LiteraryDJ
A playground for remixing literature.
A creative remixing application that enables users to remix literature like a DJ remixes music.
Link ↗ to LiteraryDJ (opens in a new tab)Andrew W.
Smith
Research Professor · Game Designer · Quantum Artist
I make games, interactive art, and digital experiences that connect technology, culture, and play.
Selected work
Current Projects
Energy
Board games, climate change, and energy policy.
A board game about climate change, energy policy, and the systems that shape public futures. Artwork done by Jacob Colman. Upcoming release, stay tuned!
Creative Technology & XR
LiteraryDJ
A playground for remixing literature.
A creative remixing application that enables users to remix literature like a DJ remixes music.
Link ↗ to LiteraryDJ (opens in a new tab)What's in your air?
In residency with Snap, Inc., 2020.
An interactive augmented reality educational experience that invites users to learn about the molecules commonly found in our atmosphere, and the impact of wildfires and pandemics on our environment. Created as part of a SnapAR Residency with Snap, Inc. in 2020.
Link ↗ to What's in your air? (opens in a new tab)Markov Monostich
An interactive experience inviting audiences to compose a one-line poem by sampling the writings of two classic authors and then explore their line through augmented reality graffiti.
More in this collection
- Quantum Word Clouds An experimental data visualization and interactive experience to harness the strange nature of quantum computing to create the familiar design of the word cloud as a means to explore literary themes.
- Solidarity Book Project With Sonya Clark, Amherst College, 2020-2022.
A collaboration with Sonya Clark at Amherst College connecting publishing, public humanities, and collective practice.
Link ↗ to Solidarity Book Project (opens in a new tab) - Visualizing the Remix Published in VisUMD, 2020.
An essay on visualizing remix practice and Hip hop lyric data, published in VisUMD in 2020. This ended up being the early work that led to LiteraryDJ.
Link ↗ to Visualizing the Remix (opens in a new tab)
Games & Game Studies
Energy
Board games, climate change, and energy policy.
A board game about climate change, energy policy, and the systems that shape public futures. Artwork done by Jacob Colman. Upcoming release, stay tuned!
Umurangi Generation: Promotional Site
With Naphtali Faulkner, CEO of Origame Digital, 2021.
After writing about Umurangi Generation, I ended up connecting with its creator, Naphtali Faulkner of Origame Digital, and creating a promotional site for the game! It's a small world.
Link ↗ to Umurangi Generation: Promotional Site (opens in a new tab)Ludic Borders
Master's thesis on game design.
I wrote my master's thesis on game design. At its core is a sociological study looking at how players do and don't bring real-world views into game worlds.
Witnessing a Dying World in Umurangi Generation
Published in SUPERJUMP Magazine, 2021.
An essay I wrote about my experiences playing Umurangi Generation. I cannot recommend this game enough!
Link ↗ to Witnessing a Dying World in Umurangi Generation (opens in a new tab)Groundhogs + Ghosts
Unreleased one-page RPG.
An unreleased one-page RPG about a conflict between groundhogs and ghosts in a graveyard. Co-created with Cassandra Hradil.
A Goblin's Worth
Unreleased narrative role-playing game.
An unreleased narrative RPG I made about a particular goblin. Will probably come back to it soon.
net.art & e. lit.
hope. apocalypse. despair.
Published in the Michigan Quarterly Review, 2025.
A 2025 publication in the Michigan Quarterly Review. It is a narrative collage walking the reader through a quantum computing simulation I ran on a selection of music lyrics and excerpts of literature.
Link ↗ to hope. apocalypse. despair. (opens in a new tab)remix. relive. remember.
Published in The New River: Journal of Art and Literature, 2025.
A 2025 work published in The New River: Journal of Art and Literature. It is an experiment with Markov chains to produce interactive poetry.
Link ↗ to remix. relive. remember. (opens in a new tab)Anti-Temporal Letters
Published in The New River: Journal of Art and Literature, 2021.
A 2021 publication in The New River: Journal of Art and Literature.
Link ↗ to Anti-Temporal Letters (opens in a new tab)matter combines ...
Published in Voidspace Interactive Arts: Crash this Prose!, 2022.
An interactive literary work published in Voidspace Interactive Arts: Crash this Prose! in 2022.
Link ↗ to matter combines ... (opens in a new tab)Collapse
Published in Queer.Archive.Work's Urgency Reader 2: Mutual Aid Publishing During Crisis, 2020.
A remix-oriented digital collage published in Queer.Archive.Work's Urgency Reader 2 during the mutual aid publishing context of 2020.
Link ↗ to Collapse (opens in a new tab)Markov Monostich
An interactive experience inviting audiences to compose a one-line poem by sampling the writings of two classic authors and then explore their line through augmented reality graffiti.
Quantum Word Clouds
An experimental data visualization and interactive experience to harness the strange nature of quantum computing to create the familiar design of the word cloud as a means to explore literary themes.
