Author name: Kassia Krozser

Class and the American Novelist

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There is no doubt that judging literary merit takes on an eye of the beholder quality. One judge’s treasure is another’s muddled mess. Art, by nature, is subjective. Selecting the best of something often comes down to judgment calls and aesthetic choices that seem to defy reason. Thus we consider Granta’s “Best of Young American Novelists” issue, available right now. Maybe the definition of “Best of Young American Novelists” is naturally a limiting descriptor. In this second installment, the authors are younger (presumably to fit the dictates of the issue’s title) and more ethnically diverse (America being a melting pot […]

Square Pegs

On Theme Parks and Authenticity

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Back at one of the elevated bridges, one of the site’s builders, Daryll Humphrey (“yes, the gravestone is named after me. It’s staying!”) was showing his partner and sons around the site. Thomas, 11, liked the old benches and the cinema and the writing on the schoolroom walls. And would visiting Dickens World make him want to find out more about the novelist? “No. I’m not interested in that. But I liked the people dressing up as policemen.” High time above the sewer boat ride to the slums

Quote of the Week

Amazon, Web 2.0, and Missing The Point of Community

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If you’ve been paying attention for the past year or so, you’ve noticed that Amazon.com has embraced Web 2.0 technology with something approaching religious fervor. You name the buzzword, they’ve implemented the technology. Wiki (now known as the, uh, Amapedia), Ajax, blogging, tagging (and tag clouding), free shipping (okay, not a Web 2.0 technology, but the Amazon Prime service remains a huge boon to the fine folks at BS HQ). Amazon even had a thing called a “Plog”, which was some kind of personalized blog. What Amazon doesn’t do well is invite the kind of community that characterizes other Web

Square Pegs

Moving Beyond the Book: Character Blogs, As We See Them

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As you might have noticed, we have been thinking more than a little about how publishers can transition from the old model to the new model without sacrificing the old model. For those who haven’t been paying attention, the old model can be neatly summed up as “good stuff to read”. In many ways, a good character blog is a story unto itself. In the past, this meant good stuff to read in book format. Without a doubt, this is the format that readers seem to prefer…and why not? Books remain highly portable — in more than one sense of

Marketing For Introverts

On Judging Writing Contests

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Good fiction is a dialogue between story and reader, to which a reader brings not only personal history but imaginative experience of other books. Judging is as much about being open to others’ readings as trying to persuade them of your own. That, at least, is the theory. As to whether it will bear the ultimate brush with reality when we decide a winner in June, the jury is still out. The literary levellers

Quote of the Week

Essay Question: Thinking About Mobile Media

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During this incredibly busy week, we have come to rely on the magical powers of our cell phone more than ever. So much so that we had a panicky dream where the cute little thing was broken and required major surgery. Not a happy time sleeping. We’ve also been talking to friends about the wonders that is cellular technology. We are turning to you to help us understand the allure of the cellular phone. Because leaving well enough alone has never been our strong suit, naturally we’ve nudged the conversation toward cell phones and new media. Over and over, we

Non-Traditional Publishing
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