# Chain Novels Random House and Borders Release ‘AirBorne,' A Crowd-Sourced Thriller By Bianca | Published 2009-02-20 | Business Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/chain-novels-airborne References: [springwise](http://springwise.com/media_publishing/chainthriller/) & [borders.au](http://www.borders.com.au/chain-thriller/home.asp) Random House and Borders Australia are turning a new page in literary innovation with the introduction of what they’re calling the world’s first ‘chain novel.’ Based on a concept by [Pandora](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/online-distribution-centre) which used WEbook to create a [community-sourced thriller](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/talespinner), the chain novel will combine the stories of 28 contest winners to be part of a 30-chapter book, AirBorne, the first and last of which will be written by a 29th author, James Patterson. The concept is similar to the game many people played as children where you go around in a circle, taking turns creating the next sentence in a group story. To add to the novelty of AirBorne, the chain novel will be released one chapter at a time to keep readers in suspense. The first chapter will be released online on March 20. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 2.7/10 - Popularity: 19% | Activity: 53% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Business](https://www.trendhunter.com/business) > [New Ventures](https://www.trendhunter.com/newventures) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Chain Novels:** Opportunity for publishers to leverage community-sourced content and release content in an innovative way by releasing a chapter at a time. - **Crowd-sourcing Collaboration:** Opportunity for companies to collaborate with their audience and create innovative products through crowd-sourcing. - **Interactive Storytelling:** Opportunity for companies to engage their audience through interactive storytelling and keep them engaged through suspenseful releases. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Publishing:** Opportunity for publishers to leverage community-sourced content and release content in an innovative way by releasing a chapter at a time. - **Media and Entertainment:** Opportunity for media and entertainment companies to create innovative content that engages their audience through interactive storytelling and suspenseful releases. - **Technology:** Opportunity for technology companies to create platforms that enable crowd-sourced collaborative storytelling. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Thriller Novel Hotel Experiences](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tempo-by-hilton-times-square.md) - [Collaborative Storytelling Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/story-patch.md) - [Branded TikTok Book Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/booktok-book-club.md) - [Banned Books Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/banned-books.md) - [Interactive Fantasy Fiction Books](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/curious-readers.md) - [Communal Reading Events](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reading-rhythms.md) - [AI-Powered Choose-Your-Own Adventure Books](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/playbrary-gpt.md) - [Book-Themed Bar Concepts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/book-bar-toronto.md) - [Bingo-Style Reading Initiatives](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/indigos-2026-reading-challenge.md)