Informatics: Take Tea With Turing call for submissions

Alan Turing is considered by many to be the father of modern computing; the ‘Turing Test’ is still used as a marker for comparing machine and human intelligence. Turing’s work in mathematics, logic, cryptography, morphogenesis and computer science continues to inform contemporary research in these fields. However, Turing was also prosecuted for being homosexual, underwent chemical castration, and died from cyanide poisoning shortly before his 42nd birthday; an inquest determined that he committed suicide.

2012 is the centenary of Alan Turing’s birth and is being celebrated world-wide with a year-long programme of events to honour his life and achievements. He is perhaps best known outside of academic and computing circles for his work at Bletchley Park during WW2, but readers of his many biographies will also know him as a keen runner, chess player, and ceaselessly curious investigator into the human condition.

Take Tea With Turing is a digital anthology of original creative work inspired by all elements of the life and legacy of Alan Turing. Departing from the more traditional ‘e- book’ format, Take Tea With Turing will utilise basic augmented reality and image recognition technology to make the anthology a more playful, interactive experience. The anthology will be edited by Dr Viccy Adams- Leverhulme Trust writer-in-residence at the School of Informatics, the University of Edinburgh. The anthology will be available as a prototype on display at Inspace during the Turing Festival in Edinburgh, 23-25 August 2012. After this it will be made available as a free-to-download app.

HOW TO SUBMIT:

Please email your submissions to taketeawithturing@gmail.com by midnight on Sunday 15 July. Any submissions after this date will be deleted, unread. Previously published work is welcome, so long as you still hold copyright. Prose and poetry will primarily be made available as audio pieces in the final anthology. Please bear this in mind when selecting work to submit.

• Prose up to a maximum of 2,000 words (flash fiction VERY welcome)
• Poetry up to a maximum of 40 lines
• Animations up to a maximum of 1.5 minutes
• Audio pieces (including songs, spoken word, and other audio forms) up to amaximum of 3 mins

  Your creative work should be attached to the email in a standard format.
  The subject line should read ‘SUBMISSION’ followed by the title of the piece and your full name.
  Please include your full name, contact email address, the title/format/length of the work you are submitting, and a 50-word bio in the body of the email.

  We are particularly keen to encourage computer scientists and writers with a connection to Edinburgh University to submit work, but all submissions will be considered equally.