Serialized iPad novel unlocks extra content only at real-world locations

The Silent History limits readers to short excerpts each day and offers additional content when they travel to specific real-world locations.

Often the enjoyment of a creative work can be enhanced by location, and we’ve seen this demonstrated before with the Bluebrain app, which reveals audio content specific to the area the listener is walking through. Now a similar innovation, this time in the publishing world, comes in the form of a new iPad novel titled The Silent History, which presents readers with short excerpts each day and offers additional content when they travel to specific real-world locations. Created by digital storytelling Ying Horowitz & Quinn, which is comprised of former designers and publishers of the McSweeney’s journal, the novel tells the story of a generation of children who grow up without the ability to understand language, but who have other unusual powers. It is told in the form of 1,500-word testimonials from the characters, of which there are 20 each in a series of six. Readers downloading the app for iPad or iPhone receive one testimonial each day, with the idea being that they can set apart 15 minutes each day on their commute or before bed to catch up on the story. Readers can also unlock extra content – in the form of ‘field reports’ – that can only be read when their GPS location is within 10 meters of pinned destinations specified by the app. The video below acts as a trailer for the project: There’s plenty of inspiration here for publishers looking to step outside of the traditional market. Spotted by: Murray Orange