We are excited to announce a major milestone in our book project Teaching with Digital Storytelling: Inspiring Voices Through Online Narratives edited by Drs. Sheila Aird and Tom Mackey. Today we submitted the manuscript for this volume to Rowman & Littlefield. Over the next few months we will be working closely with the publisher to finalize the book for an early 2024 publication date. The book will be included in the Innovations in Information Literacy series edited by Trudi E. Jacobson. We are honored that the Foreword for this new book will be written by the digital storytelling pioneer and futurist Bryan Alexander.

The idea for this book emerged from our collaborative work together on designing and teaching an international version of our Digital Storytelling course in the Digital Media Arts at Empire State University. In the same spirit of international partnership, this new volume brings together authors from around the world, and spans universities from South Africa, to the Czech Republic, to the United States. Each of the chapters examines literacy frameworks such as information literacy, metaliteracy, visual literacy, and multiliteracies while also discussing how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) inspires agency and voice in the production of digital narratives.

Here’s a complete listing of all chapter authors for this book:

• Sheila Marie Aird, PhD, MA, MA – European Director of International Programs for Empire State University and oversees the American delivered programs at the university’s four international locations
• Beth Carpenter – Student Support and Engagement Librarian at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo
• Muchativugwa Liberty Hove – Full Professor in English Language & Literature in English at North-West University, South Africa
• Thomas P. Mackey, Ph.D. – Professor of Arts and Media and Program Coordinator for the BA and BS Programs in Digital Media Arts at Empire State University.
• Keith C. Mages – Curator of the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection, a division of the University Libraries at the University at Buffalo, SUNY
• Michelle Nöthling – Postgraduate Diploma in Gender Studies Master’s Student at University of the Free State, South Africa
• Kathleen Olmstead EdD – Associate Professor of Literacy at SUNY Brockport
• Kimberly A. Plassche – Senior Regulatory Consultant at Compliance & Risks, Ltd.,
• Logan Rath – Instruction and Reference Librarian at SUNY Brockport and a Lecturer at SUNY Albany
• Deidré van Rooyen – Associate Professor (and Programme Director: Development Studies Programme) for the Centre for Development Support, within Economic and Management Sciences, at the University of the Free State, South Africa
• Claire S. Schen – Associate Professor of History at the University at Buffalo, SUNY
• Thandiwe Matyobeni – Programme Coordinator in the Community Engagement division of Rhodes University, South Africa.
• Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, PhD (Cultural Anthropology), M.A. (Anthropology), MFA (Theater), Graduate Certificate) Women’s Studies, B.A. (Journalism)- Senior Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation in the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts at Temple University and a Full Professor specializing in Urban Theater and Community Engagement in the Theater Department in the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts.
• Brenda van Wyk – Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

For a sneak preview of the manuscript, take a look at the attached Table of Contents.