Introducing Anna James.

Ca-caw!

Andy of the Leask variety here to introduce this week’s guest, the most excellent Anna James!

Anna is, amongst many other things, a terrific author, best known for her Pages & Co series. Though suitable for (and aimed at) younger readers, they’re beloved by bookworms of all ages. Their central conceit is bookwandering, by which means characters can enter into the worlds of books, or bring characters forth into the real world. The first book features characters from Alice in Wonderland and Anne of Green Gables (amongst others), and the rest of the series expands to encompass The Wizard of Oz, Fairy Tales and many more.

It’s a great concept and one which would, I think, make for an excellent RPG!

So that’s the theme for our conversation with Anna: Worlds Within Worlds. We’ll discuss using worlds from other IPs within your own, the challenges and opportunities of this, and the ones that got away…which worlds would you bookwander into, if you could?

I first met Anna through my day job, when she visited our school, to talk to our (very excited) students about Pages and Co. We liked her so much, she’s become our Patron of Reading; she’s full of ideas and insights, as well as a passion for reading and literature (something you all know I share…). She’s also an excellent arts journalist, and has written some terrific reviews of immersive theatre for the Stage; there are some real RPG (or even LARP) vibes there, so lots to unpack.

I couldn’t be happier that Anna’s coming on to talk to me and my fellow Rooks, and I hope you can join us. As ever, you can presubmit your questions on our Discord server, or ask them live.

Either way, make sure to join us this Saturday on Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook, at 19:00 UK time this Saturday (that’s 14:00 Eastern / 11:00 Pacific). If you can't make the live show, you can still share your questions on Discord and then catch up later on YouTube. Indeed, all our past episodes are up there for your viewing pleasure, so check them out, give us a subscribe, and smash that bell for alerts.