What is Create?

Create is a series of themed challenges. We hope to provoke h2g2ers into feats of wilder research, more studious creative writing, tastier visual arts, more lyrical fun and wonderfully composed biscuits.

This February we are going local and asking researchers what's interesting near you?

Living la vida local

In a departure from previous months, this time we have just the one challenge, and it's up to individual researchers how to interpret it. Guide Entries? Reviews? Photographs? Poetry? The medium of interpretive dance? What is the best way to convey an insider's Guide to...?

Did you Meet?

It was great to see so many people this last weekend! But no time to rest. Bluebottle (you may have noticed his Purplebottle at the meet) has issued a challenge to all those who attended, or did not attend, the Museum of Science and Industry while in Manchester.

And while Pastey has already admirably covered the venue for the Friday Fringe meet in the Guide, there is as yet no entry on the hangout for the Saturday evening knees up. I am pretty sure that h2g2 researchers road tested that one fairly thoroughly, so who is up for it?

42 bottles of beer on the wall...

h2g2 is not a fan site, but many h2g2 researchers arrived here because of their love of Douglas Adams' work. As a result they tend to have a natural affinity for the number 42. In partnership with the forthcoming podcast, Towelcast42, would like to harness that for two 42-related challenges, ongoing for the month of February.

Join our photography challenge to create an exhibition of naturally occurring or more contrived sightings of the lesser spotted 42.

Ever tried to write a story of 50,000 words? 5,000? 500? 50? How about 42? Yes, the challenge is to write stories only 42 words long. How short can you go?

And there's more!

The Literary Platform, a website devoted to marrying literature with technology, has announced a new internaitonal competition. The brief? Animate a short recording by Douglas Adams. The theme? Getting the book invented properly, a prophetic sketch on the development of reading hardware. To find out more and discuss the project, click here.

Getting involved

You can participate in the planning of future Create challenges or just see what is coming up next by visiting Create's planning page. Do drop by. Unless, of course, you want it al to be a surprise. Please do feel free also to get in touch by email at create@h2g2.com or contact Solnushka. And do not foget to follow us on Twitter: @h2g2_Create