While the book publishing industry transitions into the digital age, two Australian creative talents are embracing a fresh approach which is making international waves.
Novelist Alan Gold and award-winning screen writer Mike Jones have joined forces to create The Heritage Project, pioneering the multiplatform creative process of the Storyworld.
A Storyworld is s new and imaginative concept which takes novels into the digital age, and beyond the confines of a book, with an holistic approach to storytelling by designing a narrative, from the ground up, to span a host of different platforms. Each of these acts as an extension rather than an adaption, presenting an expanded storyline for audiences based on characters and events from the Storyworld. For a more in depth explanation of the Storyworld see Mike Jones’ Immersive Writing Lab Series on The Writing Platform.
“For more than 200 years, novelists have confined their creativity to what happens inside the covers of a book,” said Gold and Jones.
“Today, with the exponential growth of the internet, authors can create an entire cosmos of inter-related characters and events, of which the novel might describe just a few; then the movie maker can pick up on linked events, a television series becomes part of the whole, then games creators, and of course the consumer, via TV, computers, tablets or smartphones can continue to participate in the creativity. This is a new and extraordinary realm of potential for authors and publishers alike,”
Gold and Jones are already in discussion with a number of major Hollywood based studios to create the TV series and with global partners for the creation of online and interactive extensions of the Storyworld.
The Heritage Project is a sweeping narrative played out of 3000 years, a fast-paced modern thriller that entwines the fortunes of two families across centuries. Simon & Schuster Australia, lead-developer of the project, is working in collaboration with Atria, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc, who will be publishing the trilogy in North America.
“In a time where the book industry is experiencing an incredible amount of change it’s exciting to be publishing a project that from its very inception gives us an extended reach outside of our own traditional space and audience,” said Larissa Edwards, Head of Publishing at Simon & Schuster Australia.
Bloodline, the first book of The Heritage Project will be published in November 2013.