Dave Nalle
Encyclopedia
Dave Nalle is a political writer, game author and font designer who was active in the early history of the development of the internet. He is Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus
, a group that promotes libertarianism
within the Republican Party and is Senior Politics Editor at Blogcritics
online magazine and is the CEO of Scriptorium Fonts
.
. As a child and teen he lived in Syria, Iran, Jordan, England and the Soviet Union and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and Central Asia.
He attended Franklin and Marshall College where he earned degrees in English and History, headed the student chapter of Students for a Libertarian Society and worked as a regional organizer for the Ed Clark presidential campaign in 1980. During and after college he had a variety of political jobs in Washington, including working for Al Gore at the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future as a newsletter editor, at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and as publications director and vice chairman of Students for a Libertarian Society, where he edited and wrote for Liberty magazine.
After moving to Texas in 1982 Nalle earned two graduate degrees at the University of Texas and did a year of graduate study in England at the City University of London. He taught college history in Austin for more than a decade. During this period he also ran a small game publishing company called Ragnarok Press. Graphic design experiences and his graduate research on historical calligraphy led to an interest in digital type design. In 1989 Nalle founded Scriptorium Fonts
to market his original font designs and digital recreations of antique type and hand lettering, initially for the Commodore 64 and eventually primarily for Macintosh and Windows users.
Dave Nalle ran for Texas State Representative in 2002 and currently serves as Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus
. He is also ex-president of the Manor Lions Club and Chairman of the East Travis County Advisory Board which supervises a community center, a public library and charity programs in Manor, TX. He and his wife Patricia Fitch Nalle have two daughters and the family resides outside of Austin, Texas
.
and other gaming magazines, as well as hundreds of game, media and book reviews, short fiction and poetry. He was had featured columns in Renaissance Magazine
and Thrust, SF in Review.
His published game designs include the Ysgarth
and To Challenge Tomorrow roleplaying games, game books and resources like Pantheon
and Character Role Playing and the Arthurian collectible card game Quest for the Grail
.
In 2003, Nalle was brought in as a guest designer for a radical redesign of Whole Earth magazine under the guest editorship of Viridian guru Bruce Sterling
.
BBS package and operated until 1994.
He began writing a blog in 2002 during his campaign for State Representative in Texas House District 42. After the campaign he continued to write under a series of different blog names, eventually developing into the Republic of Dave weblog. In 2008 he started a second blog devoted to debunking conspiracy theories, political disinformation and urban legends at IdiotWars.com. It has a particular emphasis on countering the claims of radio talk show host Alex Jones
.
He is also the editor of the Republican Liberty Caucus
weblog and a featured contributor to the Republican Leadership Council
website.
, which has become one of the most recognized specialty font foundries. Some of his most notable original font designs include Abaddon, Hesperides, Folkard
, Valdemar and Ligeia. They specialize in thematic packages of historic fonts based on specific artistic periods or design movements packaged together with licensed borders and art in the same style.
Nalle's font designs have been particularly successful in marketing and merchandising, with Abaddon
appearing as the logo font for the band Godsmack, Buccaneer and Beynkales featured in the movie and packaging for The Corpse Bride and Valdemar picked as the official merchandising font for the Harry Potter
movies. His font designs are also used extensively in the Spiderwick
book series. Recently the Windlass font was featured in the titles for the movie Percy Jackson: the Lightning Thief
and eventually serving as Vice Chairman (2007-2009) and Chairman (2009-2011). He also worked as an adviser and consultant on a number of campaigns in the 2008, 2010 and 2012 elections, specializing in new media campaigns and message framing. Most recently he has been an adviser to Texas Senatorial Candidate Ted Cruz and as Texas State Director for the Gary Johnson
presidential campaign.
Republican Liberty Caucus
The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party...
