Michael Grant (co-author/co-creator of Animorphs) has officially announced a new transmedia project titled BZRK. It is a multi-platform narrative that is experienced through books, websites, videos, comics, and more.
The digital part of the project has already been launched, and it will tie-in with the first BZRK book, which is set to be released February 2012. A full outline and FAQ for the project is posted at gobzrk.com. Here is the official description for the first book:
The most breathtaking and exhilarating ride you will take this year, this is the first in an incredible new action thriller series from Michael Grant, author of “Gone”.
These are no ordinary soldiers. This is no ordinary war. Welcome to the nano, where the only battle is for sanity. Losing is not an option when a world of madness is at stake. Time is running out for the good guys. But what happens when you don’t know who the good guys really are?
Noah and Sadie: newly initiated to an underground cell so covert that they don’t even know each other’s names. Here they will learn what it means to fight on a nano level. Soon they will become the deadliest warriors the world has ever seen.
Vincent: feels nothing, cares for no one; fighting his own personal battle with Bug Man, the greatest nano warrior alive.
The Armstrong Twins: wealthy, privileged, and fanatical.
Are they the saviours of mankind or authors of the darkest conspiracy the world has ever seen? The nano is uncharted territory. A terrifying world of discovery. And everything is to play for…
In addition to this, we also have an update on the new book currently being written by K.A. Applegate and Michael Grant. It is a dark comedy, and is the first book that the husband and wife duo will be writing together since the Remnants series. The current working title is EVE AND ADAM AND.
The plot and release date is unknown at the moment, but it will be told through both male and female perspectives, where Michael will be writing for the males, and Katherine for the females. We’ll keep you updated on the details as we hear more.
And lastly, there is some more new press for the Animorphs relaunch! A recent article from the School Library Journal shares some quotes from the new series editor and K.A. Applegate herself. Here’s a small highlight:
Zachary Clark, editor of the series, comments on the new design: “We decided early on that part of what made the original series such a success were the dynamic covers. They may look a little hokey to us now, but wow, in the ’90s those morphing kids were so cool. Lenticulars seemed like the best way to capture the spirit of the original books, and also offer something really eye-catching.”
Author K.A. Applegate agrees with this assessment and is “thrilled” with the result: “They [Scholastic] somehow managed to retain the essence of the original covers while bringing them completely up to date. They are so cool: when you walk into a bookstore, they just leap off the shelves. Booksellers have told me they are the easiest books in the world to hand-sell. Even the most reluctant reader wants to grab a book and makes that dude morph into a lizard.”
Launched over a decade ago, the series has had a lasting effect on readers. K.A. Applegate recounts meeting “long-time fans, now in their twenties” at a recent book festival, some of whom “talked about how they’d been struggling readers, and how Animorphs was the way they learned that reading could be fun. Others were born readers who found the story lines compelling. There were soldiers and biology majors and artists and techies and aspiring authors. It was great to see.”
Read the full article: Fresh Approaches: The Return of Animorphs
That’s all for now! Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more Animorphs-related updates!