We worked closely with writers, publishers, developers and designers, to re-imagine what books can become in the digital age, creating beacons for future publishing standards. Editions At Play books are not games, nor apps, nor regular eBooks. At its core they are designed to deliver immersive reading experiences. Editions At Play is an experiment which pushes the browser to new limits, creates new best practices for the publishing industry, contributes to the evolution of ePub standards, and positions Google Play as a hub for content innovation.

In 8 months, we designed, built and released 4 books with stories by great writers which have reached a global audience, and a platform through which to sell them.

We designed the books from scratch, coming up with the core concept and visual language, as well as qualities unique to digital reading experiences on mobile, such as paging mechanisms, interaction model, user flow, and gesture-based features.

The books include: ‘Entrances & Exits’ - a novel set inside Street View; ‘All This Rotting’ - where unstable text mirrors the degradation of a character’s mind; The Truth About Cats And Dogs, where a non-linear narrative invites a reader to take sides; and Strata - a partnership with Penguin Random House which houses an anthology of fiction and science stories inside a futuristic world of illustration and music. Each book is hosted on its own url through which readers can view on their mobile, tablet and desktop devices.

We also created a digital bookstore - editionsatplay.com - through which to sell these books, which sits on top of Google Play - harnessing the strength of Google’s existing publishing platform to handle sales, publisher partnerships, and other commercials.

Editions At Play promoted trial of Google Play, and with Google being an active player in advancing mobile technology, we chose to create web-based books that showcased the new possibilities of the mobile web. The project targeted readers, writers, those interested in technology and design innovation, as well as key opinion formers in the publishing industry. Our partnership with Penguin Random House and Visual Editions ensured audience reach and quality content from great writers.

- A host of new publishers and authors have signed up to join the experiment alongside existing partners such as Penguin Random House

- Hundreds of articles in media around the world welcome a bold and fresh initiative in publishing

- Key opinion formers and influencers associate Google Play with inspiring and leading content innovation.

- New publishing partners join Google Play

- The digital publishing industry have gained insights from the project which will help inform the creation of future ePub standards