Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Come try StoryMachine at the Uni of London School of Advanced Study. It's free and you'll get a sticker! 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 06/10/2026What happens when folklore and algorithmic systems converge? What makes storytelling profoundly human? Join us at the Crossroads, a free event part of the @beinghumanfest.bsky.social on Nov 6th in Harwich More here: www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/cross...beinghumanfestival.orgAt the Crossroads with Folklore and AIFolklore can feel like the opposite of digital technologies: it is traditional while technologies like artificial intelligence are innovative. But can humans and AI tell stories together? Does AI have... 020
Reposted by Project StoryMachineJane Winters @jfwinters.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Registration for this year’s Annual Digital Lecture, a partnership between The National Archives, UK and @sas-news.bsky.social, is now open. Join us in London on 26 Nov to hear Prof Jennifer Edmond talk about ‘From collection to collective: what is an archive now?’ Free to attend! #DigitalHumanitieseventbrite.co.ukFrom Collection to Collective: what is an archive now?Explore how digital platforms are reshaping cultural memory at this year’s Annual Digital Lecture. 02012
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Join us 'At the Crossroads with Folklore and AI' in Harwich: www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/cross... 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Chatbots are faeries? AI described in technomagical terms, using folklore to explain technologies that are rendered opaque. Products of genAI are compared to faeries: uncanny verisimilitude thwarted by No of fingers. Are such comparisons helpful or do they lead us further down the garden path? 031
Reposted by Project StoryMachineAnna Milon @hexnhart.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Had a wonderfully productive in-person meeting with the whole @storymachine-ht.bsky.social team, followed up by dinner at the Life Goddess on Store St (delicious Greek food). Looking forward to continuing the conversation today! 011
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 10/09/2026StoryMachine is coming to the @beinghumanfest.bsky.social. Can you guess which #folklore org we're partnering with? Watch this space for the programme announcement on September 23rd! 030
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 03/09/2026In just over 2weeks the project team will gather at @uolondon.bsky.social #SchoolOfAdvancedStudies for their 2nd in-person meeting: an opportunity to discuss latest developments, share insights & resolve complications. It abuts the @acmht.bsky.social conf where several team members are presenting. 000
Reposted by Project StoryMachineDr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 31/08/2026I’ve signed a contract with @politybooks.bsky.social for ‘A History of Folklore’ – the first major history of the discipline of folklore in Europe in decades. It will chronicle folklore’s key role in European nation-building and propose a new way forward for the discipline. Coming 2028! 📚 1829535
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Are you a storytelling charity interested in StoryMachine: - Collaborate on stories - Discover folktales in multiple languages, regions, time periods - Use AI recommendation system for topics you might not have known to look for Comment or email anna.milon@sas.ac.uk [DOKYUNG KIM on Unsplash] 010
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 11/08/2026@hexnhart.bsky.social just had a stimulating discussion on agency, AI, and human desire. What do we invest in our interactions with the algorithm when we allow it to convince us? Lot's to read, and even more to ponder. Watch this space for the results of that conversation. 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 06/08/2026StoryMachine on the audio waves. Listen to the latest Folklore Matters episode about it in the link or wherever you find your podcasts: folklore-matters.captivate.fm/episode/anna...folklore-matters.captivate.fmAnna Milon, Christopher Ohge and Project StoryMachine - Folklore MattersAnna Milon and Christopher Ohge are two researchers working on a collaborative project between UK and German universities that seeks to create a digital... 030
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 21/07/2026In the context of Chess's quote, what is StoryMachine for? Tell me in the comments. 000
Reposted by Project StoryMachineAnna Milon @hexnhart.bsky.social · 17/07/2026At @storymachine-ht.bsky.social, we love playing with AI-enabled recommender systems to learn more about connections between folktales, but all our writing is done exclusively by humans. Don't believe it? Check out our blog to see for yourself: storymachine.iisys.de/blog/storymachine.iisys.deBlog 131
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 01/07/2026The project's Resource page is regularly updated with conference papers, posters, papers, and other research outputs. You can check it out by clicking the link: storymachine.iisys.de/resources/ 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Would you be a proud conedancer? @hexnhart.bsky.social attended the Therapeutic Landscapes conf at @worcesteruni.bsky.social, where the Museum of Roadside Magic was a definite highlight. MRM reimagines service magic for today & pushes the constraints of folk archives libbybove.com/projects/roa... 011
