Debuting with 25 multi-dimensional stories, the company’s innovative new app empowers creators, offering a diverse array of immersive experiences that push the boundaries of digital storytelling.
Murderous cows, love-sick partisans, and an intergalactic Red Riding Hood. These are just three of the 25 groundbreaking, multi-dimensional stories kickstarting Storiaverse’s new “Read-Watch” app, which combines reading, animation, and audio for an immersive, multi-sensory experience for adults brought up during the age of digital technology.
The app, now available for iOS and Android, is the first of its kind.
“The popularity of graphic novels and shows like Love, Death + Robots demonstrate the changing creative landscape and increasing demand for animation among digital natives in adulthood,” says Agnes Kozera, Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer of Storiaverse. “We are thrilled to merge animation with exceptional writing to allow writers and animators to unleash their creativity beyond the usual boundaries of storytelling solely for younger audiences in traditional formats.”
The short stories were created by independent animators and writers from around the world –South Africa, Iran, Japan, the UK and all across Europe – all with different backgrounds, including Army veterans and 6th generation circus performers.
“Technological advancements in animation have leveled the playing field, enabling individual animators to produce content of a quality that was once the exclusive domain of major studios like Pixar, DreamWorks, and various gaming companies,” notes Kozera. “Every story is meant to be a unique showcase of distinct voices and visual styles, steering clear of ‘cookie-cutter’ content.”
Currently, the animations range from 2D, 3D and a combination of both, to hand-drawn, anime, and more. Featured stories include gritty cowboy dramas like The End of the West, where ranchers wake up to find that all the town’s cattle have turned into mad hunters (written by award-winning novelist Maxim Loskutoff and animated by Shahab Serwaty); fantasy stories like The Kelpie, which narrates a young witch’s courage, transformation, and magic, written by Scotsman Lindz McLeod and animated by Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’s Jonathan Fontaine); and wild science fiction like A Last Taste, about the space heist of a lifetime (written by novelist Lyndsay Ely and animated by Warner Bros. and Sony veteran Michael Winn).
The stories present elaborately animated sequences that transition into written text and audio. In addition to the 25 animated short stories available on launch day, there are more than 100 stories from different animators in production, which Storiaverse will launch on a weekly basis.
Storiaverse also collaborated with the creative minds at leading book publisher HarperCollins Publishers, merging the worlds of literature and digital storytelling.
“The evolving media landscape is also witnessing a growing popularity of graphic novels,” says Kozera. “And the #BookTok phenomenon on TikTok has motivated young people to read more.”
BookTok is a subcommunity on the app TikTok that focuses on books and literature. Creators make videos reviewing, discussing, and joking about the books they read. TikTok’s massive influence on how and why readers and animation fans absorb certain content naturally led Storiaverse heads to seek partnerships with those in the eye of the storm.
And TikTok creator King Science, with 13 million followers, was more than willing to join forces.
“As an independent animator, I'm eager to captivate audiences in new ways and explore creating longer-form animation content that gets into the heart of storytelling,” said Science Akbar, the animator known as King Science. “Storiaverse offers that opportunity. It has been so fun to write and animate my own story for the unique read-watch format and I can’t wait for my fans to dive into this immersive experience. What truly resonates with me is the platform's visionary outlook and the team's commendable track record of championing independent creators. I think Storiaverse will make a positive impact on the animation community and give fans a totally new way to experience storytelling.”
King Science’s animation will feature the famous cartoon version of himself in an exclusive Storiaverse story launching soon. Authored and animated by the creator himself, the read-watch story extends his beloved character’s adventures into a longer, more immersive format. Storiaverse plans to further diversify its content library through more partnerships of this kind, keeping independent creatives in the driver’s seats of these stories.
“Storiaverse’s mission is to help the diverse community of writers and animators make a living while entertaining fans with engaging and rewarding content on their phones,” said David Kierzkowski, Co-Founder and CEO of Storiaverse. “While we’re launching with various genres with dedicated fandoms, the read-watch format we’ve created opens the door to interactive content across all topics from fiction to nonfiction, whether we’re bringing existing IP to life in a more visual way or unveiling original stories that have never been seen before.”
Kierzkowski and Kozera have a collective decade-long track record of empowering content creators. They first rose to success when they co-founded FameBit, the first and largest marketplace connecting YouTubers and advertisers for branded content, which Google acquired in 2016. Most recently, they created Podcorn, the leading podcast influencer marketing platform, which was acquired by Audacy, America’s second-largest radio company. Storiaverse has raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding led by 500 Global, which was also an early investor in the co-founders’ previous companies.
With Storiaverse, each animation artist has the creative freedom to interpret and animate stories in their distinctive style, and writers can submit their unpublished stories for consideration or collaborate with Storiaverse on entirely new, original narratives.
Once a story is selected, Storiaverse pairs the author with an animator from its network to create detailed storyboards, immersive environments, and dynamic characters, and bring the narrative to life.
Writers can submit stories at Storiaverse.com/for-writers and animators can apply at Storiaverse.com/for-animators.
To learn more and download the app, visit Storiaverse.com.
“We're thrilled to redefine storytelling and transcend traditional formats into an innovative offering that caters to both readers and viewers,” shares Kozera. “We hope that read-watching will not only expand the ways in which stories can be told and experienced, but also deepen the engagement and connection audiences feel with each narrative.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
