At Facebook’s annual developer conference this April, Regina Dugan, head of the company’s experimental technologies division, said Facebook was working on «optical neuro-imaging systems» that would allow people to «type words directly from their brain». In the future they see people «being able to share thoughts independent of language: English Spanish or Mandarin», brain to brain via telepathic devices. «It’s not about decoding random thoughts» she said. «We’re talking about decoding the words you’ve already decided to share by sending them to the speech center of your brain.» This issue focusses on ongoing transformations of writing and reading in the age of digitalization. How do new devices and interfaces affect the way we write and read?