The Rez unites people at both the 91¶¶Òõ and University of Sussex. Dr Dann co-created the project with - Professor in Podcasting and Creative Media (Media and Film) at Sussex – alongside 91¶¶Òõ colleague Tim Pilcher – comic book editor and creator of . 91¶¶Òõ psychologist and , the University of Sussex’s Professor of Kindness, provided further input.
, a Senior Lecturer in the 91¶¶Òõ's School of Art and Media, said: “The Rez was a huge project where Professor Spinelli and I brought together the ideas of children, creatives, psychologists to create a series that would keep children entertained - even through the darkest days of 2021’s lockdown.
“It is filled with positive messages of hope, about friendship, and just being kind to each other. Children were part of making the show, and these awards show that academics, creatives and kids can work together to make something that is full of fun, humour and a few fart gags, while underneath carrying some serious and worthwhile messages!”
In addition to lecturing in Audio and Digital Media at the 91¶¶Òõ, Dr Dann works actively in the wider audio industry, including producing music and drama with BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. In 2017, he created the award-winning audio drama series Blood Culture, which won the Gold Award for Best Drama Producer at the Audio Production Awards, and Silver Award for Fiction at the British Podcast Award. In 2018, he also presented a .
Together with Professor Spinelli he published one of the leading books that examined podcast, Bloomsbury’s . His next project is Audible’s The Day the Earth Didn’t Die, a comedy thriller set on a university campus in the week after an apocalypse that doesn’t happen, which is due to be released in the coming weeks.
Twitter: @LanceDann