245 14 |a The digital literary sphere : |b reading, writing, and selling books in the Internet era / |c Simone Murray.

520 __ |a "Despite the talk of the "death of the book," traditionally linear and often print-based narratives have continued to flourish in the Internet era. Shifting focus from analyzing specific literary texts to a sociological examination of the contemporary literary scene, Simone Murray provides crucial insights into the major forces shaping this digital literary sphere. Analyzing the apparatus and institutional factors shaping contemporary online literary culture, including producers, retailers, festival organizers, evaluators, and consumers, Murray highlights how these traditionally distinct roles are radically blurring and the significance of this for all stakeholders in the literary industry. The Internet's massive expansion of participants in literary debates is democratizing literary culture in refreshing ways, but it is simultaneously throwing up thorny questions about cultural authority, destabilizing geographically based conceptions of literary canons, and problematizing the boundaries of the literary text. These are in essence theoretical issues of fundamental import to all with an interest in literature, and to literary scholars in particular"-- |c Provided by publisher.