Material Conditions 01
Published in The Wrong Biennale no. 5 and salt.codes, 2022.
A digital art gallery published through The Wrong Biennale no. 5 and salt.codes in 2022. I curated this gallery alongside Cassandra Hradil and Marisa Parham.
Link ↗ to Material Conditions 01 (opens in a new tab)Collapse: A Practice of Urgent Remixing
Published in salt.codes, 2021.
An essay about my project Collapse, collage as a form, and remixing as art. Published by salt.codes in 2021.
Link ↗ to Collapse: A Practice of Urgent Remixing (opens in a new tab)Art Collaborations
Solidarity Book Project
With Sonya Clark, Amherst College, 2020-2022.
A collaboration with Sonya Clark at Amherst College connecting publishing, public humanities, and collective practice.
Link ↗ to Solidarity Book Project (opens in a new tab)Black COVID Care
With Allie Martin, Director of Black Sound Lab at Dartmouth, 2022-2023.
A public humanities collaboration with Allie Martin, Director of Black Sound Lab at Dartmouth, focused on care, memory, and Black life during COVID.
Link ↗ to Black COVID Care (opens in a new tab)Project Son of Man
With Sheila Chukwulozie and Amir Hall, 2019.
I was the creative developer and designer for Project Son of Man, led by Sheila Chukwulozie and Amir Hall.
Link ↗ to Project Son of Man (opens in a new tab)Solidarity is a Space
Published in Solidarity Book Project Catalog, 2022.
An essay published in the Solidarity Book Project Catalog in 2022.
Link ↗ to Solidarity is a Space (opens in a new tab)Digital Humanities & Archives
Black COVID Care
With Allie Martin, Director of Black Sound Lab at Dartmouth, 2022-2023.
A public humanities collaboration with Allie Martin, Director of Black Sound Lab at Dartmouth, focused on care, memory, and Black life during COVID.
Link ↗ to Black COVID Care (opens in a new tab)Database of Early English Playbooks 2.0
With Alan B. Farmer and Zachary Lesser, University of Pennsylvania, 2024-2026.
Link ↗ to Database of Early English Playbooks 2.0 (opens in a new tab)Review of Taught by Literature
Published in Scholarly Editing: The Annual of the Association for Documentary Editing, 2026.
A review in Scholarly Editing: The Annual of the Association for Documentary Editing of the project Taught by Literature: Recentering Black Women Intellectuals by Denise Burgher, Brigitte Fielder, and Jean M. Lutes.
Link ↗ to Review of Taught by Literature (opens in a new tab)More in this collection
- LiteraryDJ A playground for remixing literature.
A creative remixing application that enables users to remix literature like a DJ remixes music.
Link ↗ to LiteraryDJ (opens in a new tab) - Project STAND: The Blueprint and Collections Data With Lae'l Hughes-Watkins, Director of Project STAND, 2021-2023.
A collaboration with Lae'l Hughes-Watkins and Project STAND around archival collections data and public access.
Link ↗ to Project STAND: The Blueprint and Collections Data (opens in a new tab) - Voice & Story With Merle Collins, 2021-2022.
A collaboration with Merle Collins, Grenadian poet, about the life of Louise Langdon Norton Little.
- Collapse: A Practice of Urgent Remixing Published in salt.codes, 2021.
An essay about my project Collapse, collage as a form, and remixing as art. Published by salt.codes in 2021.
Link ↗ to Collapse: A Practice of Urgent Remixing (opens in a new tab) - Lakeland Digital Archive 2020-2021
- Visualizing the Remix Published in VisUMD, 2020.
An essay on visualizing remix practice and Hip hop lyric data, published in VisUMD in 2020. This ended up being the early work that led to LiteraryDJ.
Link ↗ to Visualizing the Remix (opens in a new tab) - Amherst Uprising Digital Archive 2019
- BlackType Upcoming typography project.
A typography and design project that I'll say more about soon!
Curation & Publishing
Material Conditions 01
Published in The Wrong Biennale no. 5 and salt.codes, 2022.
A digital art gallery published through The Wrong Biennale no. 5 and salt.codes in 2022. I curated this gallery alongside Cassandra Hradil and Marisa Parham.
Link ↗ to Material Conditions 01 (opens in a new tab)Bytes 01
Collection of micro-essays between members of irLh and Life x Codes.
Quantum Computing
Quantum Word Clouds
An experimental data visualization and interactive experience to harness the strange nature of quantum computing to create the familiar design of the word cloud as a means to explore literary themes.
hope. apocalypse. despair.
Published in the Michigan Quarterly Review, 2025.
A 2025 publication in the Michigan Quarterly Review. It is a narrative collage walking the reader through a quantum computing simulation I ran on a selection of music lyrics and excerpts of literature.
