A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in fulfilment of the requirements for
the degree of Professional Doctorate in Journalism, Media, Television and CinemaThe focus of this thesis is on analysing the affordances of new technologies of the book. It looks at
the transition between the affordances of the material book and the digital, focusing on the formal
aspects of the book and its digital production and consumption. The research uses a coreperiphery
model to locate innovation, looking first at a range of practices and then at selected
producers and artefacts to identify relevant uses of the affordances of digital media, namely
participation, co-creation, online reading communities, and the potential for cross-media extension
of stories into other forms. The analyses of selected digital artefacts evaluate their strengths and
weaknesses and ask: how have the affordances of the digital medium been used? What do these
affordances offer to producers and consumers? And how have certain affordances changed the
use value, the pleasures and the suitability of texts for their intended functions? This evaluation
takes into account professional publishing contexts and a range of practices, looking at the ways in
which producers make, classify and present their works. Affordances theory is used throughout,
and ultimately shows that good design practices reinvent the medium, push the boundaries of the
book, whilst considering the habits, needs and expectations of readers/users. A practice-led project
is subject to analysis and reflection on practice in order to draw further insights and recommend
approaches and tools for designers, publishers and other producers. This project experimented
with reader engagement and co-creation to adapt the Nature Mage fantasy book series (Duncan
Pile, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016) onto enhanced digital book and digital game texts. Media-specificity
is used as a framework to look at the ways in which stories can be translated and expanded onto
new forms that explore the affordances of digital media. The adaptations are located at the
intersection of media, shaped by a range of intertexts from both analogue and digital media, and
offering not simply another way of enjoying the narrative but texts that explore the digital
affordances also to design features that relate to ludic, creative and social motivations and
pleasures. Ultimately the thesis revisits the very definition of the book, its functions, its value and
the ways in which emerging digital artefacts are doing the work of books and — thanks to new
affordances and their hybrid nature — are not only changing the experience of reading, but also
mixing it with the work of other media forms and genres. In doing so, this thesis contributes to
furthering professional practice by highlighting a range of uses of the affordances of the digital
medium to reinvent the book in the next chapter of its evolution
