Over the holidays, Scholastic will launch its first original e-book series based on the 39 Clues franchise with The 39 Clues: Rapid Fire. One 30- to 40-page Rapid Fire adventure story will become available each day from December 25 through December 31, 2011, at a price of 99 cents each, through all the major e-tailers.
Senior editor Rachel Griffiths says the idea came from message boards at the 39 Clues Web site, where fans talk about different storylines and characters and comment on what they think happens beyond the book series. “We thought, what a great gift to our fans, and to the parents, to give the kids something new to read each day over the holidays,” Griffiths says.
“We hope we’ll bring in some new fans to the series,” she continues. “These are really fun, twisty, standalone short stories. But we also want to hit some of the questions the old fans have.” Taken together, the seven ebooks will update those who are familiar with the world of The 39 Clues about what’s going on with the characters and fill in gaps in the storylines. All seven combined will be about the length of a new 39 Clues book, at a cumulative value price of less than $7.
There are more than 11 million copies of 39 Clues books in print, and the site has attracted more than 1.7 million registered users. The ebooks offer a way for Scholastic to respond to fan feedback, answer questions and extend the story outside the print books and the game. “39 Clues is all about innovation,” Griffiths says. “We’re always looking around for fun new ideas that will push the envelope.”
The Rapid Fire Web page went live this morning.
