The Bantam Dell Bookstore and Cafe is open in Second Life on Electric Sheep's Island. It's a cozy, inviting space designed around books and conversation. Bantam best selling author, Dean Koontz via his web site invites you to join him there tomorrow, March 15th at 6:00 p.m.SLT when his avatar will be in world for a reading from his new book, The Good Guy.
[Update: Giff at Electric Sheep reminds me in comments that if the Bantan Bookstore is full, they will be streaming to other locations. Find them here: http://blogs.electricsheepcompany.com/giff/?p=327]
Bantam Dell, a Random House company, joins U.K. publishing house, Penguin Books which has been in Second Life since October. Penguin has been aggressive in examining and responding to new media impacts on publishers by introducing audio, podcasts, ebooks and a recent wikinovel. I happen to meet Jeremy Ettinghausen of Penguin the other day at the just-ended South by Southwest conference in Austin, Tx. Jeremy writes his insights post-conference saying there were lots of storytellers present there, but just not necessarily interested in being published in print format. He adds:
So old-media companies, like Penguin, are having to change their waysand move with the times, encourage participation, look at how peoplewant to use the books we publish and how they want to share them andtalk about them. It's not always going to be a smooth transition, andwe might stumble on the way, but as four days in Austin have shown me,there are a lot of great storytellers out there and plenty of peoplewho want to hear those stories and, importantly, some great ways ofconnecting the two groups.
Bantam Dell plans to hold occassional events, seminars on getting published and book discussions in their virtual space. Join their Second Life group to keep abreast of events. Use the SL group search for "Bantam Dell."
Like newspapers, traditional book publishers are feeling the effects of new platforms and shared media. These early experiements in 3D spaces may lead them to new storytelling, new content categories, and rethinking The Story.
Visit Bantam Dell Bookstore and Cafe at Sheep Island 123/28/25.
March 14, 2007
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