Sourcebooks Announces The Shakesperience: Multi-Touch Interactive Editions

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - Oct 4, 2012) - Sourcebooks, a leading independent publisher, announces the immediate availability of The Shakesperience. Harnessing the dynamic features of Apple's authoring tool, iBooks Author, Sourcebooks has created remarkably interactive books that bring Shakespeare's plays to life in unexpected and exciting new ways.

These incredible interactive editions transport readers from the page to the stage, using the power of performance to help you truly experience Shakespeare. Each title is presented in a way that is both interesting, engaging, and a delight to explore.

The Shakesperience is launching on the iBookstore with three complete plays: Othello, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. Each play combines a multi-touch user experience with a fully integrated at-your-fingertips glossary, allowing readers to experience the text and immediately dig deeper into Shakespeare's complex language. Every title includes audio and video of legendary performances, photos of actors on stage and on screen, and beautiful illustrations of set renderings and costume designs, all of which help to bring the plays to life.

Becoming comfortable with Shakespeare's language can be a difficult experience for students. The Shakesperience is designed to help any reader get into the language faster and more easily, and create a more immediate and enjoyable Shakespeare experience. By swiping or tapping, readers are able to move through the story as their curiosity dictates.

Features include:
• A complete glossary with explanations embedded, which allows for immediate translation of words into contemporary English (for example, Othello has over 1,400 embedded terms).
• Scene-setting audio introductions by award-winning actor Sir Derek Jacobi.
• Legendary performances integrated and embedded alongside the text. Hear some of the best Shakespeare performances from around the world, including Dame Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Orson Welles, Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, and Paul Robeson.
• Multiple audio and visual performances of particular scenes, allowing readers to experience the differences produced in various approaches to Shakespeare's language.
• Rare, private recordings by Edwin Booth, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and others.
• Spectacular image galleries with photographs, production notes, set renderings, and costume design that help the play burst off the page.
• A Voice Coach's Perspective on Speaking Shakespeare by Andrew Wade, former voice coach to the Royal Shakespeare Company
• A view from the director's chair including interviews with a full cast of actors on how they approached their roles, and much more.

Dominique Raccah, CEO and Publisher, Sourcebooks says, "We've taken what has traditionally been a difficult and generic experience and provided the opportunity for more engaged and lively learning. Experts will love it, but what we're most excited about is the impact it will have on educators and students."

The Shakesperience titles are available worldwide exclusively on the iBookstore: iTunes.com/iBookstore.

Source: Press Release