I just recently learned of a fantastic-sounding workshop happening in London in June:
Innovation Workshop
in association with The Literary Platform
16th June 2011, London
Broken into 3 parts, starting with publishers presenting their new projects on social reading, cross-platform narratives and 3D binaural sound.
I would love to attend, but chances are, budget won't allow. So instead, I'll drool and dream.
Someone asked about my thoughts on the future of books. Here is what I emailed - all of which is incredibly exciting to me, particularly as an author of multiple books and as a new mobile apps producer.
1. Rich Media Books - Combining more than just digital text so this might include audio, video, animation, interactive functions - but it isn't a video or an audio book - more of an experiential e-book.
2. 3-D Books - Like the 3-D popup book apps at the very least. My daughter loves them. The books will "read" to her and also open up like a 3-D popup book but in digital on the iPad. Then she can move items around such as move the watering can back and forth and flowers grow.
3. Immersive Books - Narratives told within immersive virtual worlds. There is an experience like this in Second Life where a professor took beloved children's books and created an immersive world where avatars can move within the book setting.
4. Literary Augmented Reality - Imagine that you are touring London, then you hold up your smartphone, look through the camera, and can see excerpts of various books laying across physical spaces and objects. So you can experience books inspired by real places and "read" books while walking through a city.
