Following the successful August 2018 launch of the Guidebook Series franchise with Book 1:Phases of the Moon, which sold out its first printing, Folktellers has partnered with Ahmet Zappa to further develop the evolving brand. The formal partnership between these two parties brings together an international team of experts to build a franchise that truly leverages the power of storytelling across a broad entertainment platform.
Phases of the Moon is the first outing from the evolving Guidebook Series which was originally founded by Josef Bastian and Carl Winans (Folktellers) nearly a decade ago. The goal is to provide a forum for “folktellers” to create storytelling experiences across a variety of traditional and digital mediums. Since its release, Phases of the Moon has been named as a finalist at the 2018 International Book Awards, a Mom’s Choice Gold Medal winner, and Bronze Medal winner at the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards.
Ahmet Zappa was brought into Folktellers by their newest partner Stephen Sadler, digital expert and entrepreneur. Ahmet will bring his expertise in family programming, and his role will be to continue to further develop the distribution of the Guidebook Series, while also working to build its outreach.
Sadler stated, “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ahmet for almost a decade. He’s not only a creative genius–he’s an awesome human being. I also have the same feeling towards Josef Bastian, the creator of Folktellers. So I feel very blessed to be able to bring these two amazing talents together. I’m extremely excited to see what lies in the future.”
“To me the world of Folktellers is an incredibly exciting sandbox to get to play around in” Ahmet says. “The opportunity to creatively work with Josef and the team to expand upon this already rich universe of dynamic stories is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Together we’re going to do great things and it’s my mission to help spread the good word about this epic franchise.”
Winans noted, “With the rise of transmedia storytelling, people can immerse themselves in our Guidebook Series adventures. We‘re right on the edge of something revolutionary, and now, with the addition of Ahmet, we have the key players to launch our global entertainment platform.”