Solmukohta is an annual Nordic roleplaying convention. In 2012 it will be held in Helsinki, Finland. Each year, a book containing the best and the brightest of roleplaying writing is published to go with the convention. This year, the book is edited by Juhana Pettersson and published by Pohjoismaisen roolipelaamisen seura.
This is a solicitation for articles to be published in the book.
Juhana Pettersson was the editor of the Finnish roleplaying magazine Roolipelaaja between 2007 and 2009, the author of the book Roolipelimanifesti (2005) about roleplaying games, the designer of the game Ikuisuuden laakso (2009) and the editor of a collection of Fastaval games published in Finnish called Unelma Keltaisesta kuninkaasta ja muita tanskalaisia roolipelejä (2011). He’s a contributing editor at Playground magazine.
Pohjoismaisen roolipelaamisen seura is a Finnish non-profit mostly involved in promoting Nordic larp culture through publishing projects.
The Book
Nordic larp and roleplaying culture is the main focus of the book, but subjects such as roleplaying games in other parts of the world, freeform games, pervasive games and online roleplaying games can be accepted as well.
Authors not planning to participate in the convention are welcome to contribute as well.
This is a book about designing roleplaying games and larps, about experiencing, analyzing and documenting them. It’s meant to be an approachable relflection of current Nordic larp culture, as well as progressive roleplaying cultures in other parts of the world.
The reader will have a basic idea of what larp and roleplaying is, but concepts relevant to local game cultures should be explained.
Compared to books published in previous years, this will be experience-oriented, journalistic and approachable. Academic articles will find their venue at a seminar held in conjunction with Solmukohta, the CFP for which will be published soon.
Submission Categories
The book will feature a number of different article categories. The articles need to be submitted to one particular category. The categories have various, differing criteria and rules.
New Frontiers
Did you go to Botswana to experience the strange local larp culture? Have you created a theory that will make all previous theorists weep with shame? Whether it’s a journalistic article about game culture that deserves to have a wider audience or an analytical think piece about the essence of what we do, it has its place in the New Frontiers category. 15 000 – 30 000 characters.
Documentation
The books Nordic Larp and Do Larp created a foundation for documenting Nordic roleplaying games. This book builds on that foundation by including articles documenting games, mostly from 2010 and 2011. Explain how the game was made, what was it like to play in it, and what were the big ideas involved. Photos are mandatory. 15 000 – 25 000 characters.
Art and Design
Design analyses and critiques, artist statements and manifestoes, reports of experimentation, how-to -guides, all these have their place in the Art and Design category. Sweeping articles about your artistic practice, practical updates to larp methodology and conceptual tools for making better games will find a home here. Design articles are expected to be 15 000 – 30 000 characters.
Mistakes and Catastrophes
Following in the footsteps of the discussion about failures in game design at Knudepunkt 2011, the Mistakes and Catastrophes category documents games where things went wrong. An article in this category is short, anecdotal, instructive and funny. Did bad plumbing destroy your dystopian epic? Tell us about it in 3000-6000 characters.
The Joy of Roleplaying
Why do we play? What are the best, most interesting, sublime, sexy, thought-provoking, scary and fun moments you’ve experienced as a player? Write about a single experience, contextualizing it within the game and your personal situation. Include in-game detail as needed, but focus on how it affected you. 3000-6000 characters.
Editorial Process
1. Create a short proposal for an article and send it bythe 1st of September, 2011. The proposal should include the category the article is going to be in, and a short synopsis of what you intend to write about and why. The proposal doesn’t have to be longer than a couple of paragraphs.
Send the proposal in the body of an email with the subject line: ARTICLE PROPOSAL: The Name of Your Article.
The email address is book2012@solmukohta.org.
You’ll know whether your article was accepted or not by the 20th of September.
2. After your proposal has been accepted, write the first draft of the full article and send it by the 1st of November, 2011. Format it according to the instructions in the style guide, and include full bibliographies, ludographies and other extras.
3. After your article has been submitted, it will be edited to suit the style of the book. Expect at least a couple of rounds of corrections, feedback and revisions.
Download the style guide here.