“The Nominal Hero,” a Middle-Grade Novel
Nouns Funds “The Nominal Hero,” a CC0 Middle-Grade Novel by Tasha K. Rookswater
Nouns supported the creation of The Nominal Hero, a middle-grade novel by author Tasha K. Rookswater, through Proposal 271. This project blends storytelling with Nouns-inspired elements, offering young readers an engaging introduction to the playful and creative world of Nouns.
What’s “The Nominal Hero” About?
The novel follows eight-year-old Caden Keller, a curious boy fascinated by words and books. After discovering a magical pair of glasses—resembling the iconic Nouns noggles—Caden finds he can summon playful and chaotic creatures known as Nouns. When his words accidentally cause trouble, Caden must use his wit and creativity to save the day.
Released as CC0 (No Rights Reserved)
A unique feature of this project is that The Nominal Hero is entirely public domain. Rookswater has made it available for everyone to freely download, share, and remix, aligning perfectly with the open and collaborative values of the Nouns community. She encourages readers to engage creatively with her work, fostering further community projects and ideas.
Rather than having to distance herself from fan creations for legal reasons, she wholeheartedly encourages the community to create fan fiction and continue the story, produce videos, audiobooks, artwork—anything you can imagine. Even sell it if you’d like.
Read & Share the Story
Interested readers can find The Nominal Hero as paperbook on Amazon. Or for free as digital versions (PDF and EPUB), made available on Tasha K. Rookswater’s official blog.
This novel highlights how decentralized communities like Nouns can spark unique, imaginative projects, enriching culture and inspiring creativity among readers of all ages while contributing the the Public Domain.
About the Team
Tasha is an established science fiction and fantasy author, writing under a new pseudonym to explore fresh creative directions. Inspired by the collaborative spirit of Nouns, and as a passionate advocate for fanfiction and public-domain creativity, Tasha hopes to see others build upon her work.
Like Nouns themselves, the book is public domain, and it feels great to offer it to everyone freely, without restrictions. While Tasha recognizes the necessity of copyright for enabling creators to sustain themselves within a capitalist framework, she deeply appreciates the alternative that Nouns provides.
The book also features cover art by community artist Messhup, who has released the illustration for open digital collection on Zora.