AwesomenessTV, a media venture that produces teen-oriented series for YouTube, is launching Awesomeness Ink, a YA book imprint. Two titles from the imprint have been set, one based on the hit YouTube series Runaways, and another based on the website's show, Side Effects.
Edited by Cindy Eagan, who formerly headed the Poppy imprint at LIttle, Brown Books for Young Readers, the books will debut this week in print and e-book formats. Runaways, written by the series creator Beth Szymkowski, is a teen-driven murder mystery focused on the fraught social networking of privileged high school students. Side Effects is written by YA author Jen Calonita (The Secrets of My Hollywood Life), and follows a 16-year-old-girl who, after her father's disappearance and her mother’s death, begins experiencing musical hallucinations from her medication.
AwesomenessTV has a diverse slate of scripted reality shows about teens and millennials; Runaways and Side Effects have both generated millions of views on YouTube.
Brett Bouttier, chief operating officer at AwesomenessTV, said the new imprint was designed to appeal to the “engaged fan base” of the company's series. “Teen lit is a huge category. With Awesomeness Ink we are creating a platform for creators focused on the written word, in the same way we have served video creators with the AwesomenessTV.”