, a group that promotes libertarianism
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
within the Republican Party and is Senior Politics Editor at Blogcritics
Blogcritics
Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...
online magazine and is the CEO of Scriptorium Fonts
Scriptorium Fonts
Scriptorium Fonts is an Austin, Texas based type foundry founded in 1992 by game designer, editor and historian Dave Nalle. It specializes in adaptations of antique fonts and fonts based on artistic hand lettering drawn from the work of famous artists and calligraphers like Alphons Mucha, William...
.
Biography
Dave Nalle grew up overseas and in Washington, DC with parents who were in the foreign service. He was educated at British and American schools, eventually completing high school at St. Albans SchoolSt. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)
St. Albans School is an independent college preparatory school for boys in grades 4–12, located in Washington, D.C. The school is named after Saint Alban, traditionally regarded as the first British martyr. Within the St...
. As a child and teen he lived in Syria, Iran, Jordan, England and the Soviet Union and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and Central Asia.
He attended Franklin and Marshall College where he earned degrees in English and History, headed the student chapter of Students for a Libertarian Society and worked as a regional organizer for the Ed Clark presidential campaign in 1980. During and after college he had a variety of political jobs in Washington, including working for Al Gore at the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future as a newsletter editor, at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and as publications director and vice chairman of Students for a Libertarian Society, where he edited and wrote for Liberty magazine.
After moving to Texas in 1982 Nalle earned two graduate degrees at the University of Texas and did a year of graduate study in England at the City University of London. He taught college history in Austin for more than a decade. During this period he also ran a small game publishing company called Ragnarok Press. Graphic design experiences and his graduate research on historical calligraphy led to an interest in digital type design. In 1989 Nalle founded Scriptorium Fonts
Scriptorium Fonts
Scriptorium Fonts is an Austin, Texas based type foundry founded in 1992 by game designer, editor and historian Dave Nalle. It specializes in adaptations of antique fonts and fonts based on artistic hand lettering drawn from the work of famous artists and calligraphers like Alphons Mucha, William...
to market his original font designs and digital recreations of antique type and hand lettering, initially for the Commodore 64 and eventually primarily for Macintosh and Windows users.
Dave Nalle ran for Texas State Representative in 2002 and currently serves as Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus
Republican Liberty Caucus
The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party...
. He is also ex-president of the Manor Lions Club and Chairman of the East Travis County Advisory Board which supervises a community center, a public library and charity programs in Manor, TX. He and his wife Patricia Fitch Nalle have two daughters and the family resides outside of Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
Writing and game design
Dave Nalle is the author of hundreds of magazine articles published in Dragon MagazineDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
and other gaming magazines, as well as hundreds of game, media and book reviews, short fiction and poetry. He was had featured columns in Renaissance Magazine
Renaissance Magazine
Renaissance Magazine is a glossy American magazine published every other month. Each issue comprises approximately 90 pages, and includes articles about the contemporary renaissance faire experience, medieval and renaissance history, castles, heraldry, cooking, and interviews with key individuals...
and Thrust, SF in Review.
His published game designs include the Ysgarth
Ysgarth
Ysgarth is a fantasy role-playing game written by Dave Nalle with contributions from other authors. It was originally released in 1979 by Ragnarok Games...
and To Challenge Tomorrow roleplaying games, game books and resources like Pantheon
Pantheon (gods)
A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a...
and Character Role Playing and the Arthurian collectible card game Quest for the Grail
Quest for the Grail
Quest for the Grail is a collectible card game based on Arthurian literature and folklore published by Stone Ring Games and designed by Dave Nalle. It originally appeared in a single-pack Preview Edition in 1995 which was followed by a much larger card set in Starter decks and Booster Packs in the...
.
In 2003, Nalle was brought in as a guest designer for a radical redesign of Whole Earth magazine under the guest editorship of Viridian guru Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
.
Internet and blogging
Nalle operated the Infinite Incarnations BBS which ran on the HermesHermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
BBS package and operated until 1994.
