From Fidelity Publishing to Playable Stories

Abstract

The discussion that follows focuses on case studies that have captured the attention of audiences by playing with preconceived ideas of experience and engagement at the intersection of literature and technology. These encounters tend to occur within a convergent digital space. In Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, Henry Jenkins defines convergence culture as “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences” (Jenkins 2006, 2–4). Convergence culture is sometimes misunderstood as simply enacting a process of remediation, in which seemingly outdated narrative forms are superseded by more “culturally relevant” ones. But Jenkins points out that convergence is less to do with technology than mindset: “Convergence does not occur through media appliances, however sophisticated they may become. Convergence occurs within the brains of individual consumers and through their social interactions with others” (Jenkins 2006, 3). This chapter considers the dynamic between convergent culture, literary media and the attention economy.