An anthology of original essays from our most intriguing young writers, Bookmark Now boldly addresses the significance of the production of literature in the twenty-first century. Or simply, “How do we talk about writing and reading in an age where they both seem almost quaint?”The book features authors in their twenties and thirties—those raised when TV, video games, and then the Internet supplanted books as dominant cultural mediums—and their intent is to examine: (1) how this generation came to writing as a calling, (2) what they see as literature’s relevance when media consumption and competition have reached unprecedented levels, and (3) how writing and reading fit in with the rest of our rapid, multitasking world. The result will offer a voyeuristic peek into the private, creative lives of today’s writers and shed light on what their work means at a time when the book business is changing, yet—almost paradoxically—a time when storytelling as a means of both self-realization and community building (be it via e-mail, weblogs, or “This American Life”) seems more relevant than ever before.Edited by Kevin Smokler, a Bay Area entrepreneur who has devoted himself to fostering literary culture and cultivating fresh talent, Bookmark Now is a collection that both captures the state of the art and provides inspiration to aspiring writers at all levels.
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Amazon.com Review
Book Description: The sky is NOT caving in on American letters. Far from it. The immensely talented writers in this collection all came of age professionally in the last decade--and all chose reading and writing over another more lucrative and decidedly flashier pursuits. They became producers and consumers of the written word at the most media-saturated time in history, a time when books face greater cultural competition than ever before. Why? How did they come to writing as a calling? What's the relevance of literature when the very term seems quaint? Bookmark Now answers these questions--and many more you probably never thought to ask. Like: What to do when your rabid fans start writing fiction about you? Why don't you have to choose between John Updike and Grand Theft Auto? And, can you really get paid for it?
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.
| Amazon.com Exclusive |
| Authors Featured in Bookmark Now |
 Neal Pollack |  Nell Freudenberger |  Nicola Griffith |
 Adam Johnson |  Tracy Chevalier |  Meghan Daum |
 Glen David Gold |  Tom Bissell |  Dan Kennedy |
| Authors Featured in Bookmark Now |
From Publishers Weekly
The goal of this collection of essays from some of America's younger or emerging novelists is to disprove the dire warnings regarding the disappearance of a reading public. Smokler, a book critic and commentator, passionately sets the tone when he assails the sense of impending catastrophe that has gripped the literati since the 2004 publication of the NEA report Reading at Risk, which he accuses of double-talk. He brings together writers who, faced with other choices—careers in film, video production, the vast landscape of Internet possibilities—still opted to pursue writing as a career. This is a varied bunch, from Christian Bauman, who tells of discovering Hemingway as a soldier in Somalia untutored in literature, to Paul Flores, a Latino spoken-word artist who began writing in response to California's Proposition 187, which denied public education to immigrants. These writers have used all available avenues—MFA programs, stints as journalists, blogs, exposure to other countries and cultures—to find their subject matter and voices, whether lyrical, such as bestselling author Tracy Chevalier, or satirical, as in Robert Lanham's The Hipster Handbook. In addition to showcasing individual talents, the book illustrates a generational posture: these writers are relaxed and confident in their audience. Most write with ease and immediacy, as if the space between writer and reader has grown measurably closer. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Kevin Smokler was sick of hearing about the "death of publishing" for which the internet was supposedly responsible. So he went out and rounded up more than two dozen actual dead-tree writers to prove that it's just not true. The result is an enlightening and entertaining look at how a new generation of writers has come of age in the "digital" era.
My favourites among the 24 essays include the one where Paul Collins reads through 121 years of the proto-blog "Notes and Queries", and the one where Neal Pollack discovers fan fiction written about himself. Also, the one where Nell Freudenberger talks about reading her short stories to students in China while reading her father's teenaged journals from his trip to Communist Yugoslavia and Hungary. And the one that alternately mocks and adores the Eggers/McSweeney's/Believer magazine cabal. Oh, yeah, and the one where Glen David Gold confesses to Googling himself obsessively. Meghan Daum's essay about the vocal tics of the NPR set was interesting (though it would have made more sense as a spoken word piece), and Pamela Ribon's tale of how she accidentally became a "real writer" kept me smiling and reading. There were a few dead spots, though, mostly the stuff about whether an MFA in Creative Writing was a useful detour or not. In fact, the pieces I liked the most had the least to do with writing as an academic subject.
Overall, the book has a higher-than-average ratio of good essays to not-so-good. It will give you an idea of the current state of the "writing life" and will bring you optimism where you may have been feeling none. If anything, there is more writing (and more importantly, more publishing) going on than ever before in human history. The challenge to come will be to filter through all this information to find the writers that are truly gifted and to help them use these new tools to reach audiences that they never could have imagined in the last century.
Kevin's book has shown that writers are finding a way. In fact, they are finding many ways, and that makes Bookmark Now an essential read. Even if it is printed on dead trees.
My favourites among the 24 essays include the one where Paul Collins reads through 121 years of the proto-blog "Notes and Queries", and the one where Neal Pollack discovers fan fiction written about himself. Also, the one where Nell Freudenberger talks about reading her short stories to students in China while reading her father's teenaged journals from his trip to Communist Yugoslavia and Hungary. And the one that alternately mocks and adores the Eggers/McSweeney's/Believer magazine cabal. Oh, yeah, and the one where Glen David Gold confesses to Googling himself obsessively. Meghan Daum's essay about the vocal tics of the NPR set was interesting (though it would have made more sense as a spoken word piece), and Pamela Ribon's tale of how she accidentally became a "real writer" kept me smiling and reading. There were a few dead spots, though, mostly the stuff about whether an MFA in Creative Writing was a useful detour or not. In fact, the pieces I liked the most had the least to do with writing as an academic subject.