He began writing a blog in 2002 during his campaign for State Representative in Texas House District 42. After the campaign he continued to write under a series of different blog names, eventually developing into the Republic of Dave weblog. In 2008 he started a second blog devoted to debunking conspiracy theories, political disinformation and urban legends at IdiotWars.com. It has a particular emphasis on countering the claims of radio talk show host Alex Jones
Alex Jones
Alex or Alexander Jones may refer to:*Alex Jones , U.S. radio host and filmmaker*Alex Jones , Major League Baseball pitcher from 1889 to 1903...
.
He is also the editor of the Republican Liberty Caucus
Republican Liberty Caucus
The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party...
weblog and a featured contributor to the Republican Leadership Council
Republican Leadership Council
The Republican Leadership Council , founded in 1993 as the Committee for Responsible Government, is a United States political advocacy group and political action committee that promotes Republican candidates who espouse a platform that the organization characterizes as "fiscally conservative,...
website.
Font designs
Nalle started designing fonts as shareware for the Commodore 64 in the late 1980s. In 1992 he founded Scriptorium FontsScriptorium Fonts
Scriptorium Fonts is an Austin, Texas based type foundry founded in 1992 by game designer, editor and historian Dave Nalle. It specializes in adaptations of antique fonts and fonts based on artistic hand lettering drawn from the work of famous artists and calligraphers like Alphons Mucha, William...
, which has become one of the most recognized specialty font foundries. Some of his most notable original font designs include Abaddon, Hesperides, Folkard
Folkard
Folkard is a font based on hand lettering by British artist and calligrapher Charles Folkard. The font was developed by Dave Nalle of Scriptorium Fonts from samples of his characteristic hand lettering taken from book covers and sheet music which he illustrated and decorated.Folkard has swashed...
, Valdemar and Ligeia. They specialize in thematic packages of historic fonts based on specific artistic periods or design movements packaged together with licensed borders and art in the same style.
Nalle's font designs have been particularly successful in marketing and merchandising, with Abaddon
Abaddon
Abaddon in the Revelation of St. John, is the king of tormenting locusts and the angel of the bottomless pit. The exact nature of Abaddon is debated, but the Hebrew word is related to the triliteral root אבד , which in verb form means "to perish."...
appearing as the logo font for the band Godsmack, Buccaneer and Beynkales featured in the movie and packaging for The Corpse Bride and Valdemar picked as the official merchandising font for the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
movies. His font designs are also used extensively in the Spiderwick
Spiderwick
The Spiderwick Chronicles is a series of children's books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into Spiderwick Estate and discover a world of fairies that they never knew...
book series. Recently the Windlass font was featured in the titles for the movie Percy Jackson: the Lightning Thief
Recent Political Activism
Nalle returned to political activism after his unsuccessful run for State Representative in 2002, becoming involved with the Republican Liberty CaucusRepublican Liberty Caucus
The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party...
and eventually serving as Vice Chairman (2007-2009) and Chairman (2009-2011). He also worked as an adviser and consultant on a number of campaigns in the 2008, 2010 and 2012 elections, specializing in new media campaigns and message framing. Most recently he has been an adviser to Texas Senatorial Candidate Ted Cruz and as Texas State Director for the Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson may refer to:*Gary Johnson , former Governor of New Mexico and candidate for President in 2012*Gary Johnson , American politician, Wisconsin State Assembly...
presidential campaign.
Books and games
- Ysgarth (1979)
- To Challenge Tomorrow (1984)
- Triad (1985)
- Middle Passage (1985)
- London by Night (1986)
- Challengers (1986)
- Siege and Fortress (1986)
- Ysgarth Adventure Anthology (1987)
- By the Gods (1987)
- EsperAgents (1988)
- Complete Gamer's Pantheon (1988)
- Ysgarth Bestiary (1989)
- Character RolePlaying (1989)
- Quest for the Grail (1995)
- Oroborus (1998)