For more than 25 years, Hans-Jörg Knabel has worked as a freelance editor for book publishers, helping authors sharpen, structure, and refine their manuscripts. His publishing work focuses mainly on non-fiction and professional titles in the field of management, with an emphasis on leadership, project, program, and change management. As a creative counterbalance, Hans-Jörg has also spent over two decades in the games industry as an author, narrative designer, and storytelling consultant. He started out as a writer, then moved on to planning narrative projects and building and leading writing and narrative design teams. He usually works freelance, and only joins studios in-house when a project is “very, very exciting” – most recently as Narrative Director at Black Forest Games. Hans-Jörg has a soft spot for science fiction and fantasy, but his work takes him through a wide range of genres. His passion lies in strong narratives – whether they unfold in books, games, or other media. What he especially enjoys about working in games is telling stories together with interdisciplinary teams. It allows him to draw on everything he has learned as an editor and bring both of his professional worlds together. Since 2025, Hans-Jörg has also been contributing his experience as a freelance editor and author to kr3m. He is particularly interested in the history and pop-cultural influence of casual games, as well as the strategic possibilities they open up for players – especially Sudoku, which he has loved playing for many years.