Anthony Zuiker brings books into the twenty-first century.

Zuiker, creator of the CSI franchise, has signed a deal to create a set of "digital novels". Unlike conventional books, these novels will combine reading with video and interactive elements. "I want to give traditional crime novel readers a more immersive experience," Zuiker told Variety. Having an online element "offers publishing a chance to catch up with the YouTube generation that has lost passion for reading."

"I personally don't have the attention economy to read a 250-page crime novel from start to finish," he explained. "I realized that the way I'd like to consume a novel is to be rewarded every couple of chapters by seeing something visual that enhances the narrative." Zuiker will create an outline and supervise a novelist as the outline is turned into a 100-chapter novel. Zuiker will then create 20 "cyber-bridges", which are two-minute video segments that go along with the novel.

Every five chapters, readers will be directed to go online and view a cyber-bridge which connects them to the next section of the novel. "For instance, you'll watch a live snuff film that figures in the plot, you'll give the killer your phone number, and he'll call you back, and you'll see an analysis of photographic forensic evidence," Zuiker said. He explained that this format is designed to "drive the reader ferociously back to the book."

After finishing the novel, readers can join an online community to discuss the story and share ideas. Some of these ideas could be integrated into future releases. The first of Zuiker's novels, Sqweegel, will be published by Dutton in the fall of 2009. The series will follow an ex-FBI agent who became a rogue forensic investigator after his family was murdered. Dutton president and publisher Brian Tart said Zuiker "is bringing a great deal of creative energy to this project. Think of it as storytelling 2.0."

The original article is from Variety.

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