Voyagers, coming soon to the people of Earth

New York, NY (September 9, 2014)—Random House Children’s Books will launch a multi-platform six-part book series and gaming experience beginning in 2015, written by six bestselling authors, it was announced today by Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children’s Books and Susan Bonds, CEO and Co-Founder, of 42 Entertainment and their new venture, Animal Repair Shop. Mallory Loehr, VP and Publishing Director, acquired rights for Random House from Patrick Carman and Michelle H. Nagler, Associate Publishing Director, will edit the series.

The six-book series will be published on an accelerated schedule over twelve months. The first book in the series, Project Alpha by D.J. MacHale, will release on July 7, 2015, with the second and third books to follow in September and November 2015.

The VOYAGERS books will be written by six authors with more than 10 million books sold among them: D.J. MacHale (Book 1: Project Alpha, On sale 7/7 2015), Robin Wasserman (Book 2, On sale 9/1/2015), Patrick Carman (Book 3, On sale 11/3/2015), Kekla Magoon (On sale March 2016), Jeanne DuPrau (On sale May 2016) and Wendy Mass (On sale July 2016).

“This is a one-of-a-kind project for Random House Children’s Books, and to bring it to market with Susan Bonds and her team couldn’t be more perfect,” says Marcus. “We searched for a team of authors and partners who could create an engaging series for young readers that would be both educational and completely entertaining in print and digitally. We believe we have such a series in Voyagers.”

Each of the six books follows a mission to find one of six secret and essential elements that, when properly combined, will create a new power source to save the planet. The elements are scattered throughout the galaxy across mysterious planets and only a spaceship piloted by children can reach them and return to Earth safely. VOYAGERS was developed by multimedia pioneer Patrick Carman, who broke new ground with Skeleton Creek, a popular hybrid of books and videos. Carman was one of the initial wave of authors writing for the 39 Clues series, and has sold more than four million books in 23 countries.

As adventurous young heroes journey into outer space on a mission to save Earth, readers will join the VOYAGERS crew and become part of the narrative via their mobile devices. The online experience of VOYAGERS will launch concurrently with the book series. Codes and clues hidden throughout the books will unlock games, puzzles and videos, and new story threads online. The digital universe of VOYAGERS is being built and rolled out by Animal Repair Shop, a new venture from the award-winning, alternate-reality creators at 42 Entertainment.

“We developed the immersive online experience for VOYAGERS with the goal of extending the adventure beyond the page for readers, so they are not just following the narrative—they become part of the story,” says Bonds.

“The VOYAGERS author team is absolutely incredible, with each one bringing a unique strength to the series, together offering kids all the very best elements of sci-fi, mystery, and action-adventure”, says Nagler. “The books and digital experience are so seamlessly integrated, we know gamers and readers alike will be immediately drawn in to both, and won’t have to wait more than just a few months to get their hands on the next installment.”