Laura Kate Dale

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Laura Kate Dale is a video game journalist and author.[1] She is known for writing about the transgender and autism communities in relation to video games and for her video game industry leaks.[1][2][3] Many of her topics tackle accessibility for disabled players and LGBTQ+ representation.

Game journalism[]

Dale has worked at gaming site Destructoid.[1][4] She was also the news editor for gaming site Kotaku UK for almost two years,[5] leaving the position in June 2019 to pursue other projects.[6] She has also written for The Guardian.[7]

Dale is known for her videogame leaks. She leaked the existence of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood in 2015 and the PlayStation 4 Slim in 2016. She also leaked details about the Nintendo Switch and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.[1]

She features as a weekly co-host on the podcast Podquisition, alongside gaming critic James Stephanie Sterling and Conrad Zimmerman. They discuss game industry news and adjacent topics in a mostly non-serious, amusing manner. Dale acts as the organisational force, preparing the topic list and getting the conversation back on track. A running joke of the series is that it would fall to chaos without her supervision due to the disorganisation and chaos of the other personalities.[8]

In May 2020, Dale launched a video series called "Access-ability" on YouTube, a show focused upon discussing the difficulties neurodivergent or disabled people face within video games, reviewing a variety of games and explaining what has and could be done to improve such experiences and make the video games industry a universally more accessible field. The series also focuses upon issues of LGBTQ+ representation within the medium, among other social issues that are pertinent to the topic.

Books[]

Dale has published two books. Her first book is Things I Learned From Mario's Butt: A Series of Gaming Butt Critiques, which was funded on the crowdfunding website Unbound in 2018.[2][3] Her second book, a memoir called Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman, was published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in 2019.[9] Her third book, Gender Euphoria: Stories of Joy from Trans, Non Binary and Intersex Writers is intended as a counterpoint to the focus so often placed on the negative aspects of being trans, such as gender dysphoria, and was instead written "to show the world the sheer variety of ways being non cisgender can be a beautiful, joyful experience". Dale's third book has exceeded its funding goal on Unbound and as of November 2020 the page states it will close "soon" to go to print.[10]

Personal life[]

Dale is married to podcaster Jane Magnet. The couple, who are both train enthusiasts, married in August 2021 on-board an Avanti West Coast train, after winning a competition for a train based wedding. The couple had planned to marry sooner but had delayed their plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the requirement to obtain Gender Recognition Certificates in order to marry as women.[11][12][13]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Fennimore, Jack (7 August 2017). "Laura Kate Dale: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Weiss, Josh (19 October 2018). "There's a book about video game butts and we're not kidding in the slightest". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Stevens, Colin (18 October 2018). "An Upcoming Book Is All About Video Game Butts". IGN. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  4. ^ LauraKBuzz (21 June 2016). "Regarding Destructoid UK" – via Patreon..
  5. ^ Stanton, Rich (7 August 2017). "Introducing Our New News Editor, Laura Kate Dale". Kotaku UK. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  6. ^ Stanton, Rich (6 June 2019). "Farewell to Our News Editor, Laura Kate Dale". Kotaku UK. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Laura Kate Dale | The Guardian". the Guardian.
  8. ^ Podquisition 303: Kirby vs. Gandhi, retrieved 7 November 2020
  9. ^ Dale, Laura Kate (2019). Uncomfortable Labels My Life As a Gay Autistic Trans Woman. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 9781785925887. OCLC 1104083940.
  10. ^ Gender Euphoria. ISBN 9781789651454.
  11. ^ "Train-loving couple get 'dream come true' wedding onboard London to Birmingham service". inews.co.uk. 11 August 2021.
  12. ^ "A very moving service: Rail enthusiasts get married on train from London Euston". Sky News.
  13. ^ "Avanti train wedding: The couple who said 'I do' on a 125mph train to Birmingham". BBC News. 11 August 2021.
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