DIY DAYS is coming to LA on Oct 28th and we’re excited to share a new site we’ve been working on.  http://www.diydays.com

When we started DIY DAYS back in 2008, the goal was to share information and creative process within a social environment. As we prepare for what will be our 9th event, we are excited to announce a number of new additions to DIY DAYS that will focus on action.

Wicked Solutions for a Wicked Problem (WS WP) will be a center piece of the event. A wicked problem within the educational space will be targeted. WS WP is a “think tank meets hackathon” that will combine design thinking, storytelling and co-creation in an effort to move from concept to working prototype within a 48 hour period. DIY DAYS LA will close with a presentation of the prototype to a live audience.

Robot Heart Stories is an experiential educational effort that will have students in two underprivileged schools, one in Montreal and one in Los Angeles, co-creating stories that will move a robot (connected plush toy with GPS capabilities) from Montreal to Los Angeles. The project kicks off Oct 17th at the FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CINÉMA and concludes on the 28th at DIY DAYS LA. The journey will be documented and the children can check in with the robot’s progress as she attempts to find her way home. The student’s stories will be brought to life by designers, illustrators and animators and copies of the children’s work will be placed in an “actual rocket” that will be making its way into space this fall. The project mixes social gaming mechanics with creative writing while at the same time enabling the students to learn using math, science, history and geography.

SPEAKERS
In our first wave of speaker announcements we’re thrilled that Henry Jenkins, Tommy Pallotta and Christy Dena will be joining us. We’ll be sharing more speaker and program details in the coming weeks.

We are still looking for interesting people and projects. So if you know of someone or something that would be an amazing addition to the event please drop us a line at work@workbookproject.com with the subject “Diy Days LA.”

TICKETS
DIY DAYS LA is free and tickets will be available on a first come first serve basis. Starting on Sept 12th you’ll be able to get them from http://diydays.com

PARTNERS
We’re proud to partner with the UCLA Library as one of their Open Access Week events. Open Access Week is a global event, now in its 5th year, promoting Open Access as a new norm in scholarship and research. UCLA is giving us access to their amazing Charles E. Young Research Library which has recently been renovated.

CINEMA SPEAKEASY PRESENTS ‘SHOW & TELL”
In a special section of DIY DAYS we’ll be highlighting amazing innovative work. We’ve teamed with Cinema Speakeasy to put on a “show & tell” that will give creators of film, games, music, design projects, immersive experiences and anything else that deals with storytelling a space to show. Space is limited so make sure to contact us early. For more details check out http://diydays.com/2011/08/special-showcase

VOLUNTEERS
Last but definitely not least, we are looking for a few good women and men to help us put on the event. It’s a fun great way to meet people and network. Not to mention volunteers are what help to keep DIY DAYS free. It is the volunteers who share their time and talents that make DIY DAYS possible. We are in need of folks to help with logistics, tech, and documenting the event. If you’re interested you can find more details here http://diydays.com/volunteers

Dan Mirvish (Omaha the movie, Open House) charts his course from short film to web series to political scandals to an eventual book deal that is now leading to the whole story being optioned and turned into a film. “I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man’s (wildly inappropriate) Adventures with the Last Republicans,” is a mix of political intrigue, campaign-trail escapades, and cyberspace detective work. Desperate to rise through the ranks of Washington’s media punditocracy, Eisenstadt insinuates himself into the last 30 years of American politics – from losing his virginity to Fawn Hall, to interning on the Willie Horton ad campaign, to buying Sarah Palin’s wardrobe. Mirvish shares how his work has evolved beyond a single medium and the liberation that working within one’s limitations can bring.

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Martin Eisenstadt @MartyEisenstadt

As content creators of all kinds strive to build fan bases and cultivate audiences for their work, many are finding that their best promotional vehicle is themselves. Micki Krimmel (Mickipedia, NeighborGoods.net) and Marc Horowitz (Google Maps Road Trip, National Dinner Tour) discuss the benefits and pitfalls of creating an online cult of personality. How to develop an online persona, issues of privacy, and extending your own persona into other work are discussed.

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Micki Krimmel @mickipedia
Marc Horowitz @marchorowitz
Moderated by Lance Weiler @lanceweiler

As we continue our series of discussions around the evolution of storytelling we?re joined by two pioneers in the space who are extending the experiences that surrounds the stories they tell. From massive global gaming experiences to hit TV shows Jesse Alexander (Heroes, Lost, Day One) and Elan Lee (Co-Founder and Chief Designer at Fourth Wall Studios) share the art and craft of how they design and develop transmedia experiences that create rich media franchises and engage audiences in new and interesting ways.

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Jesse Alexander @globalcouch
Elan Lee @elanlee