It seemed a little concept––opening a reading space called the Electronic Literature Lab (ELL) for scholars interested in experiencing born-digital literature on the hardware on which the works still function. I owned 16 legacy computers and since 1991 had been collecting floppy disks and CD-ROMs on which works were originally published. Why not share my resources with others?
Many years have passed, and now ELL is celebrating its 15-year anniversary. We have grown beyond our original mission and beyond the confines of one room into a robust organization put to the service of “growing and saving things”––that is, born-digital literature, art, and games.
You are invited to celebrate with us. The event take place on April 15, 2026, from 10 a.m. PDT to 12 noon p.m. PDT in-person in The Marjorie C. Luesebrink Reading Room on the WSU Vancouver campus (VMMC 211A) and via Zoom. We have asked six scholars and artists who have influenced our work and/or have collaborated directly with us over the years. To register, go to https://bit.ly/ell15.
Below is the event schedule.
10:00 – 10:15 – Welcome and Introduction –– Dene Grigar (video montage)
10:15 – 10:35 – ELL’s Highlights by Lab Staff: 1) mission growth (Dene), 2) The NEXT (Holly), 3) reconstruction work (Greg), 4) XR (Andrew)
10:35 – 10:40 – Stuart Moulthrop (UW Milwaukee, US), Pathfinders and Traversals
10:40 – 10:45 – Alexandra Martin (UQAM, Canada) Preservation through Exhibition
10:45 – 10:55 – Richard Holeton (Stanford U, US), Figurski Lives!
10:55 – 11:00 – Mariusz Pisarski (Adam Mickiewicz, Poland), ELL Beyond Borders
11:00 – 11:05 – N. Katherine Hayles (Duke U, US), ELL and Research Contributions
11:05 – 11:20 – Website Walk-Through (Holly)
11:20 – 11:25 – James O’Sullivan (UCC, Ireland)
11:25 – 11:30 – ELL Moving Forward: A Prelude to the Tour (Dene)
11:30 – 12 noon – Virtual Tour of ELL Spaces