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YouTube's Dan the Diamond Minecart inks book deal
Trapeze is publishing a debut graphic novel by YouTuber Dan The Diamond Minecart.
The graphic novel, named Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal, will be published in hardback on 6th October 2016, priced £14.99.
Anna Valentine, publisher at Trapeze, bought world rights in a two-way auction from Liam Chivers at OP Talent Limited. US rights have been sold to David Linker, executive editor, HarperCollins US.
Dan The Diamond Minecart, real name Daniel Middleton, is known for his videos in which he plays Minecraft and other games that have earned him over 10m YouTube subscribers. His YouTube channel, DanTDM, is the most-watched in the world over the past six months, according to Orion, averaging almost 400m views per month, beating both Taylor Swift and PewDiePie. Last month the channel received 17m views in a day and his Jurassic World Minecraft video, approved by Stephen Spielberg, has been watched over 13m times.
The graphic novel will feature all of DanTDM’s best-loved characters as DanTDM and Dr Trayaurus race against time to prevent their archenemy Denton from gaining possession of an enchanted crystal that has the power to wipe out humanity. Orion promises it will be "a gripping and brilliantly executed graphic novel that both fans of DanTDM and the genre alike will love".
Valentine said: "To work with DanTDM is an utter coup for Trapeze. While he has a platform that rivals the biggest social media stars in the world, he is so much more than that. He is a brilliant and creative storyteller; the characters he’s created within his videos have reach far beyond Minecraft, and I’m thrilled to be working with Dan on bringing them to life on the page. This is the start of a long and exciting journey for him as an author."
Middleton, the book's 24-year-old author, added: "I am so excited to finally be able to take the characters I have created and evolved in my videos on new adventures in my first book. To see them brought to life outside of the gaming world is really exciting for me and I hope equally so for my followers. Writing this book not only gives me a new way to tell stories to fans, but a new way to meet them via book tours and signing sessions."
