Canada House in London, UK, was the setting for a panel discussion and book signing by Jeff Norton (center) and fellow Canadian author Moira Young in late November. Martin Chilton (right), culture editor of The Telegraph newspaper, hosted.

It’s an unorthodox use for a Commerce degree, but ’97 graduate Jeff Norton has drawn on his QSB experience to create a fictional, futuristic world in his new young adult novel, MetaWars (from the UK publishers of the megapopular Twilight saga). “Constructing a convincing future started with extrapolating today’s economic trends,” explains Jeff, now based in London, UK, founder of Awesome Media and Entertainment Ltd., a creative incubator he launched in 2010. “In MetaWars, today’s tech wars have escalated into an all-out battle for control over a future internet, a global online virtual world called ‘The Metasphere.’ The underlying premise is that in a future world where oil supply has peaked, whoever controls the web controls the world.” While economics may underpin the narrative, Jeff insists that “at its heart, MetaWars is a coming-of-age story about self-discovery, about two young people growing up and discovering the complex wider world—not unlike the Queen’s student experience!” he laughs. Described by reviewers as “The Hunger Games meets The Matrix”—a pretty good formula for attracting teen readers back to books, MetaWars has already been launched in the UK and Australia by the Hachette Book Group and will roll out globally in 2013-14. Meanwhile, his company has 11 titles slated for publication within the next 18 months.