle and is a testament to the ingenuity and commitment of all concerned.

In the end it’s estimated that nearly 400,000 people have engaged with Future and Form works in person and online so far. And you can still engage with the programme via the website at https://futureandform.net/