As our everyday lives become more and more digitalized, it feels increasingly difficult to find ways to pull people’s faces from their screens towards good old paper books. Of course compromises have been made, eBooks for example, so that readers can maintain the accessibility of their digital devices while still consuming literary texts. However, this does not necessarily translate to a significant rise in readership. Books need not necessarily compete with or be only directly translated into digital media however. Rather, books should be more seamlessly integrated with digital media. Adopting more models of transmedia storytelling within the publishing sector is one way through which this integration can be accomplished.  

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The term “transmedia storytelling” was first coined by Henry Jenkins. In his book Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, Jenkins describes a transmedia story as one that “…unfolds across multiple media platforms, with each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole. In the ideal form of transmedia storytelling, each medium does what it does best…Each franchise entry needs to be self-contained...” (Jenkins 95-96). Although Jenkins never explicitly states that this is his conclusive definition of transmedia storytelling, it is nonetheless the most cited definition. Alas, this definition is arguably too exclusive as it leaves out any media that does not include media that collectively acts as one cohesive narrative, which could become the most prominent model of transmedia storytelling in the years to come, nor does it include non-fiction transmedia stories (Kalinov).  

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While there is perhaps not a strict definition of what exactly transmedia stories are, connected stories and/or properties that transcend mediums are easily identifiable and have cultivated loyal followings. Some of the world’s most famous properties have continued their success by adopting transmedia models to encourage fan interaction. Examples of this include Star Wars, which, in addition to its most familiar incarnation, its three trilogies of movies, has multiple books, TV shows, and video games expanding its world and lore. The Harry Potter franchise utilizes these same mediums to achieve the same function. One of its most recent additions, the My Potter website, was one of its most successful campaigns likely because it allowed fans to feel like they can interact with the world that they have grown to love so much.  

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Some lesser-known properties have earned a cult following by catering to the same appeal that My Potter does, many going to even greater lengths. One of these models is that of alternate reality games (ARG). Hive Propolis is a sci-fi novella series that simply incorporates QR codes into its text, but these QR codes contain a vast amount of multimedia content including accompanying soundtracks, videos, and clues that direct readers to real-life places and events. Clockwork Watch, which originated as a three-part steampunk graphic novel and later expanded its world via a Creative Commons website, epitomizes this model as it encourages fan interaction by allowing them to submit articles, videos, and pictures and other visual art for the chance to have them canonized within the world’s lore. The franchise even launched with part-theatre, part-LARP, part-ARG event that fans could also participate in. Similarly, The SCP-Foundation generates content under a Creative Content license with writers constantly introducing new creatures to its catalogue and others creating video games based on these creations. These ARGs are quite extensive, but they can be implemented on a smaller scale. Ong’s Hat is a narrative that unfolds through the form of conspiracy theories which began on bulletin board systems, Xerox mail art, and zines, as it first developed during the 1980s, and later expanded through mediums like print, radio, and early digital mediums like CDs and DVDs. In addition to ARGs, social media is an especially easy and useful tool for expanding stories through different mediums. Author Ngozi Ukazu for instance created a Twitter account for one of the characters in her webcomic Check, Please! to post extra content that satisfies readers in between publications. 

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There are many more examples of transmedia storytelling, but it is still sparingly used within the publishing industry. The hesitation to publish transmedia stories is due in part to copyright law, which prevents publishers from creating content based on already well-established and successful properties. I would argue that the other element to this hesitation is a prevailing mentality within the publishing industry that books must remain the same, or as close to the same, as they have always been, that digital media is a competing force, not an asset. It is clear that consumers want more interactive transmedia storytelling. In fact, many of the examples of transmedia storytelling that I’ve given were created by communities of fans. Adopting models of transmedia stories may even be the key to investing those who are generally uninterested in reading literature. Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, some of these models were more widely embraced since many in-person interactions became digital. A favorite example of mine is a murder mystery Zoom-party that was held to promote the sale of a newly-published debut novel (Cowdrey). The necessity of adapting book publishing so that it might thrive in the digital age is clearer than ever and we ought to utilize the tools we have to seize the opportunity to do so.