51zPPmD0VjL

Fans of the world-building game Minecraft have a lot of goodies coming this year—a licensed series of books in the UK and toys from Jazwares. Minecraft continues its expansion beyond the digital world with Seven Stories Press’ English edition of Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus “Notch” Persson and the Game that Changed Everything by Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson. Jennifer Hawkins provides the English language translation. The novel releases November 5, and production of the film adaptation starts this year.

Freelance Swedish journalists Goldberg and Larsson tell the story of Notch’s rise to the cultural and gaming icon he is today through extensive research into Mojang and interviews with Notch. Seven Stories Press describes the book: “It is the story of unlikely success, fast money, and the power of digital technology to rattle an empire. And it is about creation, exclusion, and the feeling of not fitting in.” The authors plan to attend this year’s MineCon, the fourth annual convention dedicated to Minecraft.

Seven Stories is working directly with Mojang and the Minecraft community to include a full color photo section containing behind the scenes photos and top builder creations. For more information and suggestions on what to include, head over to the official Minecraft Facebook page.

The continued interest in Minecraft and its creators is not surprising considering Markus Persson and Jens Bergensten were recently named two of Time magazine’s 2013 list of the top 100 most influential people. Legendary developer Will Wright provides an excellent introduction to the pair, praising the game’s ability to foster creativity and learning among its community of players.

Seven Stories is taking pre-orders for the new novel at their website. As an added bonus, the first 300 people to pre-order will receive a signed edition of the book.

Sources: Seven Stories Press via Polygon; Time via Polygon