The debate continues on whether “literary” fiction is distinct from “genre” fiction.
“Literary versus genre fiction: Meaningful difference or false distinction?” is an upcoming panel discussion on this issue scheduled for 28 January at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, New Jersey. The panel will include several authors: Christina Baker Kline, Alice Elliott Dark, Laurie Lico Albanese, Elizabeth Brundage, and Peter Golden.
As I am currently rounding up contributors for a website dedicated to promoting a concept of literary quality that is not spoiled by genre bigotry, this issue is high on my watch list. If I were in the northern New Jersey, I would definitely stop by; any aspiring writers or interested fans in the area should attend.
For more of my take on this issue: Continue reading
In a recent Guardian 
You guys know that I am a grouch, in the sense that I am natural-born critic. I can’t even simply listen to the radio without thinking to myself that Daughtry’s latest song would have much more emotional and metrical punch if the title line were “in the last days of September” rather than the vague and flaccid “in the middle of…”
If today’s Telegraph 
author Justin Cronin had only contained his characterization of Meyers-esque pseudo-vampire fiction as “the vampire industrial complex” I would have been pleased enough to pass it on to you guys.
First, I want to wish