Book Hype Episode #146: Serial Box Interview with Julian Yap

Book Hype hosts Karen and Kristen welcome Julian Yap to discuss all things Serial Box!

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What we’re reading: The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert Flow and Grip by Kennedy Ryan Play On by Samantha Young Post Captain by Patrick O’Brian Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Serial Box and how it works: -Julian is the co-founder, and works every day as the logistical and scheduling guru. -Serial Box wants to be TV for books: Short, weekly episodes of a story, with each ‘episode’ being a contained story that contributes to the greater arc of the tale. -Serial Box has writer’s rooms just like TV. -The writer’s rooms give the writers a place to bounce ideas, speeding up the process quite a bit. -They definitely wouldn’t turn down a future adaptation of their work. -You can read and listen cohesively, and can switch back and forth seamlessly between the two, which is so great. -Diversity is very important to Serial Box, and that is reflected in both the stories themselves and the people behind the scenes.

Upcoming releases: –Tremontaine season 3 premieres October 11, and is described as Three Musketeers meets House of Cards, and is led by Ellen Kushner. –Remade season 2 premieres November 15, is a lot like Lost, but is all teenagers who wake up in a post-apocalyptic world. -They are releasing the first season in podcast form so you can get caught up.

2018 and beyond:False Idols tells the tale of someone who goes around the world recovering ancient artifacts with a fantasy twist thrown in. –Born to the Blade is an upcoming epic fantasy serial. -Lots of content in 2018, including some hush-hush, very special projects. -Dream projects include a Veronica Mars-esque show, and maybe to be a platform for cancelled TV shows to continue their stories. -Maybe a Neil Gaiman story, more fantasy, and working with beloved authors to craft stories in a different way.

Bookburners: –Bookburners tells the story of a team from the Vatican that goes around the world saving people from dangerous books that contain demons or monsters and store them in the Vatican vault for banned books. -Season 3 brings together some threads from the first two seasons. It’s all very exciting! -As the first project, this one holds a special place in Julian’s heart and was the learning curve for this new platform they were creating.

Check out Serialbox.com, where you can read all the pilots for their current projects and learn more about what they have to offer.