Presenters
Abstract
The present paper deals with the transition from a print- to an electronic-journal culture. StoryQuarterly began moving to the internet in the early aughts. In 2008, the journal developed an ambitious internet presence and profile, while continuing as a print publication. This presentation speaks to the advantages/disadvantages of trying to maintain a digital and print profile at the same time. The problems are many. Some are the nominally technical ones, such as finding space on a site for the manifold needs of such an operation (from creating a portal to archiving submissions to creating an online payment option). Others are institutional, such as the persistent suspicion surrounding not only creative writing and the resistance of P&T committees toward recognizing electronic publication as legitimate, which may be waning, but is still a problem. Moreover, while the journals themselves struggle to continue on shrinking budgets and bloated print-pub costs, they are forced to surrender a good deal (in some cases all) of the editorial duties to graduate students. How does the literary culture now populated—to a large extent—by people with the MFA remain culturally independent and imaginatively vital? The largest question is the impact of the growing MFA constituency on American literary culture and the very “whatness” of MFA pedagogy, its value to the recipient of emergent degrees like the PhD in creative writing, and the impact of the workshop as an extension of a certain corporate-mindedness into what traditionally is an isolating profession. Of particular importance for the present discussion, there will be an emphasis on the effect the new media has on the language, mostly in relation to the increased volume and quality of the work submitted, but also the reciprocal impact the submission procedure has had on the editorial process.