An interactive murder mystery on a spaceship, a project about gang warfare in El Salvador and a sitcom based around the Siri voice application are among the shortlisted nominees for the New Media Writing Prize.

The international competition, run by Bournemouth University’s Media School, showcases innovative story-telling designed to be accessed through new media devices.

Entries could be anything from a short poem to a film or computer animation with audience interaction.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at Bournemouth University on the evening of Wednesday 22 January.

The New Media Writing Prize 2013 shortlist is:

•  The Engineer (a multi-media project following El Salvador’s only forensic pathologist and looking at gang crime in the country) – Mathew Charles, Juan Passarelli, Ann Luce
• Siri and Me (an online sitcom featuring conversations with the voice-activated application) – Esmeralda Kosmatopoulos
• Orange Sweatshirt (an interactive poetry site where readers can control the words used and format) – David Devanny
• Foursquare Tales (stories and song playlists to accompany places on the Foursquare location application)  – Declan Dineen
• Opacity (a four-part interactive story accessed online) – Serge Bouchardon

The overall winner, chosen by a panel of judges, will receive £1,000, donated by if:book UK, while a People’s Choice winner – decided by an online public vote – will win £250.

There is also a student category, with the winner receiving a 3-month paid internship with Bournemouth-based e-learning company Unicorn Training.

The shortlisted student entries are:

• Orange Sweatshirt – David Devanny
• Foursquare Tales – Declan Dineen
• The Ghosts of Yamaraja (an interactive murder-mystery based on a spaceship) – Jonathan Saunders

All of the shortlisted entries can be viewed on the New Media Writing Prize website, where people can also vote on their favourite for the People’s Choice Award.

The awards ceremony takes place in Kimmeridge House, at Bournemouth University’s Talbot Campus, from 6pm to 8.30pm on Wednesday 22 January.

The ceremony is free to attend and – alongside the announcement of the winners –three top writers will be talking about and showing their work.

They are:

• Andy Campbell, who has created a unique body of work called Dreaming Methods.
• Rob Sherman, author of Black Crown, Random House’s first full interactive fiction.
• Julian McCrae, creator of The Craftsman, a multi-media thriller.

To book event tickets or to find out more about the awards ceremony visit the New Media Writing Prize Eventbrite page.