Literature | InterStory

Literature

explore the many forms of interactive literature as well as unique traditional works that have reshaped the definition of literature as we know it.

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Books with Unique Narratives

Before authors could play with the possibilities offered by technology, they were already pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling.

Browse Examples

Books With Unique Narratives

Books pushing the boundaries of passive storytelling

Clélie Histoire Romaine (1654-1660, Madeleine de Scudéry)

The Life And Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman (1759, Laurence Stern)

Jacques (1796, Denis Diderot)

The Moonlit Road (1907, Ambrose Bierce)

Ulysses (1922, James Joyce)

In A Grove (1922, Ryunosuke Akutagawa)

The Waste Land (1922, T.S. Eliot)

The Roman Hat Mystery (1929, Ellery Queen)

Nadja (1928, Andre Breton)

An Examination of the Work of Herbert Quain (1941, Jorge Luis Borges)

In Dreams Begin Responsibilities (1937, Delmore Schwartz)

Finnegan's Wake (1939, James Joyce)

The Garden of Forking Paths (1941, Jorge Luis Borges

The Crime Dossiers (1936-1939, Dennis Wheatley, J.G. Links)

A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems (1961, Raymond Queneau)

My Own Mag (1960-1967, Jeff Nuttall)

Jackdaw Publications (1963, John Langdon Davis)

Europe After The Rain (1965, Alan Burns)

The Magus (1965, John Bowles)

Minutes to Go (1968, William S.Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Gregory Corso, Sinclair Beiles)

The Unfortunates (1969, B.S. Johnson)

The Third Mind (1977, William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin)

The Castle of Crossed Destinies (1977, Italo Calvino)

If On a Winter's Night A Traveller (1979, Italo Calvino)

Dictionary of the Khazars (1984, Milorad Pavic)

Interactive Books

Books requiring the reader to interact in order to experience the full story.

The Roman Hat Mystery (1929, Ellery Queen)

The Crime Dossiers (1936-1939, Dennis Wheatley, J.G. Links)

A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems (1961, Raymond Queneau)

TheUnfortunates (1969, B.S. Johnson)

Jackdaw Publications (1963, John Langdon Davis)

The Magus ( 1965, John Bowles)

The Castle of Crossed Destinies (1977, Italo Calvino)

Watchmen (1986-1987, Alan Moore)

House of Leaves (2000, Marc Z.Danielewski)

Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud (2005, Jonathan Safra Foer)

The Raw Shark Texts (2007, Steven Hall)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007, Brian Selznick)

Wonderstruck (2011, Brian Selznick)

Building Stories (2012, Chris Ware)

I have blinded myself writing this (2012, Jess Stoner)

Jamie's Got a Gun (2014, Gail Sidonie Sobat)

If (2014, Nicholas Bourbaki)

TutorText (1958-1972)

Un Conte à votre façon (1967, Raymond Queneau)

Choose Your Own Adventure (1979-1998, Bantam Books)

Cathy's book (2006, Jean Stewart & Jordan Weisman)

Gamebooks

A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices.

Consider The Consequences! (1930, Doris Webster & Mary Alden Hopkins)

Treasure Hunt (1945, Alan George & Susan French)

Choose Your Own Adventure Books (1979-1998, Bantam Books))

Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography (2014, Neil Patrick Harris & David Javerbaum)

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! (1983-1985, Steve Jackson)

Visual Novels

Interactive genre featuring text-based stories and interactivity aided by static or sprite-based visuals.

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games (2009, Kotaro Uchikosi)

Hatoful Boyfriend (2011, Hato Moa & Mediatonic &The Irregular Corporation)

After the Storm (2015, Andrew Beck Grace)

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March of The Dinosaurs (2011, Touch Press Inc)

The Yawhg (2013, Damian Sommer & Emily Carroll)

Moi J'attends (2013, Claire Sichez)

Clannad (2014, Key & Visual Arts & Prototype & Key Game)

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The Sensational December Machine (2014, Simogo)

Think Like Churchill (2015, Touch Press Inc)

Steins; Gate (2016, Spike Chunsoft Co)

Mystic Messenger (2016, Cheritz)

VA-11 HALL-A (2016, Christopher Ortiz)

The Boat (2016, Matt Huynh & Nam Le)

ETE (2017, Arte + Bigger than Fiction)

Doki Doki Literature Club (2017, Team Salvato)

Hannah The Red (2018, Phone Stories)

The Average Everyday Adventures of Samantha Browne (2016, The Lemonsucker Games)

Simulacra (2017, Kaigan Games OU)

Panama Al Brown (2018, Camille Duvelleroy)

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Monster Prom (2018, Beautiful Glitch)

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Arcade Spirits (2019, Fiction Factory Games)

Interactive Fiction (IF)

Interactive fiction, often abbreviated to IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment.

Colossal Cave Adventure (1975-77, William Crowther & Don Woods))

Zork (1977. Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels & Dave Lebling)

Portal (1986, Activision)

Afternoon, A Story (1987, MichaelJoyce)

Victory Garden (1992, Stuart Moulthrop)

Patchwork Girl (1995, Shelley Jackson)

Blue Lacuna (2009, Aaron A. Reed)

Choice Texas (2014, Carly A. Kocurek & Allyson Whipple)

Depression Quest (2013, Zoe Quest)

L'infiltré (2018, David Dufresne)

The Kingdom of Istyald (2020,

The Moral of The Story (2019, Arte)

Hollywood Visionary (2015, Aaron A. Reed)

Choice of the Deathless (2013, Max Gladstone)