The Unknown Storyteller Award
As revealed at the 2024 AGM of the Spencer-Brown Society, we are pleased to announce an annual 'Unknown Storyteller Award' of £100 for a high-quality paper submitted for publication to 'Distinction: Journal of Form' in which the author applies the story structure methodology outlined in Leon Conrad's book Story and Structure: A complete guide (2022).
Criteria
1. The award is set up to encourage researchers to apply the methodology outlined in Story and Structure: A complete guide and papers must show an application of the methodology. The award seeks to promote well-argued papers which feature novel applications, open up new areas of enquiry, or present critical viewpoints.
2. The potential for applying the methodology is wide and includes current events, media, folklore, narrative, film, poetry, and oratory, and incidents from lived experience.
3. The award is open to all and is not limited by age or academic affiliation.
4. Serving members of the committee would not be eligible to receive an award during their tenure, although this need not stop them from submitting papers using the methodology to the journal or being eligible for to receive an award when they are no longer serving as main or co-opted committee members.
5. Members of the judging panel may submit a paper for consideration. The author will recuse themselves from voting on their own paper.
6. Award will be made on merit only.
7. The paper must use GSB's symbols rather than derivatives such as brackets. A number of resources to include these are available, as featured on the Spencer-Brown Society website here.
8. In the event of there being no entries or if the entries are considered not to be of high-enough quality, the judges reserve the right to carry over the prize to the following year. The award amount would remain constant.
9. Copyright remains with the author. By submitting the paper for the award, the author grants the Spencer-Brown Society first serial rights for publication of the article, and grants the Spencer-Brown Society the right to publish the article in whole or in part online for marketing and publicity purposes free of charge.
Deadline for submission
Midnight, UK time on 31 December 2025 and annually on 31 December thereafter.
The winner will be announced at the Spencer-Brown Society AGM in the following calendar year.
Examples
Beyond the numerous examples to be found within Story and Structure, and further applications of the methodology which can be found in papers and talks as listed on Academia.edu here, see also the draft paper of a talk entitled 'Killing Time' which Conrad gave at the Luhmann Conference 2023. This applies a story structure analysis to the media and social media presentation of the events surrounding the police killing of Nahel Merzouk in Nanterre in July 2023 and is available to view here.
1. The award is set up to encourage researchers to apply the methodology outlined in Story and Structure: A complete guide and papers must show an application of the methodology. The award seeks to promote well-argued papers which feature novel applications, open up new areas of enquiry, or present critical viewpoints.
2. The potential for applying the methodology is wide and includes current events, media, folklore, narrative, film, poetry, and oratory, and incidents from lived experience.
3. The award is open to all and is not limited by age or academic affiliation.
4. Serving members of the committee would not be eligible to receive an award during their tenure, although this need not stop them from submitting papers using the methodology to the journal or being eligible for to receive an award when they are no longer serving as main or co-opted committee members.
5. Members of the judging panel may submit a paper for consideration. The author will recuse themselves from voting on their own paper.
6. Award will be made on merit only.
7. The paper must use GSB's symbols rather than derivatives such as brackets. A number of resources to include these are available, as featured on the Spencer-Brown Society website here.
8. In the event of there being no entries or if the entries are considered not to be of high-enough quality, the judges reserve the right to carry over the prize to the following year. The award amount would remain constant.
9. Copyright remains with the author. By submitting the paper for the award, the author grants the Spencer-Brown Society first serial rights for publication of the article, and grants the Spencer-Brown Society the right to publish the article in whole or in part online for marketing and publicity purposes free of charge.
Deadline for submission
Midnight, UK time on 31 December 2025 and annually on 31 December thereafter.
The winner will be announced at the Spencer-Brown Society AGM in the following calendar year.
Examples
Beyond the numerous examples to be found within Story and Structure, and further applications of the methodology which can be found in papers and talks as listed on Academia.edu here, see also the draft paper of a talk entitled 'Killing Time' which Conrad gave at the Luhmann Conference 2023. This applies a story structure analysis to the media and social media presentation of the events surrounding the police killing of Nahel Merzouk in Nanterre in July 2023 and is available to view here.
26 NOVEMBER 2024
