QUT Digital Literature Award

2019 Shortlist

QUT Digital Literature Award

Congratulations to the finalists!

V[R]ignettes by Mez Breeze

Judges' comments

An anthology of four VR works that integrate 3D illustration with poetic text and a reading experience of visceral intensity. Each piece explores unique textures, atmospheric sound design, and texts that are by turns enigmatic, impassioned, and humorous. The navigation is intuitive, recalling page turns, but also allows for free non-linear exploration.

Gothic Body, in Two Parts by Eda Gunaydin

Judges' comments

Text and images are the simple building blocks of a short memoir that’s unflinching to the point of discomfort. The writing is remarkably assured and brave, particularly in its first part. Its use of mouseover ties the text and images more closely than if they had been presented more traditionally, requiring the reader to engage actively.

The Wonders of Lost Trajectories by Jason Nelson

Judges' comments

A collaboration with the Queensland State Archives, this is a collection of digital poems using archival material built into a physical space. Interactive elements cleverly repurpose old archive equipment such as card index drawers and microfiche machines. The poems draw on Brisbane’s past and recreate the experience of losing yourself in archival material.

Psychometric Researches by Benjamin Laird

Judges' comments

A poem rendered in three dimensions across the six faces of a cube. A simple presentation, but with complex mechanics. The text on adjacent faces play against each other, sometimes flowing, sometimes jarring. The piece is accessible on screen as a virtual object, but we particularly loved that it can be printed and turned into a real, physical object.

ITERATION - Part 3/Chapter 3 by CB Mako and MJ Flamiano

Judges' comments

A collaborative work of poetry in text and video that encourages the reader to move back and forth between text and image. We were particularly taken with the interplay between the poem produced in text and its translation into Auslan, a beautiful performance presented primarily for its aesthetic rather than its accessibility.