Short fuse: James Patterson releases self-destructing limited edition

New York – Author James Patterson has brought new meaning to the phrase ‘explosive literature’ with his latest release, a self-destructing book.

Private Vegas, a novel that explores the contradictions of life in the city of sin, is available for a short time in digital format, giving readers 24 hours to read it before it is deleted for ever.

The concept for the book’s release was devised by creative agency Mother in a bid to update publishing for the Snapchat era. The idea is to create a thrilling literary experience in which readers are pitted against the clock and each other, able to ‘steal time’ via a microsite that tracks readers across the US with vital information such as words per minute and hours left.

‘Publishing, in my opinion, needs to be out there competing with everything else in the world – films, television and the rest,’ says Patterson.

Gamification is just one exploration of transmedia storytelling as brands look to bring narratives to life through additional content, often online, as seen for Land Rover’s digital thriller.