Bookmark Now Writing in Unreaderly Times: A Collection of All Original Essays from Today's (and Tomorrow's) Young Authors on the State of the Art -- and the Art of the Hustle -- in the Age of Information Overload

by Smokler, Kevin

• ISBN13: 9780465078448
• ISBN10: 0465078443
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-25
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

An anthology of original essays from our most intriguing young writers,Bookmark Nowboldly addresses the significance of the production of literature in the twenty-first century. Or simply, "How do we talk about writing and reading in an age where they both seem almost quaint?"The book features authors in their twenties and thirtiesthose raised when TV, video games, and then the Internet supplanted books as dominant cultural mediumsand their intent is to examine: (1) how this generation came to writing as a calling, (2) what they see as literature's relevance when media consumption and competition have reached unprecedented levels, and (3) how writing and reading fit in with the rest of our rapid, multitasking world. The result will offer a voyeuristic peek into the private, creative lives of today's writersandshed light on what their work means at a time when the book business is changing, yetalmost paradoxicallya time when storytelling as a means of both self-realization and community building (be it via e-mail, weblogs, or "This American Life") seems more relevant than ever before.Edited by Kevin Smokler, a Bay Area entrepreneur who has devoted himself to fostering literary culture and cultivating fresh talent,Bookmark Nowis a collection that both captures the state of the art and provides inspiration to aspiring writers at all levels.

Author Biography

Kevin Smokler was the founder and publisher Central Booking, which grew to serve nearly 50,000 bibliophiles worldwide and was praised by media outlets such as Wired, USA Today, and Forbes, which referred to it as the "Paris Review of the 21st Century." As a book critic and commentator, Kevin’s writing has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Baltimore Sun, and on NPR. He lives in San Francisco.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Future Is Now
KEVIN SMOKLER	xi
BEGINNINGS
Not Fade Away
CHRISTIAN BAUMAN	3	(13)
Look the Part
PAMELA RIBON	16	(13)
Border Lines
STEPHANIE ELIZONDO GRIEST	29	(8)
The Invisible Narrator
HOWARD HUNT	37	(9)
From Somewhere Down South to South Beach: Raw Takes on the MFA
MICHELLE RICHMOND	46	(17)
THE WRITING LIFE
Welcome. Grab a Broom.
DAN KENNEDY	63	(5)
A Call for Collaboration
ADAM JOHNSON	68	(8)
As We Mean to Go On
KELLEY ESKRIDGE AND NICOLA GRIFFITH	76	(16)
Her Dark Silent Cowboy No More
NEAL POLLACK	92	(13)
Your Own Personal Satan
GLEN DAVID GOLD	105	(10)
Marginalia and Other Crimes
TARA BRAY SMITH	115	(9)
Security
BENJAMIN NUGENT	124	(13)
THE NOW
Distractions
TOM BISSELL	137	(14)
If I Had a Stammer
MEGHAN DAUM	151	(8)
Putting Gay Fiction Back Together
K.M. SOEHNLEIN	159	(11)
Voice of a Generation
PAUL FLORES	170	(8)
Ambassadors
NELL FREUDENBERGER	178	(19)
The McEggers Tang Clan
ROBERT LANHAM	197	(17)
121 Years of Solitude
PAUL COLLINS	214	(10)
Lying to the Optician: The Reading Experience Rated
TRACY CHEVALIER	224	(9)
THE FUTURE
A Computer Ate My Book
DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF	233	(9)
The Slippery Slope to Margaritaville
VIVIEN MEJIA	242	(7)
Andrew Krucoff and the Amazing Paper Weblog
ELIZABETH SPIERS	249
Epilogue: My Words Consume Me
NICO CARY	261	(4)
Acknowledgments	265	(2)
Contributor Bios	267	(6)
List of Resources	273