Draft:Jonathan Sims

Jonathan Sims (born November, 1988) is a British author, voice actor, musician, and games designer. He is popularly known for creating The Magnus Archives, a horror anthology audio-drama.

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Career

Acting

During his time as a student at the University of Oxford, Sims took part in amateur dramatics [REF]

In 2010, Sims was part of the initial line-up for a music group called The Mechanisms , a self-styled "Storytelling Musical Cabaret". Sims acted as lead singer, performing under the name Jonny D'Ville. Sims primarily acted as the narrator for performances, where classical stories such as The Odyssey and the legend of King Arthur were re-framed in steampunk, western and cyberpunk settings. Sims co-wrote lyrics for several songs in subsequent albums[REF]. The Mechanisms disbanded in 2020, after a final album entitled "Death to the Mechanisms".

In 2016, The Magnus Archives was launched. Sims played a fictionalised version of himself, Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, a character who reads out disturbing and unusual cases that have been submitted to The Magnus Institute Archives[REF]. In development, the audio-drama had been initially proposed as a simple anthology of spooky stories, but gradually developed to include a meta-plot [REF]. Over time the fictional version of Sims diverged completely from the real-world Sims.

In 2023, Sims was cast as The Voice of the Narrator and The Voices in Your Head for the acclaimed indie game Slay the Princess, acting alongside Nichole Goodnight [REF]. In the game, Sims demonstrates a wide range of vocal performances for multiple distinct characters, that resulted in widespread praise from the gaming community[REF].

Other voice acting roles include Dr. John Seward in Re:Dracula, Alf in The Silt Verses, the Stenographer/Narrator in Super Suits

In addition to formal voice acting roles, Sims also narrates classic ghost and horror stories on his Bandcamp, Twitch, and YouTube accounts .

TTRPGs

In 2015, Sims and his partner Sasha Sienna launched a self-owned tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) business called MacGuffin & Company. The company writes and publishes system-neutral micro-settings. These are short TTRPG campaign settings designed to be used with any game system, such as Pathfinder or Call of Cthulhu. Their first published collection Odd Jobs won ‘Best Roleplaying Game Adventure’ Award at the 2022 UK Games Expo [REF], and was nominated for ‘Product of the Year’ at that year'sENNIES Awards [REF]. In addition to producing games for sale, the company has a Patreon where Sims and Sienna release early content, one-shot campaigns, and provide a course on how to be a Gamemaster (GM).

Sims has also appeared on multiple podcasts about TTRPGs or live-play podcasts, where such games are played for the audience's enjoyment.

Books

Sims has published two horror novels with Gollancz Ltd. His debut novel, Thirteen Storeys, expands on the concept of a haunted house by setting the tale in a haunted block of flats in London. The novel explores the relationship between the wealthy 'haves', who rent the luxurious flats at the front of the building, and the disempowered 'have-nots' who rent the cheap flats, and enter via a back door.

Sims' second novel Family Business, centres around the horror of grief, and how easily people are forgotten.

Sims' third novel Burnout is currently being written. Described as his "breakup letter to London" [REF], Burnout is a horror story set in modern London during a heatwave, making things uncomfortable for a group of residents stuck on the London Underground.[REF]

Themes and Style

Sims has stated his narrative style and The Magnus Archives were heavily inspired by a childhood spent reading The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James. [REF] Sims is a fan of horror movies. [REF]

Sims has been described as [REF]