Pixel Scroll (9/25/26): Chooseco’s adult CYOA imprint and a possible return of a manuscript thief

Chooseco, the publisher known for the Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks, announced a new adult imprint called CYOA Unbound. The imprint will bring the interactive, nonlinear format more commonly used in middle grade titles to adult fiction. Chooseco says the new list will span genres including reimagined classics, horror, mysteries, thrillers, and romance.

The announced launch titles set the tone for the imprint. The first release will be an interactive retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by C. Davitt Bell, scheduled for paperback publication in July 2027. The second title will be Culty by Fancy Feast, planned for September 2027 and described by the publisher as blending The White Lotus with Sex and the City. Chooseco says both books will use the same interactive structure as its younger-reader offerings but with adult narratives and themes.

Chooseco's marketing director Lizzi Middleman noted social media demand for adult CYOA titles, and the publisher intends to offer a variety of adult-targeted interactive novels going forward.

A separate long-form item in this Pixel Scroll summarizes reporting by The New York Times about renewed online skulduggery in the book world. The Times piece examines a series of impersonation emails and manuscript leaks that resemble the methods used by Filippo Bernardini, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for stealing unpublished manuscripts over several years.

Bernardini's 2022 arrest followed allegations that he created look-alike domains and impersonated publishing professionals to obtain manuscripts. He admitted to collecting stolen manuscripts rather than leaking them, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, and was deported and ordered to pay restitution. At sentencing, he wrote that he had learned his lesson.

The renewed activity has prompted concern in the publishing community because the impersonations are harder to detect and because leaked manuscripts can appear on small sites and blogs without clear provenance. The Times article recounts multiple incidents where recipients recognized the signature style of Bernardini's earlier scheme, including slightly altered email addresses that mimic legitimate domains.

Taken together, these items in the Pixel Scroll point to two trends relevant to readers and industry professionals: an expansion of interactive storytelling into adult market spaces, and ongoing security risks around unpublished work. Chooseco's imprint will make interactive adult fiction more visible in mainstream publishing, while the reported resurgence of manuscript-targeting scams highlights the need for vigilance when exchanging unpublished material.