I just received my copy of “Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times,” edited by Kevin Smokler, in the mail today. The book comes out on June 1st, but I have an advance copy from the publisher. Ironic, since I just mentioned Kevin in my earlier post about the gnomes. It was perfect timing too; I just finished reading “The Fiery Cross,” the fifth book of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. After reading almost 5,000 pages about the 1700s, I’m ready to come back to modern times!
This book is “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.” The book looks at why these authors came to writing as a calling, in the “most media-saturated time in history, a time when books face greater cultural competition than ever before.” To quote the book cover, “The end result is not only a voyeuristic peek into the creative lives of today’s writers, but a timely glimpse into a changing book business. Storytelling, it will become clear – as a means of self-realization, community building, or simply putting one’s point across – is now more relevant than ever before.”
I have only made it into the introduction so far, but I’m really looking forward to reading it. I’ve already offered to be a part of the Virtual Book Tour for the book later this month, so I hope to be reviewing it then.