Welcome!
Shar Simpson (she/they) is a narrative designer, author, and educator. They specialize in the crafting and mapping of compelling immersive stories and interactive experiences for all ages. Their work has presented at festivals internationally, including Tribeca, CPH:DOX, Slamdance, Mozilla Fest, SITGES, Cannes XR, and others.
Shar currently teaches Digital Storytelling and World Building at Columbia University and the School of Visual Arts. Their classes focus on creative process, generative storytelling, and hands-on labs to jump-start collaboration and spark new ideas. Shar has taught intensive World Building workshops for Meow Wolf’s Experience Design team, Yale University, and others.
Their interactive novel “Eighth Grade Witch” was the first Choose Your Own Adventure book to be adapted into a graphic novel. Shar has a dual MFA in Creative Writing and Interactive Media from CalArts. Shar is a Sundance Storytelling Lab fellow, a resident of the POV Spark Lab, and a member of the Columbia University Digital Storytelling Lab.
Writing and Syllabi
Download CV
New Stuff
Talks and Panels
Columbia University Digital Storytelling Lab at Lincoln Center — Choreographies of Collective Presence: Ritual, Movement, and Shared Control
Keynote Facilitator (2026)
SVA Visual Narrative presents: Unearthing the Thing— Thing Lab Workshop
Keynote Speaker (2025)
MANA Contemporary: Jersey Arts Book Fair (JAB)— Democracy in Flux Workshop
Keynote Facilitator (2025)
Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab — Breakthroughs in Storytelling Awards
Featured Artist — Live Participatory Poem Commission (2024)
IndieWire Presents Human After All: AI, Art, and the Motion Picture
Panelist (2023)
Crowdcast — A Halloween Choose Your Own Adventure Workshop
Host & Performer (2020)
IDFA DocLab — Forum (Alexa, Call Mom!)
Presenter (2020)
Cannes XR — Adapting Your Work for an At-Home Audience
Keynote Speaker (2020)
Sundance Institute — Storytelling Lab (Alexa, Call Mom!)
Keynote Speaker (2019)