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2021 | Buch

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Writing Cultures and Literary Media

Publishing and Reception in the Digital Age

verfasst von: Anna Kiernan

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : New Directions in Book History

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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This Pivot investigates the impact of the digital on literary culture through the analysis of selected marketing narratives, social media stories, and reading communities. Drawing on the work of contemporary writers, from Bernardine Evaristo to Patricia Lockwood, each chapter addresses a specific tension arising from the overarching question: How has writing culture changed in this digital age? By examining shifting modes of literary production, this book considers how discourses of writing and publishing and hierarchies of cultural capital circulate in a socially motivated post-digital environment. Writing Cultures and Literary Media combines compelling accounts of book trends, reader reception, and interviews with writers and publishers to reveal fresh insights for students, practitioners, and scholars of writing, publishing, and communications.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

Storytelling is the lifeblood of the creative industries and is of course second nature to writers, publishers, poets and playwrights. The range of platforms and formats through which we can consume and publish content and engage with others has broadened our understanding of what it means to be a reader and a writer. The connecting theme in each of the chapters that follow is the relationship between the production and consumption of literary media among audiences for whom digital technology is the primary mode of communication.

Anna Kiernan

Chapter 2. Writing Culture and Cultural Value

Abstract

It is through the interplay of economic and symbolic capital that book publishing and the literary industries have historically found traction, since to have money but no network is almost as unavailing as having a notable reputation but no money. As John B. Thompson explains in Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century: “For most trade publishers, the ‘value’ of a particular book or book project is understood in one of two ways: its sales [economic capital]…its quality [symbolic capital]” (Thompson, Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century, p. 10, 2010). This understanding correlates with Pierre Bourdieu’s work on the field of cultural production, which situates creative outputs in the context of the social conditions of their production and consumption.

Anna Kiernan

Chapter 3. Critics and Curators in a Socially Networked Age

Abstract

Critics and curators have historically been gatekeepers within the creative and cultural industries. Both professions carry with them the weight of authority, of having earned their place as arbiters of taste and filters of knowledge. They share the umbrella role of being cultural intermediaries—that is to say, taste makers who contribute to the discourses and definitions of what counts as being worthy of a wider audience, whether that be in a library or museum, gallery or the review pages of a newspaper. This chapter discusses contemporary understandings of cultural curation and criticism. Drawing on case studies that illuminate the tension between traditional gatekeepers and digital influencers, it considers how the framework of reference for attributing value has changed in an era of convergent culture and digital communications.

Anna Kiernan

Chapter 4. Diversity, Representation and Innovation in Online Literary Promotion

Abstract

This chapter draws on postcolonial theory to take an intersectional approach to discussing recurring modes of discrimination and privilege within the literary industries. It then goes on to highlight some of the ways in which digital communication and online communities present opportunities for countering structural inequalities, in terms of promoting the work of underrepresented writers. Saha and van Lente suggest that “‘diversity’, when it is understood as giving special affordances to writers of colour, is seen as potentially undermining publishing’s meritocratic foundations” (Saha and van Lente, Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing. Project Report, p. 19, 2020). Many publishers’ implicit rejection of diversity is therefore based on an old-fashioned belief that “if it’s good we will publish it” (Saha and van Lente, Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing. Project Report, p. 19, 2020).

Anna Kiernan

Chapter 5. Instagram, Poetry and the Cult of the Amateur

Abstract

This chapter reflects on the function and form of Instapoetry, and the benefits (and limitations) of instantaneous publication, in contrast to the cultural considerations and processes that have historically informed the production and publication of traditional poetry. It begins by considering the kinds of established poets who dominated the field at the start of the twenty-first century in the UK, in comparison to some of the most popular (Insta) poets today. The characteristics of both the figure of the poet and the format or platform upon which poetry is (most often) engaged with have shifted. This shift is evident in both the diverse backgrounds and entrepreneurial attitudes of contemporary Instapoets, many of whom acknowledge their personal brand as a contributing factor in their commercial success. Sales figures for some of the best-known Instapoets have served to buoy the market, with poet and scholar Timothy Yu noting that, “In the mainstream press, the primary theme has been ‘how Instagram saved poetry’” (Yu. Instagram Poetry and Our Poetry Worlds. Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2019/04/instagram-poetry-and-our-poetry-worlds, 2019). The shift is also evident in the mode of address (from detached and formal to immediate and relatable) and the form of the poetry being published.

Anna Kiernan

Chapter 6. From Fidelity Publishing to Playable Stories

Abstract

The discussion that follows focuses on case studies that have captured the attention of audiences by playing with preconceived ideas of experience and engagement at the intersection of literature and technology. These encounters tend to occur within a convergent digital space. In Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, Henry Jenkins defines convergence culture as “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences” (Jenkins 2006, 2–4). Convergence culture is sometimes misunderstood as simply enacting a process of remediation, in which seemingly outdated narrative forms are superseded by more “culturally relevant” ones. But Jenkins points out that convergence is less to do with technology than mindset: “Convergence does not occur through media appliances, however sophisticated they may become. Convergence occurs within the brains of individual consumers and through their social interactions with others” (Jenkins 2006, 3). This chapter considers the dynamic between convergent culture, literary media and the attention economy.

Anna Kiernan

Chapter 7. Marketing True Lies and Autofiction

Abstract

This chapter begins by considering the views of several authors, in response to the apparently competing demands of expressing authenticity by constructing a public persona or living authentically by separating one’s creative work from one’s daily existence. It then discusses the relationship between specific authors and their protagonists, and between fiction and narrative non-fiction, in order to better understand how and why certain works of literature reach a tipping point, in terms of sales and marketing. Echoing Barthes refrain in “The Death of the Author”, Ferrante said that “books, once they are written, have no need of their authors” (Wood 2013). This is questionable, in the sense that the work exists in relation to the author, whether the author endlessly publishes online, publishes under a pseudonym or inadvertently symbolises (and capitalises on) a moment of cultural change.

Anna Kiernan

Chapter 8. Materiality and Post-Digital Storytelling

Abstract

In the context of book publishing, cultural capital can be acquired in relation to material qualities, and the growth in the market for collectible print publications appears to be part of a post-digital desire for “slow publishing” and analogue culture (Cain, The Guardian, 2017; Flatt, Bookseller, 2017; Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, 2017). As Sherry Turkle suggests, while we are “tethered” to our phones, we are conscious of the need to be free in our analogue lives (Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, 2017). Similarly, with the increase of online home-working, many consumers are seeking alternative forms of consumption in their leisure time. As Barrios O’Neill puts it: “(post-)consumers are emerging who are looking for less, smaller, deeper, slower, more interesting products and services, and are willing to pay for them” (Barrios O’Neill, Post Growth Publishing: Renaissance or Reckoning? 2020).

Anna Kiernan

Backmatter

Titel: Writing Cultures and Literary Media
verfasst von: Anna Kiernan
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-75081-7
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-75080-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75081-7

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Writing Culture and Cultural Value

Chapter 3. Critics and Curators in a Socially Networked Age

Chapter 4. Diversity, Representation and Innovation in Online Literary Promotion

Chapter 5. Instagram, Poetry and the Cult of the Amateur

Chapter 6. From Fidelity Publishing to Playable Stories

Chapter 7. Marketing True Lies and Autofiction

Chapter 8. Materiality and Post-Digital Storytelling

Backmatter

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