Writing Cultures and Literary Media: Publishing and Reception in the Digital Age - Paperback

by Anna Kiernan (Author)

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.

Back Jacket

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 contemporary examples, ranging from the reissue of John Williams' novel Stoner (2013) to Rebecca Watts' perceived attack on Holly McNish's status as a poet in Poetry Now (2018), each chapter addresses a specific theme 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 Culture in a Digital Age 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.

Author Biography

Anna Kiernan is Senior Lecturer in Creativity and Innovation and Director of the MA Creativity: Innovation and Business Strategy at the University of Exeter, UK. She also runs The Literary Platform, a digital publishing consultancy. A former fiction editor at Simon & Schuster, Anna co-founded the MA in Publishing at Kingston University. Anna's research focuses on writing culture and cultural value.