No Lack of Major Prose Houses at Comic-Con
By Rich Shivener
From samplers and author panels to signings and galleys of science fiction and fantasy novels, major book publishers such as Penguin Random House and HarperCollins are once again investing heavily in promotional materials for the five days of Comic-Con International, held at the San Diego Convention Center. The annual pop-culture convention draws more than 130,000 attendees and offers programming related to comics, film, books and related media. Book publishers see it as an incredible promotional platform.
Comic-con may celebrate comics but the fans are on the lookout for books and related media of all kinds. Over the weekend, HarperCollins and its partners are set to preview an interactive, multimedia project based on writer James Frey’s Endgame trilogy, which chronicles teens hunting for ancient keys that could save the world. At its core, the project is an augmented reality game that allows players, using their smartphones, to scavenge for items around Comic-Con. Endgame is also getting the film treatment by 20th Century Fox. Frey, HarperCollins, Google’s Niantic Labs and 20th Century Fox collaborated on the project, and they’re planning panels, signings, access codes to games.
Comic-Con is a fitting place to launch the project because of its media convergence, says Sandee Roston, executive director of publicity of HarperCollins Children’s Books, the division that publishes the Endgame series.
“The innovative mobile game adds interactive real-world experiences to Endgame, merging story with social activation to create a fully immersive world,” Roston told PW on Friday.