From animated lions on the plains of Africa to Amanda Bynes movies, Broadway musicals to the violent takeover of a fast-food restaurant, William Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted every which way for centuries—and not just in film, as anyone suffering through a community college production of Macbeth set in gangland Chicago can attest. In honor of the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death, The Hogarth Shakespeare will commission modern authors to write “cover versions” of Shakespeare plays, re-imagined for the 21st century, to be released in 2016.By converting them to that modern, cutting-edge medium, the novel, the project aims to bring Shakespeare's stories to the reading public that eschews live theater and high-school English classes.