By Lauren Barack March 22, 2011

For tweens drawn toward the darker corners of literature, author Patrick Carman has crafted a multimedia storyline sure to entice them.

Entitled 3:15, Carman’s latest foray into storytelling involves downloadable apps for Android and Apple devices, which offer a hybrid of text, audio, and video.

The title, 3:15, alludes to three ways students can experience the story, by listening to a narrator, reading about 2,000 words of text, and watching a short video conclusion. Then there’s the time needed to finish an entire piece—a scant 15 minutes. So librarians and teachers looking for new ways to lure reluctant readers just may find 3:15 to be a killer app.

“I do think this is just an extension of trying to find ways to reach kids who aren’t reading,” says the author of the Skeleton Creek saga (Scholastic, 2009). “The reason they’re not reading often is they’re online and also watching television. And I’m trying to find a way to get reading into that top five.”

As the father of two teenage girls, Carman knows first hand the growing prevalence of digital media in kids’ lives. His new launch is a way to leverage that technology to the advantage of educators, publishers, and writers.

“This is a renaissance in reading when we as writers and publishers think about the experience of reading a book a little bit differently,” he says. “I always loved short stories, and am a big fan of Edgar Allen Poe, but those may be a little out of vogue for a fifth grader. But we can reinvent the short story and give it to [students] in a way they’re much more likely to consume.”

Carman fleshed out nine stories for the inaugural season of 3:15, with the first story, Buried Treasure, now live. Students can download the app and the first piece for free, with additional stories ringing up at $.99, including the second tale, Reflecting Pool, launching March 29. Scholastic is releasing the first season in book format by Halloween.

As with other Carman projects, 3:15 offers secret clues inside the stories, which then unlock additional content on the website-a formula that’s proven popular with tween and teen readers. Fans can also follow along via Facebook and Twitter.

“I don’t think all books should be like this,” he says. “But I’m trying to keep up with where kids are going. They’re moving in a certain direction, and I think we need to stay relevant.”

Read the rest here – School Library Journal

This week—quite fittingly on March 15—novelist Patrick Carman debuted “3:15,” an app for Android and iPhone that introduces nine spooky stories and involves listening to an audio introduction, reading a text story, and watching its conclusion on video—the three components represented in the app’s title. The title’s reference to 15 indicates the approximate number of minutes it will take kids to listen to, read, and watch each story.

The first episode, Buried Treasure, is currently available for download and the second, Reflecting Pool, will be released on March 29. The subsequent stories will become available at two-week intervals, with the final installment releasing on July 5. The inaugural story can be downloaded for free, and the others carry a $.99 charge. Additional information is available on the project’s Web site.

In September, Scholastic Press will publish 3:15, a hardcover collection of all nine stories, plus a new Skeleton Creek short story based on that series by Carman. This story will contain clues to the Skeleton Creek narrator’s identity and back story, and will be told in the same three-part format as the other “3:15” tales. The book will have a tie-in Web site housing the stories’ video conclusions, which readers can unlock using passwords found at the end of each story

It’s a cold, rainy day in New York, and for frequent guest blogger Lauren Felsenstein, that’s the best time to curl up with a good book—or a scary story! Lucky for her (and all of you), Patrick Carman, author of the spooky interactive series Skeleton Creek (for ages 9-12) just released a brand new project called 3:15, and it’s putting a whole new twist on storytelling. Lauren got to talk with Nick Eliopulis, one of the amazing editors at Scholastic Press, and asked him to stop by OOM to introduce you to the fantastically creepy and fun 3:15. Take it away, Nick!

I always loved a good scare as a kid. And although Bloody Mary never appeared in the mirror no matter HOW many times I said her name, and even though the scritch-scratching at the back door wasn’t ever anything bigger than a possum, I’ve never completely given up on the idea that there are Things That Go Bump in the Night . . . and maybe, just maybe, those Things are coming for me.

I’m not sure if that makes me the best editor for 3:15, a series of short, spooky stories. I mean, it’s difficult to edit when you keep looking over your shoulder. But the kid in me is having a blast.

3:15 is the new series that invites you – or dares you, really – to listen to, read, and watch a chilling tale in 15 minutes or less. That’s right – reading is only part of the 3:15 experience. These are multimedia short stories crafted with your mobile device in mind. Check out the video trailer here!

Taking inspiration from urban legends, creature features, and campfire ghost stories, each episode begins with an audio introduction from our host, Paul Chandler. (And what’s the deal with that guy, anyway? Hm.) When you listen to the audio intro, you unlock the text. And the text tells the bulk of the story . . . until a cliffhanger that leads directly into a cinematic video conclusion.

Audio, text, video. It’s an entirely different way to experience a short story.

But what else would you expect from Patrick Carman? Aside from being an enormously talented writer, Pat is probably the most innovative guy in the business. Don’t take my word for it – see for yourself! Click here to download the app and check out the first story, Buried Treasure. (The first one’s free!)

And just for our OOM readers, we also have an exclusive excerpt below from 3:15’s second story Reflecting Pool, which will be available through the app on March 22nd. Read on!

Patrick Carman’s production company PC Studio is hard at work on two storytelling experiences conceived with the mobile phone in mind. 3:15 Stories and Dark Eden approach the serialized short story from slightly different directions, taking the mobile reading experience in directions e-book readers will be hard-pressed to follow.

By Michael Andersen, originally posted at ARGNet

Books as a form of entertainment are facing stiff competition from an increasing array of options. Patrick Carman, author and head of PC Studio, views this as particularly true with the younger generation, where mobile devices provide constant access to alternative content. As he explains, “if you’re 12 … and you don’t have an iPod Touch [or mobile device], somebody standing two people to your left does.” Responding to this shift in the consumption experience, Carman has two apps in development that aim to create a reading experience with the mobile environment in mind.

Books have been migrating to mobile devices for some time now, but traditionally, the pulp edition is imagined (and released) first. Carman’s thinking, however, is that “books have so much to compete with, that trying to stand out as a book, it’s almost better to blend in. [Young readers] are already doing all of these things anyway, so let’s see if we can get a way to have them also reading as part of everything they’re doing, as opposed to just putting it all away and pulling out a book.” What follows is a preview of two projects Carman is using to explore this blended approach to reading: 3:15 Stories and Dark Eden.

Download 3:15 for iPod Touch and iPhone
Download 3:15 for Android Devices

Read the rest here – www.wired.com

Issue: March 15, 2011

Four exceptionally tech-savvy kids are recruited by the government to guard against the mysterious archcriminal Shantorian. As with the first book, the story is told through a series of interrogations of the tracker Adam Henderson by an agent who is assigned to break him. Things aren’t always what they seem, though, as we learn that one tracker may be a mole. Readers are invited to crack codes, look for clues, and watch videos on their computers. (The same information is also found in an appendix.) It is almost impossible not to be caught up in this unconventional series and its many twists and touches of humor.

— Todd Morning

Watch the Trackers Trailer