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 23/06/2026And absolute pleasure talking to Andrew, Sophie and Dave from @nfsengland.bsky.social about StoryMachine, AI folklore, and, since Anna was involved, matters horned and antlered. 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 16/06/2026Doc Rowe's six decades of recording folk customs meet the big screen. Read @hexnhart.bsky.social's report from the premiere screening of The Archivist at Sheffield DocFest: www.linkedin.com/pulse/review... #folklore #docrowearchive #docfest 021
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 09/06/2026A fascinating symposium worth bearing in mind: philevents.org/event/show/1... 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Check out project member Owen Davies' new book! 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Thank you to everyone who joined the @contemporarylegend.bsky.social panel today for Sabine Slowik's and @hexnhart.bsky.social's presentation. If you're interested in hearing more, follow the QR below, or click the link: storymachine.iisys.de 001
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 28/05/2026Sabine Slowik & @hexnhart.bsky.social are in excellent company for the @contemporarylegend.bsky.social conference; presenting @storymachine-ht.bsky.social. Join us on June 4th (the conference is in EDT, so the paper will be around the early afternoon for UK/Europe) 021
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Bringing attention to The Folk Union, an initiative discussing the contemporary folk scene, led by Mike Hankin. It is a space to discuss 'how folk is used, who benefits from it & what happens to the communities & traditions that come under sustained attention.' More: thefolkunion.com/about & on IG 120
Reposted by Project StoryMachineCeri Houlbrook @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social · 20/05/2026What does a group of folklorists do when they hear of a forest in Finland that, according to folklore, loses whoever enters it? 3276
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Almost time for @hexnhart.bsky.social to present a StoryMachine case-study at @labrc.bsky.social The Art of Storytelling: A Transdisciplinary Conference Join her on the 30th to hear about how StoryMachine can be used to understand the Green Man. Book your place here: labrc.co.uk/2026/02/24/s...labrc.co.ukThe Art of Storytelling: Archetypes in FocusCall for Papers: The Art of Storytelling: Archetypes in Focus A Transdisciplinary Conference May 30-31, 2026 Where: Oxford University (and Online) Fees: £180 (In person participation)£100 (Online p… 011
Reposted by Project StoryMachineDigital Humanities Lab, Exeter @dhlabexeter.bsky.social · 01/05/2026The research papers of Theo[dora] Brown, a prominent British scholar of Devon folklore and a lecturer in Comparative Religion at Exeter University, demonstrate a keen interest in Padstow's 'Obby 'Orss and wider hobby horse traditions #Theo #Brown #Folklore #Padstow #ObbyOss #Devon #Cornwall #Exeter 132
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 14/05/2026We've been posed a question: how to re-presence the 'folk' in folklore archives? by #CathBannister, @drjuliabish.bsky.social, and @yinkaolusoga.bsky.social of @cfrc-folklore.bsky.social Folklorists of the past often took the stories as the only things worth preserving 1/3 120
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 07/05/2026From Jack-in-the-Green to Hypertext conferences, the project team have been busy. Check out the project's May newsletter on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pulse/storym...linkedin.comStoryMachine May NewsletterFrom Jack-in-the-Green to Hypertext conferences, our May newsletter has it all. Check out what the project team have in the works. 011
Reposted by Project StoryMachineJane Winters @jfwinters.bsky.social · 04/05/2026Counting down to publication day on Thursday uolpress.co.uk/book/explori... 06017
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Still time to visit this exhibition on folklore! The Un/Common People touring exhibition, curated by Simon Costin & Mellany Robinson & Amy de la Haye, is exactly that: an affirmative centring of the ‘commoner’ as creative, inquisitive & insightful. Review here: storymachine.iisys.de/2026/04/22/u... 010
Reposted by Project StoryMachineIda Tolgensbakk @idatolgensbakk.bsky.social · 20/04/2026Looking so much forwards to this (even if it means I may have to go by plane). I'll be speaking about letters to Santa, with the great @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social ! 🥳 #folklore #museumlife 1113
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 14/04/2026#FolkloreThursday Despite depictions in Western media, the Windigo, an Anishinaabe supernatural cannibal, an embodiment of selfish greed, does not have antlers. The headgear comes from an assumed similarity between Windigo & antlered denizens of European forests like Herne the Hunter and Cernunnos. 020
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 14/04/2026Survival of UK folklore archives often feels like folklore itself. In 1947, A. Irving Hallowell wrote: 'these archival collections, once published, often moulder on our shelves waiting for... a dim and uncertain future.' Is that dim uncertain future now? Eager to hear your thoughts below. 021
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 09/04/2026We've had a restful Spring break, & it is full steam ahead into conference season. Catch @hexnhart.bsky.social & Sabine Slowik presenting digitally at @contemporarylegend.bsky.social Perspectives on Contemporary Legends in June: contemporarylegend.org/meetings/per... More confs to be announced! 011
