The Diana Jones Award

2012 Winner Announced

Nordic Larp, a book by Jaakko Stenros and Markus Montola,
wins hobby-gaming's most eclectic and exclusive trophy


At a private ceremony on Wednesday 15th August, 2012, the Diana Jones Award committee presented the award at the annual Diana Jones Award and Freelancer Party in Indianapolis, the unofficial start of the Gen Con convention.

Nordic Larp is a history of the Nordic larp (live-action roleplaying) scene, from its inception in post-D&D fantasy through experimental drama, historical recreation, and far-freaking weirdness, done as a massive and profusely illustrated coffee-table book, written by two gaming scholars. The book documents more than thirty larps that took place over 15 years, including ones with animatronic dragons and a space opera played out on a submarine.

The Nordic Larp book assembles photos, memories, and designer notes, allowing the reader to survey these fantastic and sometimes legendary events. These records are bracketed by an introduction that summarizes the recurrent elements of the larps and a final essay on Nordic larping as art, theater, and game. Nordic larping is a major, dynamic branch of the gaming family tree, fully deserving of this massive, beautiful book that takes larping and game history as serious business.

It is the opinion of the Diana Jones Award Committee, that Nordic Larp exemplifies excellence in gaming, and we are proud to award it our trophy for this year.

Special thanks to the sponsors of this year's Diana Jones Award ceremony:
Anthony Gallela, Atlas Games, Bully Pulpit Games, DriveThruRPG.com, Elfinwerks and Zvezda, Evil Hat Productions, Galileo Games, Gamerati, Gaming Paper, Gen Con, Hostile Work Environment, Iron Die, Janice Sellers, Lone Wolf Development, Magpie Games, Matt Forbeck, Notting Hill Games, Paul Tevis, Phil Lacefield, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Ryan Macklin, Stannex.com, Storm Bunny Studios, and Twin Suns Entertainment.