The New York Public Library: Insta Novels
The New York Public Library tasked Mother New York with making classic literature relevant to a younger, mobile-first generation. Facing declining physical engagement and the perception of libraries as outdated, the goal was to increase digital membership and app downloads by meeting potential readers where they already spent their time - on social media - without the friction of traditional library cards.
Creative Idea
Turned Instagram Stories into a functional e-reader for classic novels using bespoke "thumb-flip" animations.
The NYPL transformed Instagram Stories into a digital bookshelf, redesigning classic literature with bespoke animations and a "thumb rest" interface to turn a platform built for fleeting distractions into a high-quality, long-form reading experience for a younger generation.
Hacking the Algorithm to Build a Digital Bookshelf
The Thumb Rest Interface
To transform a platform designed for fleeting attention into a long-form reading tool, Mother New York engineered a "thumb rest" icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. By holding their thumb on the screen, readers could keep the page still; lifting it triggered a "flip" to the next page. This mechanic included a hidden digital flip-book animation that played between frames. To ensure maximum legibility on mobile screens, the team selected Georgia, a serif font designed by Matthew Carter, and set it against a warm cream background to reduce eye strain.
High Art for Small Screens
The project relied on a roster of world-class illustrators to give each classic a distinct visual identity. Magoz handled the surrealism of *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland*, while Buck illustrated *The Yellow Wallpaper*. Other contributors included César Pelizer for *The Metamorphosis*, Studio Aka for *The Raven*, and Caitlin McCarthy for *A Christmas Carol*. Even the sound design for promotional assets was grounded in physical reality, using sampled sounds of real books - such as pages flipping and covers closing - to bridge the gap between paper and pixels.
Zero Budget and Massive Reach
Despite a $0 media budget, the campaign generated $7.1 million in earned media value. Within the first 24 hours, the NYPL gained 13,000 new followers, eventually growing their audience by over 130,000. The initiative proved to be a "gateway drug" for the library’s ecosystem, driving a significant spike in downloads for SimplyE, the NYPL’s e-reader app. While Stories typically vanish after 24 hours, the team used the Highlights feature to turn the library’s profile into a permanent, public digital archive.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A vast archive of public domain literary classics and a mission to promote reading in the digital age.
Category
Libraries typically rely on physical visits or clunky e-reader apps that feel like homework compared to social media.
Customer
Younger audiences who spend hours scrolling through ephemeral social content but feel disconnected from "intimidating" classic literature.
Culture
The rise of "Stories" as the dominant mobile format and the constant search for meaningful content amidst digital noise.
Company
A vast archive of public domain literary classics and a mission to promote reading in the digital age.
Category
Libraries typically rely on physical visits or clunky e-reader apps that feel like homework compared to social media.
Strategy:
Repurpose high-frequency digital habits into frictionless gateways for low-frequency, high-value cultural consumption.
Customer
Younger audiences who spend hours scrolling through ephemeral social content but feel disconnected from "intimidating" classic literature.
Culture
The rise of "Stories" as the dominant mobile format and the constant search for meaningful content amidst digital noise.
Strategy:
Repurpose high-frequency digital habits into frictionless gateways for low-frequency, high-value cultural consumption.
Results
The campaign achieved massive success with a $0 media budget, relying entirely on organic reach. Within the first 24 hours, the NYPL gained 13,000 new followers, eventually growing the audience by over 130,000 new followers. Over 300,000 people read the Insta Novels, with more than 40,000 readers completing *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland* in its entirety. The initiative generated $7.1 million in earned media value and was featured in major outlets like *The New York Times* and *The Wall Street Journal*. It also drove a significant spike in downloads for SimplyE, the NYPL’s free e-reader app. The campaign swept major awards, winning Gold and Silver Lions at Cannes, the Grand Clio in Design, 4 D&AD Pencils, and the inaugural Webby for Best Use of Stories.
$7.1M
Earned Media Value from $0 budget
300K+
Total readers of the digital novels
130K+
New Instagram followers gained
Strategy Technique
Build an Utility, Not an Ad
Instead of just telling people to read, the library built a bespoke reading interface within an existing app, providing a genuine service that lowered the barrier to accessing classic literature.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Hijack the Medium
It repurposed Instagram Stories - a format designed for ephemeral, short-form visual content - into a permanent, functional e-reader for full-length classic novels, turning a social distraction into a literary tool.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
Insta Novels is a masterclass in 'platform hacking,' repurposing ephemeral social media UI into a functional, high-quality long-form reading interface through bespoke UX and world-class illustration.
The engineering of the 'thumb rest' interface and the use of Instagram Highlights turned a fleeting platform into a permanent, functional digital bookshelf.
A roster of world-class artists like Magoz and Buck created distinct, surreal visual identities that modernized 19th-century classics for a younger audience.
The meticulous selection of the Georgia serif font and a warm cream background optimized the mobile experience for long-form legibility and reduced eye strain.
Promotional assets utilized organic foley sampled from real books, such as flipping pages and closing covers, to bridge the tactile and digital worlds.
The magic lies in the intersection of UX engineering and classical design; by 'hacking' the native behavior of Instagram Stories, the agency transformed a distraction-heavy app into a focused literary sanctuary.