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 31/03/2026To borrow, in part, from Erik Davis' 'Techgnosis', folklore can be seen as one 'of the oldest navigational tools known to humankind', all the more valuable in today's turbulent world. (Image provided by Art Institute of Chicago: unsplash.com/photos/boats...) 011
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Thinking about 'happy accidents' in recommender systems 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 26/03/2026There are countless ways to map folklore, of which our use of spatial hypertext to highlight connections between folktales is just one. @hexnhart.bsky.social briefly revisits her previous research project to talk about maps of a different kind: lincolnshirefolktalesproject.com/2026/03/19/m...lincolnshirefolktalesproject.comMapping Folklore: From Lincolnshire Byways to Spatial HypertextDr Anna Milon Anna was the Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the Lincolnshire Folk Tales Project throughout its AHRC-funded duration, from February 2024 until July 2025. She is now a Postdoctoral Res… 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 24/03/2026What counts as folklore? The inclusion of wargaming minis in the Un/Common People: Folk Culture in Wessex exhibition at @salisburymuseum.bsky.social expands the notion of folk craft beyond perceptions of the antiquated. Folklore is NOW and it is all around us! #warhammer #folklore #folkart 030
Reposted by Project StoryMachineTerri Windling @terriwindling.bsky.social · 24/03/2026When I wrote the post below, I was not allowed to say much about the book project I was helping Brian & Wendy Froud put together . . . but now the secret is out! It's been a joy to work with Brian, Wendy, and many fine authors on the theme of the mythic Green Women. More info here: bit.ly/4cOoxUT 68011
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 19/03/2026Algorithmic Folklore as Transcultural Storytelling CFP is open: storymachine.iisys.de/2026/03/05/c... Submit before March 31st 021
Reposted by Project StoryMachineTerri Windling @terriwindling.bsky.social · 19/03/2026“Of all the things I wondered about on this land, I wondered the hardest about the seduction of certain geographies that feel like home - not by story or blood but merely by their forms and colors...." (1/2) 1366
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 17/03/2026Simnel cake, anyone? This double-cooked desert is typically eaten on Mothering Sunday, named after Simon & Nelly, whose argument on how to cook the cake resulted in it being both boiled & baked. Here they are, mid-discussion, in a graffito in All Saints church, Leighton Buzzard #FolkloreThursday 000
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 17/03/2026If you look trough the hole of a hag-stone, you can see hidden things. Likewise (ish?), StoryMachine aims to help users see hidden and unexpected connections between folktales and motifs. See more on that on our blog: storymachine.iisys.de/blog/ 010
Reposted by Project StoryMachineAnna Milon @hexnhart.bsky.social · 08/03/2026Have you seen the new blog posts from @storymachine-ht.bsky.social? Check out Sabine Slowik & Marie Veihelmann's conference presentation, and my intro to the project via the Wild Hunt. Follow link for more: storymachine.iisys.de/blog/storymachine.iisys.deBlog 011
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 24/02/2026A photo from @hexnhart.bsky.social's recent archive trip. A romantic set-up, but not the easiest to search. StoryMachine aims to make information retrieval fast & fluid, while leaving room for the serendipity of chancing upon just the right thing while browsing the shelves #archive #academia 011
Reposted by Project StoryMachineCeri Houlbrook @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social · 23/02/2026In Folklore Studies class last week @herts.ac.uk we were celebrating Lunar New Year and exploring the ways it's adapted to the present day. Then I head over to Liverpool and amidst the Lion Dance am handed a red envelope by the God of Fortune - with a chocolate 2p coin inside it 0202
Reposted by Project StoryMachineThe Folklore Library & Archive @folklorelibrary.bsky.social · 21/02/2026Just one day left to get tickets - tomorrow night at 8pm online via Zoom, Prof. Bob Stone will be discussing the ways in which VR technology is helping us to unlock and explore the heritage landscape. All proceeds to our charity. £5+fee from bit.ly/flaevents Recording available for ticket holders 082
Reposted by Project StoryMachineScott M | Haunted Edition 🎃 @voxparlour.bsky.social · 07/01/2026A new open article from the Folklore journal comparing certain Facebook "chain letters" to apotropaic magic #folklore #folkloristics www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....tandfonline.com‘I Don’t Give Facebook My Permission!’—Protective Spells Against Evil in the Digital AgeThis article explores the phenomenon of chain letters on Facebook using the example of posts protesting Meta’s use of personal data. The article interprets these chain letters as modern digital pro... 082
Project StoryMachine @storymachine-ht.bsky.social · 19/02/2026You can bring a horse to water, but what it does next is its own business. Scotland kelpies - horse-like beings that lure the unwary with the promise of a ride on the most beautiful steed ever seen. Once astride, the victim sticks to the kelpie's back & is dragged under the water to be eaten. 1/3 111