Sunday, March 11, 2012

Fantasy Novella and the State of Literature

We had a wonderful meeting of our Writers Haven last Sunday, March 4, at the home of Kerry and Carol Pobanz. Present were Kerry, Debbie Grodner, Gelo Fleisher, and Bob Beebe. We started off with a discussion of the current state of literature in the 21st century, particularly how it has been affected by the digital revolution, which has upended the publishing industry. More and more writers are opting to self-publish, by-passing agents and the traditional print route. Many are publishing only electronic versions of their work, adding interactive features in the process. Another development we discussed is the blurring of lines between young adult (YA) and adult literature, as more and more adults are reading so-called YA books and whose themes contain much darker subject matter than in the past. A favorite theme has become romance amidst the ruins of a not-too-distant future civilization formerly known as America.

After this uplifting discussion, we went on to the main agenda of the meeting: a presentation by Gelo Fleisher of the beginning pages of his fantasy novella called The Night Thief, which you should have received by e-mail. He explained that most of his writing is in the science fiction genre, so this piece represents a departure from his usual work. Everyone was impressed by the fluidity and richness of his writing, the unfolding of his characters, and his strong narration. His first chapter left us hungering for more, which was only partially satisfied as Gelo has yet to fully work out the plot. We look forward to his next installment.

Our next meeting will be taking place at the Beebe residence Sunday, April 1st (no April fools!), 3:00-5:00 pm. The agenda is not yet clear. More on this when I send you an update as we get closer to the date.

Until then, all the best!