[Nfb-announce] Fwd: MacGuffin - a new platform for writers and readers

[David Andrews]

>Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2015 12:18:03 +0100
>From: Sam Clark <sam at macguffin.io>
>To:  <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
>Subject: MacGuffin - a new platform for writers and readers
>
>Dear David
>
>I’m contacting you from Comma Press, a 
>non-profit independent publisher specialising in short fiction.
>
>We’re building a self-publishing platform for 
>fiction and poetry. We hope it’s going to be 
>useful for blind and visually impaired readers 
>and writers, as all content will be available in text and audio form.
>
>We’re just about to release a beta version, to 
>give people an opportunity to try MacGuffin out 
>and help improve it before we launch. We would 
>really like to invite some blind and partially 
>sighted readers and writers to tell us what they think.
>
>I’d be really grateful if you could share the 
>information below with subscribers to stylist.
>
>If you would like to ask any questions about 
>MacGuffin, the beta version, or would like to 
>give feedback, you can talk to Jim on 07891582529.
>
>------------------
>
>Comma Press, an independent publisher, 
>specialising in short fiction and poetry are 
>building a self-publishing platform:
>
>MacGuffin hosts fiction and poetry in text and 
>audio form. Authors upload their text along with 
>an mp3 reading (no specialist equipment needed, 
>you can record on smartphone!); end-users can 
>read or stream audio, and toggle between the two.
>
>MacGuffin uses Twitter-style hash-tagging: any 
>end-user can tag anyone else's work to describe 
>the content, contribute to a meme or add it to a reading list.
>
>Examples:
>    * I want to share my work-in-progress with 
> my writers’ group. I upload a story, tag it 
> with the name of the group (#mcrscifiwriters), 
> and it’s there for everyone to find
>    *  I’ve written a short story and want to 
> target it at readers who will get my work. I 
> tag it #slipstream #surreal #absurd #shortstory #newweird.
>    * I tag someone else’s poem #sundaysonnets to add it to a meme.
>    * I tag someone else’s story 
> #samsfavouritelyricalstories to add it to a personal reading list.
>    * I'm writing an essay on representations of 
> nature in contemporary poetry. I search #poem 
> #nature #seasons #snow #sun to find a range of poems with thematic relevance.
>    * I'm a crime fiction fan with a 15-minute 
> bus ride. I search #crime #15minutelisten to find a story to suit my journey.
>    * I run a spoken-word night - I upload 
> samples of recent performances tagged with the name of my event.
>
>MacGuffin will be free to use (it's a non-profit 
>venture), and available as a website, and an app on iOS and Android.
>
>As all the work on MacGuffin is in text and 
>audio form we particularly hope that it will be 
>of interest to blind and visually impaired 
>readers and writers, and would love to know what you think.
>
>It's released as an invitational beta at the end 
>of April. If you'd like to have a play on it, 
>please email 
><mailto:sam at macguffin.io>sam at macguffin.io. More 
>info at <http://www.macguffin.io/>www.macguffin.io.
>
>Many thanks,
>
>
>Samantha Clark
>Content Development
>
>
><http://macguffin.io/>
>[]
>
>
><http://macguffin.io/>macguffin.io
><https://twitter.com/TheMacGuffin>@TheMacGuffin
><http://macguffinblog.com/about/>The MacGuffin Blog
>
>MacGuffin is a digital R&D collaboration between 
>Comma Press (lead partner), fffunction.co and 
>The Manchester Metropolitan University. 
>MacGuffin is supported by the 
><http://www.nesta.org.uk/project/digital-rd-fund-arts>Digital 
>R&D Fund for the Arts.
>
>Comma Press is a Company Limited By Guarantee 
>(run on a not-for-profit basis), Company Number 6390368.
>
>
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