Litblog

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Litblog (alternate: lit-blog or literary blog) is a blog that focuses primarily on the topic of literature. There is a community of litblogs in the blogosphere whose authors cover a variety of subtopics within the realm of literary matters. Litbloggers write about the publishing industry, writing, current fiction, poetry, literary journals, reader's diaries, criticism and genres of literature, including science fiction and mystery.

Litblogs are also used as virtual reading groups for focused discussion on a specific piece or pieces of literature. Some litblogs follow a particular piece of literature through an entire reading, such as the blog devoted to William T. Vollman's 3,000 page book, Rising Up and Rising Down or the blog that reprints the entire contents of Samuel Pepys' Diary or Franz Kafka's diary.

Many litblogs feature reviews of books that may or may not be featured in the mainstream press, and some litblogs feature critiques of reviews in the mainstream press. Interviews with authors are another common feature. Litblogs such as Flogging the Quill are resources for instruction and coaching on writing craft.

Many litblogs have one author, but collaborative blogs have one primary author and many contributing authors. The authors of litblogs may be professional writers, academics, literature enthusiasts or industry professionals. In the democratic forum of the blogosphere, all of these groups interact by reading and commenting on one another's posts.

Litblogs may also serve as adjuncts to literary journals or other organizations, such as Verse magazine, 3:AM Magazine, and Spike Magazine.

[edit] Examples of litblogs

Bookslut, Moorish Girl, Moby Lives (now apparently defunct) and The Literary Saloon are four of the oldest literary blogs. Other popular literary blogs include The Elegant Variation (US), Bookninja (Canada), The Midnight Bell (UK), Maud Newton (US), Return of the Reluctant (US), Chekhov's Mistress (US), Rake's Progress (US), Ready Steady Book (UK), The Old Hag (US), The Reading Experience (US), Scribbling Woman (Canada), Grumpy Old Bookman (UK), John Baker's Blog (UK), Conversational Reading (US), Buzzwords, Beatrice (US), Galleycat (US), and Condalmo. Professional critics blog about books at House of Mirth, About Last Night and Inside Higher Ed. A group of academics started a litblog called The Valve. In 2005, a group of 20 litbloggers formed the Litblog Co-op. The group collectively recommends a book every three months. In the UK, six leading litblogs also joined forces to create Britlitblogs.com.