Presenting naturemage.com, an online reader creativity community - Hocklife children's literature) conference-2013 Children's literature conference. Presentation of the Nature Mage reader online community, and reflections on copyright issues, audience creativity, author 'canon', and how readers' and fans' works can converge with authors' needs.

2. PART 1:THE AUTHOR AND THE BOOKS
• Conflict in Nature Mage
• A brief reading
PART 2: NEW MEDIA FORMS OF THE BOOKS
• INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH
• COMMON ADAPTATION PRACTICES
• THE PRACTICE-LED WORK
• ACADEMIC FRAMING

3. PART 1:THE AUTHOR AND THE BOOKS

4. DUNCAN PILE WAS BORN IN 1975 IN CHELTENHAM, AND SPENT MOST OF HIS
CHILDHOOD IN MANCHESTER. HIS EARLY CREATIVE INTERESTS WERE IN CLASSICAL
MUSIC, A PASSION HE PURSUED AT DEGREE LEVEL.AFTER GRADUATING, DUNCAN
MOVED TO HONG KONG AND SPENT THE NEXT TWO YEARS TRAVELLING
AROUND SE ASIA,AUSTRALIA,THE ARABIAN GULF AND AFRICA, ENGAGED IN
HUMANITARIAN WORK. SINCE THEN, HE HAS STUDIED IN THE U.S.A AND
TRAINED AS A LIFE COACH, SOMETHING HE PRACTICES TO THIS DAY.
DUNCAN HAS ALWAYS HAD A LOVE OF WRITING, AND IN RECENT YEARS THIS HAS
TAKEN OVER FROM MUSIC AS THE MAIN FOCUS OF HIS CREATIVE GIFTS. HE WRITES IN
THE ORANGE TREE PUB IN NOTTINGHAM MOST WEEKENDS, AND DURING
WHAT REMAINS OF HIS SPARE TIME. SINCE CHILDHOOD DUNCAN HAS HAD A PASSION
FOR FANTASY FICTION, AND SO IT’S ONLY RIGHT THAT HIS FIRST PUBLISHED NOVEL IS
IN THAT GENRE.
IN FEBRUARY OF 2012, NATURE MAGE WAS AWARDED TWO ACCOLADES BY
LOVEREADING4KIDS: DEBUT OF THE MONTH AND 11+ OF THE MONTH, AND HAS
SOLD ACROSS THE WORLD SINCE THAT TIME. NATURE’S SERVANT WAS RELEASED
IN KINDLE FORMAT ON 9TH JANUARY 2013. NATURE’S PERIL, THE THIRD IN THE
SERIES, IS BEING RELEASED IN PARTS AND LINKED TO AN ONLINE COMMUNITY
FAN-SITE WHERE PEOPLE CAN SUBMIT ARTWORK AND CREATIVE WRITING
BASED ON THE SERIES.

5. CONFLICT IN NATURE MAGE

6. A BRIEF READING

7. PART 2: NEW MEDIA FORMS OF THE BOOKS

8. INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH
COMMON ADAPTATION PRACTICES
THE PRACTICE-LED WORK
ACADEMIC FRAMING

9. INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH

10. Transmedia
Games
Books
Adaptation

11. Professional Doctorate

13. Crossing Media Boundaries: New
Media Forms of the Book
Practice-led research into the adaptation
of books into digital media - looking at:
• Fan works and audience involvement
• ‘Brand consistency’ / canon
• The role of the author
WORK IN PROGRESS!

14. COMMON ADAPTATION PRACTICES

15. COMMON ADAPTATION PRACTICES
From book to other media
• Publisher and licensor-led
• Best-sellers adapted into new media forms (especially
games, films – and lots and lots of merchandise!)
• Examples: Hunger Games Facebook game, array of media
adaptations based on Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc.
Publishers exploring digital forms
• Mainly e-books (remediated form of the printed book)
• Also enhanced books - example:War Horse (with extra
multimedia material)
• Apps and games - sometimes simply adapting existing
stories, others exploring new forms of storytelling

16. Adaptations typically commissioned to
digital agencies
• With direction from publishers
• Different levels of involvement from authors
– typically little involvement
• Sometimes offer their 'stamp' of approval in
marketing activities
Readers / fans rarely heard
• Fan works often seen as a threat to the brand
owners
• Sometimes considered by authors, but rarely
taken on board beyond feedback and
inspiration for stories
• Exceptions: Kindle Worlds; Japan, where fan
works often recycled back into the brand

17. THE PRACTICE-LED WORK

18. GAME
• Initially: make a game based on Nature Mage
• With traditional market research used to inform
adaptation of story into game (common Dubit practice)
BUT!
• wanted an actual output - budget barriers to make game
• A more feasible output (whilst keeping game dream)…
• NOW: ONLINE READER COMMUNITY
• SOON: FAN-INSPIRED ENHANCED BOOK

19. ONLINE READER COMMUNITY

29. Reader community serves multiple purposes:
• Crowd-sourcing: fan works
• Insight and research / testing ground
• Dialogue with readers
• Encourage creativity
• And other: promote books, showcase collaborators, etc.
OUTPUT: FAN-INSPIRED ENHANCED BOOK
• Gather material for an enhanced book
• Original story coexisting with new material:
• ‘Parallel’ stories: alternative stories, deeper backstories
• Artwork, Music
• Videos (story-based, author interviews, reader
interviews, etc.)
• Evolving ‘encyclopedic’ catalogues of different themes:
weapons, magic, demons, etc.

30. ACADEMIC FRAMING

31. WHAT’S DIFFERENT?
Between Professional vs. Fan / Community approaches
• CONTROL / GUIDANCE vs. CREATIVITY /
FREEDOM
• Brief to professionals vs. virtual freedom to create
• With some guidance and ‘censorship’
• SINGLE / SMALL GROUP vs. COMMUNITY
TRANSLATION
• Large number of different interpretations
• Interaction between users, and between users and
author – a web of influences: comments, likes
• Re-mixing of each other’s works

32. QUESTIONS
What is the role of the author?
• How does he define ‘canon’ (e.g. feedback on creations;
selection of material for enhanced book)
How is he influenced by the dialogue with
readers?
• Comments about the books, alternative writing,
ideas for enhanced book
• By the creative writing and predictions for the
next parts of the story
What are the affordances of the new medium?
• iBooks Author by Apple
• How does this frame the adaptation?

33. POSSIBLE ‘CONFLICTS’ IN PROCESS
• Readers’ views vs. author views
• Influence / power of community
• Control exerted by author
• Quality / consistency vs. Co-existence of styles
• Straight from community
• Treated / edited fan works
• Formative / Positive vs. Free Fan Labour
• Encouraging creativity / showcasing talent
• Easy way to get work done for free
• Linked to: Copyright, Authorisation, Rewards

34. The End

35. Please feedback!
• Have you ever done anything like this?
• Know of any similar projects?
• Any relevant literature you can
recommend?
• Any suggestions to improve the
research questions and approach?

36. naturemage.com
claudio.pires.franco@gmail.com
duncan@duncanpile.com