Elayne Zalis
A Crash Course on Creativity
Stanford Venture Lab
November 12, 2012
remixLIT 2013
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
+ The Wonderful Wizard of Oz = New Story

Our Source Texts*
*We use public domain and Creative Commons versions of the books and
supplementary materials, e.g., illustrations, films, and recordings.

The remixLIT Challenge
We’re taking our favorite mind sport to a whole new level. You spoke,
and we listened. Now, remix teams anywhere in the world have a
chance to compete in the annual remixLIT playoffs. If you love literature
and want to exercise your own imagination, join us for the next remixLIT
challenge.

Whether you’re a player, a sponsor,
a coach, or a fan, you’ll discover
why people across the globe are
raving about remixLIT, a mind
sport for the digital age.

Background
Throughout history, artists, poets, novelists, musicians, filmmakers, and
videomakers have remixed material by others in creative ways. As Kirby
Ferguson explains in his June 2012 TED talk, “Everything is a remix.” He
breaks down the process into three steps:
COPY
TRANSFORM
COMBINE
According to Ferguson, this model represents the basic elements of all
creativity, even when the process is unconscious rather than intentional.
Picasso allegedly expressed a similar thought: “Good artists copy; great
artists steal.” In our wired, digital society, new communications tools are
making it easier than ever to remix a variety of media, from print to
mobile apps.

Redefining Authorship
Remixing is emerging as a popular art form that Kirby Ferguson and
others urge us to embrace. We invite you to accept that challenge: Play
remixLIT 2013 and push the boundaries of literature. At the same time,
pay homage to our cultural heritage. Contestants will copy, transform,
and combine material from two classics of children’s literature to create
an “original” multimedia story.

Objectives
For the remixLIT 2013 challenge, players will work with the two
primary source texts that we have selected this year: Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Both texts are in the public
domain and can therefore be remixed without copyright
infringement.

Tap into rich multimedia archives.

Scoop.it
In addition to the two selected books and other works by the
same authors, you will have access to assorted archival materials
that we’ve curated for remixLit 2013. You’ll find downloadable
copies of most illustrations that have appeared in various versions
of the selected books. You’ll also find related films and videos as
well as audio readings of the stories.
“Alice Remix” is online now. Check it out. The screen shots that
follow provide a preview of what you’ll find on our Scoop.it site.
All the links there are active, so visit that site when you’re ready to
start your remix challenge. If you’d like a short movie break first,
consider watching the 1903 silent film version of Alice in
Wonderland, directed by Percy Stow & Cecil M. Hepworth.

Scoop.it live: http://www.scoop.it/t/alice-remix

Scoop.it live: http://www.scoop.it/t/alice-remix

Scoop.it live: http://www.scoop.it/t/alice-remix

Scoop.it live: http://www.scoop.it/t/alice-remix?page=2

Scoop.it live: http://www.scoop.it/t/alice-remix?page=3

Scoop.it live: http://www.scoop.it/t/alice-remix?page=3

The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz by L. Frank Baum
“Dorothy Remix” will be posted soon on Scoop.it. In the meantime,
reread this classic children’s story, courtesy of the Internet Archive.

remixLIT 2013
Round 1
Guidelines
• Create a new story by remixing the written texts, illustrations, photos,
films, videos, audio readings, music, and other materials assembled in
the multimedia archive for this competition.* (You may work by
yourself or with a team.)
• Submit your remixed story in the format or platform of your choice,
e.g., pdf, video, slides, music, podcast, website, blog, social media,
mobile app, game, or e-book. If you prefer to take a transmedia
approach to storytelling, connect two or more strategically related
formats or platforms.
• Judges will select the top 25 entries. The contestants who submit
those remixes will be invited to enter Round 2.
*To the best of our knowledge, all the source materials used in the competition either are in
the public domain or are available under a Creative Commons license.

remixLIT 2013
Round 2
We will set up remix stations for the twenty-five participants (or groups) in
this round. Located near the contestants’ homes—which may be
anywhere in the world—the venues will be wired for live video streaming
on the web during the eight-hour competition.
We will provide the participants with new multimedia material related to
the two main source texts that they used in Round 1. Participants will
remix this new material to create a sequel to their first remix. During the
eight-hour event, contestants will have to reach a series of milestones.
Points will be awarded both for speed and ingenuity.
Friends of remixLIT 2013 who make a donation to our nonprofit literacy
organization will have a chance to view the live webcast, send
comments to the contestants, offer suggestions, and vote for the entries
they like best. Our experts will also judge the competition. The top three
contestants will move on to Round 3.

remixLIT 2013
Round 3
On the day after Round 2, the three finalists will return to their respective remixing
stations to compete in the third and last round of remixLIT 2013. For this challenge,
contestants will add another layer to their previous work by remixing it with
documentary video footage of the contestants in Round 2. In this way, the story
inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz will
include remembrances of remixLIT 2013. The three finalists thus will become
characters in the stories that they’re remixing.
The winner will become an international spokesperson for literacy.

For additional background on the theory and
practice of remixing, see the four-part web video
series that Kirby Ferguson produced, Everything is a
Remix, which he shares and discusses on his blog. He
also includes references.