JJ Abrams Turns Author Sort Of

As is usual with anything Abrams related, the project seems shrouded in mystery

As The Guardian reported yesterday, “A series of phone calls announce the imminent arrival of an untitled manuscript to several unsuspecting publishers; a book arrives, but with different words deleted in each copy; no one else has any idea about the contents aside from rumours of a reclusive novelist, a love story and a high-concept notion about changing the way we think about books for ever . . . News that JJ Abrams will have a book out next year was delivered in a way that wouldn't feel out of place in one of his TV shows or films: part corporate espionage; part copyright paranoia; total entertainment.”

Apparently, Abrams has written the whole thing himself; he’s credited with having “created” it, while novelist Doug Dorst ( Alive In Necropolis ) is involved to some degree (we looked him up on Wikipedia and found no entry, initially leading us to believe he too may have been “created” by Abrams, but his books are available on Amazon so he seems kosher).

“Doug is a genius,” says Abrams. “I could not be more excited to collaborate with him on this completely original project. ”

Apparently his UK publisher promises that Abrams will, “reinvent the reading experience”, while his US publisher reckons he will, “explode the bonds of the novel in ways no book has ever done”. Maybe it’s a pop-up book?