Overall, the book has a higher-than-average ratio of good essays to not-so-good. It will give you an idea of the current state of the "writing life" and will bring you optimism where you may have been feeling none. If anything, there is more writing (and more importantly, more publishing) going on than ever before in human history. The challenge to come will be to filter through all this information to find the writers that are truly gifted and to help them use these new tools to reach audiences that they never could have imagined in the last century.
Kevin's book has shown that writers are finding a way. In fact, they are finding many ways, and that makes Bookmark Now an essential read. Even if it is printed on dead trees.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Finally someone has come up with some solid evidence that, contrary to media predictions of the death of reading and writing in the age of instant computer blogs and ebooks, the art of writing and the art of reading are very much alive and well and prospering. Those of us addicted to the written page, whether writing or finding that intangible joy of turning the paper pages of books of fiction, of poetry, of adventure, of any manner of brain-nourishing information that can be opened, bookmarked, and closed like a comfortable friend, never far from our side, can breathe a sigh of relief.
Kevin Smokler has gathered essays and comments by contemporary writers whose topics range from MFA writing programs, self-help writers' books, blogs, googling, ebooks, and the frustrations and joys of the advent of the computer and its role in the writer's and the reader's lives. The fears of 'getting published' are calmed by a discussion of all of the manner of publishing houses that assist first time writers as well as the heretofore unnoted plethora of books being ground out by the Big Name Houses.
For a bit of encouragement, a dollop of humor, and some very fine writing from those practicing their art at present, the readers and writers (and reviewers!) are invited to the feast. Indulge thyself! Now if someone could just write as hopefully about the decline of classical music recordings.... Highly recommended. Grady Harp, June 05
Kevin Smokler has gathered essays and comments by contemporary writers whose topics range from MFA writing programs, self-help writers' books, blogs, googling, ebooks, and the frustrations and joys of the advent of the computer and its role in the writer's and the reader's lives. The fears of 'getting published' are calmed by a discussion of all of the manner of publishing houses that assist first time writers as well as the heretofore unnoted plethora of books being ground out by the Big Name Houses.
For a bit of encouragement, a dollop of humor, and some very fine writing from those practicing their art at present, the readers and writers (and reviewers!) are invited to the feast. Indulge thyself! Now if someone could just write as hopefully about the decline of classical music recordings.... Highly recommended. Grady Harp, June 05
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Inspiring for both the reader and the writer in us all. Reading the passionate words of our contemporaries about the road to writing (amongst other things) in this multimedia landscape had the potential to feel as if one was watching wizened literary giants look down from the mountaintop and cast judgmental glares down on us, the lazy reader. "Bookmark Now" doesn't do that. There is no rarefied air here. This is like having a beer or a coffee and cigarettes with some college friends and a lively conversation about life, love and literature (or secrets, sex and sentences if you prefer) breaks out. Recommended to anyone who needs to be reminded why reading is fun and writing is sometimes divine.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Writing is not dead, just changing - again!
A fresh perspective of writers who average 40 years of age ( or younger.) What I learned:
1) Blogging : from the early days of Pamie. Read more
1) Blogging : from the early days of Pamie. Read more
Published on April 27, 2009 by Shane K. Joseph
Not what it promises to be
Unfortunately, Bookmark Now fails to deliver what its jacket copy promises. We're told that this collection of essays will provide reflection on the much touted probability of the... Read more
Published on February 7, 2009 by Caleb Ross
Books Are Alive and Well
It has become fashionable in the last few months for writers and literary commentators to talk back when anyone brings up the now infamous National Endowment of the Arts study... Read more
Published on March 19, 2008 by Sam Sattler
hot damn!
i was feeling really depressed about the state of the writing world. why was i slaving away, trying to get my work recognized by tweedy types with quiet poetry readings, where... Read more
Published on May 18, 2006 by o.c.
25 golden nuggets for all of $10 (from Amazon) illustrates why books...
In a size comfortable enough to stash in your jacket pocket pending a 10-minute reading break, this compendium of brilliant and concise essays on the virtues of books is just... Read more
Published on December 13, 2005 by BuzS
Insightful while entertaining
Bookmark now is a gem. Kevin combines superb authors who honestly and humorously provide thoughts on the state of reading and creative writing in the past, present and future. Read more
Published on July 13, 2005 by Megan Ann Cramer
Dip your toe into the contemporary culture of writing...
The thing that strikes me most about Bookmark Now is that it manages to let the reader peek behind the curtain of contemporary writing without feeling in any way cute or false; put... Read more
Published on June 15, 2005 by Joshua Greenberg
Fascinating Read
If you're reading this review, then it's probable that you read books on a regular basis. Then again, according to the NEA, the fact that you're on the internet right now is a... Read more
Published on June 15, 2005 by David Thomas
Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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youth speaks, print blog, dick licker, invisible narrator, fan fiction Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Neal Pollack, Top Ten, New York, Tang Clan, South Beach, United States, Glen David Gold, Space Invaders, The Believer, David Eggers, San Francisco, Lower East Side, Years of Solitude, Los Angeles, Computer Ate My Book, The Invisible Narrator, Abuelita Elizondo, Zadie Smith, Putting Gay Fiction Back Together, Graydon Carter, Lockhart Steele, Wall Street, Mango Street, The Slippery Slope Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
youth speaks, print blog, dick licker, invisible narrator, fan fiction Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Neal Pollack, Top Ten, New York, Tang Clan, South Beach, United States, Glen David Gold, Space Invaders, The Believer, David Eggers, San Francisco, Lower East Side, Years of Solitude, Los Angeles, Computer Ate My Book, The Invisible Narrator, Abuelita Elizondo, Zadie Smith, Putting Gay Fiction Back Together, Graydon Carter, Lockhart Steele, Wall Street, Mango Street, The Slippery Slope Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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