Ex-‘World’s Youngest Author’ Publishes Second Novel, eBook

In December 1995, Marcus Gibson’s literary thriller ‘D’ was published by HarperCollins Publishers 3 weeks after his 22nd birthday, breaking the standing Guinness World Record for the world's 'youngest novelist writing adult-themed work' by 2 years. The record was held at that time by Jennifer DiMarco, whose book ‘Escape the Wind’ was published two years prior, at age 24.

“I received the Guinness paperwork”, explains Gibson. “But decided not to fill it in. I wanted my work read in the same way as any other adult novelist.”

Now, sixteen years later, Gibson has published his second novel ‘The Dead See’ as an ebook, on the iTunes iBookstore, Amazon Kindle, and Barnes & Noble NOOK books.

“The ‘tree book’ is dead,” adds Gibson. “I’ve been dealing with publishers and agents for seventeen years. With ebooks I have more control over the work, the audience is global, it’s faster to market, more economical for readers, has significant environmental benefits, and it’s a fundamentally more efficient operational model. The old way of doing things is also inherently inequitable for authors, readers, and the planet. And inequitable systems always eventually fail.”

In ‘The Dead See’, the main character seeks to end terrorism by ending religion, after he stumbles on a 5000-year-old secret that connects the religions of 3 billion Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and Muslims. The novel is based on discoveries made by the author while attending Baptist seminary, at age 17. The novel ventures deep into the origins of monotheism, and the conflicts that still plague the modern world.

“I completed the manuscript in 2001,” says Gibson. “However, the novel featured acts of terrorism by Osama Bin Laden. Within weeks of circulating the manuscript, Al Qaeda launched coordinated attacks in New York City and the Washington D.C. area. If ebooks had been available in 2001, this novel would have been released on September 10.

"It would have been profoundly insensitive to publish ‘The Dead See’ in the aftermath of such a dreadful loss of life," adds Gibson. "Now, ten years have passed, and I believe more than ever this is a story that needs to be told.”

Marcus Gibson is now 37 years of age and lives in Melbourne, Australia. His professional career has spanned construction worker, script editor, presenter, corporate spokesperson, producer, software developer, business analyst, knowledge manager, sustainability advisor, and environmental manager in a range of sectors including IT, pharmaceuticals, property and finance, civil engineering, and construction. He is a member of the high IQ society Mensa.

Gibson’s third novel ‘The Peace Bomb’ is scheduled for ebook release in late 2011.