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YouTube star Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson is taking his talents to the literary world after announcing a collaboration with renowned American author James Patterson. The author has penned numerous best-selling novels in genres like thrillers, young adult fiction, and romance. Now, Patterson is entering the YouTube space with a gameshow-themed thriller story, a trope Donaldson is all too familiar with.
On May 5, 2025, the YouTuber shared a report from Complex on X and added a caption, expressing his excitement for the upcoming novel (which is currently untitled). The caption read:
"I’m excited to work with James Patterson, the GOAT of thrillers. We’ve been cooking a really unique story together, and I can’t wait to see your reactions!"
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He also added that breaking into a different realm, outside of content creation, has been a "fun" endeavor for him:
"It’s been fun to work on a different medium outside videos :D."
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, Patterson seemed equally as excited for the novel's release, expressing that the story was crafted after a discussion with MrBeast that lasted "several hours":
"I met Mr. Beast at his studio; we talked for several hours and settled on an idea we were incredibly excited to turn into a novel. I think it’s going to turn on readers all over the world."
What is MrBeast's novel with James Patterson about?
The novel, which is due for a 2026 release, draws comparisons to the Netflix hit show Squid Game as well as Donaldson's 2024 viral Amazon Prime gameshow, Beast Games. For those unaware, the latter involved a thousand participants battling it out for a $5 million prize.
The story of the upcoming thriller novel sees 100 contestants competing in a perilous global competition. This competition involves dangerous challenges in treacherous locations, with a $1 billion prize looming over the game's participants. Here's what the novel's synopsis says:
"100 contestants compete in an extreme global competition as they fight to not only survive dangerous tests held in treacherous locations around the world but also prove their leadership skills. During each of the tests, relationships will grow, betrayals will cut deep, and more and more contestants will be eliminated. Or die. In the end, the one and only winner will receive one billion dollars."
This draws parallels to MrBeast's elaborate, orchestrated, and high-stakes challenge videos, which are known to generally garner millions of views online.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, HarperCollins has secured the publishing rights for the new book and plans a global release in 15 languages. During the build-up to the release, the publisher classified the book as:
"A high-octane, pulse-pounding thriller."
After user @Globalstats11 commented on Donaldson's post with a few statistics backing up James Patterson's notoriety, MrBeast responded, saying that the author's willingness to collaborate on a novel came as a shock to him:
"Yup, lowkey surprised he was down to work with me lol."
In other news, MrBeast recently joked that he might inherit X after Elon Musk expressed interest in the 100 men vs gorilla battle.
