What foundational knowledge is needed to fill- or create- a job in storytelling and writing in 2022 (or so) in terms of a formal education?

I'd imagine that a major in English is as paramount as it ever was- we are dealing with writing, after all, but how much design is required? And in what context? Strict web design, HTML/ CSS, etc? Android and iOS development?

What about philosophy? The need to understand how this technology and the impact of the written word on our selves?

Sociology? Psych? What does this job even look like? The person that most closely matches the job description I speak of is probably Craig Mod, for a frame of reference.

In terms of a formal education? I would say there's no foundational knowledge needed.

Formal educations do not lead to good story-tellers. You need an informal education; don't take a prescribed curriculum (certainly not from an English Literature department - this someone who dropped out of an English degree at one of the best UK institutions). Instead, constantly play with new tools, if you're looking at the web as an outlet. Constantly read around what interests you, and make things with what you learn. That goes for any profession - but, for storytelling, I think stealing and reworking is the key element, and I think that beauty comes from an open mind, not one that read a checked-off list.

Wonderful answer, and I see your point, Richard. My apprehension in taking the informal route lies in the differences between structured versus unstructured knowledge, ie building a base of accepted, 'traditional', formal knowledge from which to expand and build on with informal learning. It feels a bit like asking for answers before you've figured out the right questions.

In that case, I would ask you: What stories do you want to tell? Who do you want to tell them to?

I think you're approaching the answers and the questions from the wrong angles - as Pound says, 'Make it new.' Either limit yourself to a tool - say, Javascript and interactive story-telling - or to a particular form - the haiku - and see how far you can stretch the limits, or think of a new idea and find out what tool you need to realise it perfectly. In either case, a traditional knowledge base may help define the parameters, but I'm not sure it's entirely necessary in itself.

That makes perfect sense. Put that way, asking about the future of storytelling seems as vague and unhelpful as asking about the future of mankind. I like the idea of narrowing it down to a specific question and creating the answer. Immensely helpful- thank you.

That said, what I'm fascinated by are things like Robin Sloan's tap essay, Craig Mod's vision of an (e)books' cover permeating the entire story. The site Days With My Father (dayswithmyfather.com) is what piqued my interest, and made me realize that I don't just want to write stories; I want to write stories that incorporate great design, adding a new layer of emotion, such as the kind that design inevitably elicits.

Thanks for Days With My Father - I hadn't seen that. Fashion Buddha do some interesting stuff - they did the site. You can tell that the photographer approached them with an idea, some photos, and a story. I think the skunkworks, hackathon approach is a good idea about what storytelling in the future will be like- collaboration using different people's talens, shaping a finished work using tools and inspiration from different sources.

Hmm- interesting. So the storyteller/ designer relationship could sort of mirror the current developer/ designer relationship. Stories as apps. I like that idea.

That said, I realize that forecasting the future of storytelling is pointless. Will Kindles or tablets or some unknown thing be the norm, or will it be a hodgepodge of all kinds of devices? No one can predict that, but I suppose that, fundamentally, is what I'm interested in. What I'm hoping for, ultimately, is that HTML (or something as universal) becomes the ubiquitous standard, so that a storyteller could master one language, HTML or otherwise, and 'code' a story at a base level, then tweak that version to work on multiple devices.