29 September 2011
Newsdesk
Chipmunk and Horrible Histories author, Terry Deary have launched a new novel written entirely on a Nokia E6 mobile phone to help encourage young people to get reading as recent figures show that one in three children do not own a book .
Entitled the “The Perfect Poison Pills Plot”, the story was penned by one of Britain's best-selling authors of the 21st century, Terry Deary and brilliantly narrated by Chipmunk in a special video available to view on bit.ly/NokiaShortStories
Recent figures from National Literacy Trust have shown the popularity of text messages compared to more traditional formats, and the story was launched to help encourage young people, who happily spend countless hours texting, to get back to reading in a fun way.
The Nokia short story is a black comedy aimed at young adults and was inspired by the popular Japanese ‘keitai’ or cell phone short stories, which are written on mobile phones and each chapter is only 70-100 words long. They can be sent direct to a mobile phone through text messages.
Terry Deary said: “Writing a novel directly onto a phone was an interesting way to work – it’s certainly not my usual method! But I found myself enjoying it; using stolen moments on the train or bus to add to the story of “The Perfect Poison Pills Plot”. It demonstrates just how easy it can be to have a creative outlet wherever you are, particularly for today’s young adults, who are so inherently familiar with technology.”
Rapper Chipmunk added: “I’m used to writing my own lyrics but it was great to be in front of the camera, speaking to kids who may not necessarily reach for a physical book to kick back to. Terry’s an inspiring man to work with and I hope together we can encourage more young people to read through “The Perfect Poison Pills Plot”.”
John Nichols, Marketing Director, Nokia UK, said: “We brought Chipmunk and Terry Deary together to launch “The Perfect Poison Pills Plot” to demonstrate how technology can fuel creativity in young people. Both artists engage young adults through their art, and we hope that combining their influence with the appetite for keitai will help make a difference. ”
Nokia is also encouraging budding writers to submit their own keitai short stories via bit.ly/NokiaShortStories for the chance to win a brand new Nokia QWERTY smartphone plus signed copies of Terry Deary’s book, Put Out the Light and Chipmunk’s latest album, Transition.
The Nokia E6 smartphone used to create “The Perfect Poison Pills Plot” is an ultra compact smartphone with an incredibly sharp full-touch display and a real QWERTY keyboard that's ideal for fast, one-handed typing.