Link ↗ to hope. apocalypse. despair. (opens in a new tab)More in this collection
- LiteraryDJ A playground for remixing literature.
A creative remixing application that enables users to remix literature like a DJ remixes music.
Link ↗ to LiteraryDJ (opens in a new tab)
Talks, Exhibitions & Public Programming
LiteraryDJ at NextNOW Fest 2026
- Sep 2026 LiteraryDJ at Henson Week 2026
- Sep 2026 LiteraryDJ at NextNOW Fest 2026
- Apr 2026 LiteraryDJ at Maryland Day 2026 Maryland Day.
LiteraryDJ was exhibited at Maryland Day 2026.
- Sep 2025 LiteraryDJ at NextNOW Fest 2025 NextNOW Festival, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
LiteraryDJ was invited for exhibition at the NextNOW Festival in 2025 by the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
- Sep 2025 LiteraryDJ at Q3 Q3 Initiative, Center for Quantum Networks and United Nations International Telecommunications Union.
LiteraryDJ exhibited a quantum remixing installation for the Q3 Initiative annual event, supported by the Center for Quantum Networks and United Nations International Telecommunications Union.
- Apr 2025 Entangled Verses: Quantum Simulations and Computational Poetics Digital Dialogues, Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities at University of Maryland, College Park.
A Digital Dialogues talk at MITH on quantum simulations and computational poetics.
- Apr 2025 LiteraryDJ at World Quantum Day 2025 World Quantum Day at University of Maryland, College Park.
LiteraryDJ was exhibited at World Quantum Day celebrations at UMD.
- Oct 2023 Future/Now: Three Digital Humanities Projects African American Public Humanities Initiative at University of Delaware.
A public humanities talk on three digital humanities projects for the African American Public Humanities Initiative at the University of Delaware.
- Sep 2022 Visualizing the Remix with LiteraryDJ If, Then: Technology and Poetics.
A talk on LiteraryDJ and remix practice for the If, Then: Technology and Poetics event series.
- Apr 2022 More Than Entertainment: A Conversation on the Power and Potential of Immersive Media to Create Positive Social Impact Panel at the Immersive Media and Arts for All Showcase, University of Maryland, College Park.
A public conversation about immersive media, arts access, and social impact. My co-panelists included Marisa Parham, Adriel Luis, Lisa Moren, and Nancy Proctor.
- Feb 2022 Design and Development in Black Digital Humanities Panel for CCBC Mellon Scholars Cohort.
A panel for the CCBC Mellon Scholars Cohort.
- May 2021 Archives and Digital Storytelling Keynote: Midwest Archives Conference.
I presented the plenary session & keynote for the Midwest Archives Conference on archives and digital storytelling, following my work with Project STAND and on the Amherst Uprising Digital Archive.
Teaching & Workshops
- Fall 2026 MITH388T: Digital Humanities Research Assistantship Course taught at University of Maryland, College Park.
- Apr 2026 Social Impact BuildFest 2026 Technical & Social Impact Mentor for Student Hackathon.
I served as a Technical & Social Impact Mentor for the 2026 BuildFest student hackathon at UMD.
- Spring 2026 MITH388: Digital Humanities Research Assistantship Course taught at University of Maryland, College Park.
- Nov 2024 Natural Language Processing and Computational Poetry with LiteraryDJ University of Maryland, College Park.
A hands-on LiteraryDJ workshop on natural language processing and computational poetry at the University of Maryland.
- May 2024 DIY Digital Methods and Pedagogy iCamp Media Academy at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
A workshop on DIY digital methods and pedagogy for iCamp Media Academy at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
- Jun 2023 Lens Studio, AR.js, and Immersive Design New Works Incubator at University of Maryland, College Park.
A workshop on Lens Studio, AR.js, and immersive design for the New Works Incubator at the University of Maryland.
- Apr 2021 Immersive XR Design and Digital Humanities Parsons School of Design.
A workshop connecting immersive XR design with digital humanities methods at Parsons School of Design.
- Feb 2020 narrative/play/immersion University of Maryland, College Park.
A workshop on narrative, play, and immersion at the University of Maryland.
Labs, Studios & Affiliations
- Varda Studios 2021-Present A design studio I started for publishing and selling games and other creations from my projects.
- Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) 2022-Present A digital humanities center at the University of Maryland. Link ↗ to Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) (opens in a new tab)
- African American Digital and Experimental Humanities (AADHum) 2020-Present A Black digital studies lab at the University of Maryland. Link ↗ to African American Digital and Experimental Humanities (AADHum) (opens in a new tab)
- NarraSpaceXR 2024-Present An interactive and narrative arts lab at the University of Maryland.
- Immersive Realities Labs (irLh) 2016-Present An independent experimental research lab. Link ↗ to Immersive Realities Labs (irLh) (opens in a new tab)
- salt.codes 2019-Present An independent experimental publishing house. Link ↗ to salt.codes (opens in a new tab)