newsletter

The story is loading . . . Where are you? We cannot know. Maybe you’re at home, relishing your final hours of freedom when your smartphone pings. Maybe you’re in the middle of your morning commute, swaying in a bus or a train or (inadvisably) your car, catching up on admin. Maybe you’re in the office, sitting down with a cup of coffee and preparing for another long day. All that matters is that you’re here. THE TEXTPOCALYPSE SURVIVAL GUIDE A Barely Interactive Short Pseudo-Fiction Your Inbox An inbox indistinguishable from any other, aside from the emails inside. Towards the top of your messag… continue

HOW DO YOU DO. PLEASE TELL ME YOUR PROBLEM I’m the Barker. I’m trying to discover an interesting and witty way to inform electronic book review’s readers of this month’s amazing new essays, reviews, and articles. IS IT BECAUSE YOU ARE THE BARKER THAT YOU CAME TO ME It is. ELIZA, I need your help. WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU IF YOU GOT MY HELP It’d mean a lot to me—I’ve learned a lot about you this month, thanks to David M. Berry and Mark C. Marino. Their article “Reading ELIZA: Critical Code Studies in Action” documents their arduous journey to obtain your source code, the notable aspects within… continue

Dear ebr, I have no idea what’s happening with your latest mailouts and, quite frankly, I don’t like it. In fact, your last mailshot’s grandiose, rambling piece was utter garbage. Too long. Too nonsensical. Too self-indulgent. Your editor is aware she’s writing a newsletter, isn’t she? I suggest she tries sticking to something short and sweet. – D. Stressed   Gee whiz, Mr Stressed! You sure don’t hold back, do ya? No worries! This week, our editor is trying very hard to keep it short and sweet.     Dear editor, I’ve heard that Will Luers is no longer managing editor of ebr! Are… continue

Frame 1              Darkness. The outline of THE BARKER barely visible. Frame 2              Inset. Lights, camera, action. The Barker stands with her arms spread wide and a grin on her face, on a blank, white background. BARKER: WELCOME BACK TO ELECTRONIC BOOK REVIEW! THIS MONTH WE’RE HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU— TITLE: THE INFINITE INFORMATION AGE (Title should be in a sans serif font reminiscent—if not the same—as the ebr branding. White, with some fluorescent offset colors, so it pops against the black background.) Frame 3              Inset, again. The Barker is still talking as, outside the… continue

(Chime. Stage. Click. Lights. Trusty table. Belligerent briefcase. Flurry of paper, paraphernalia, and archontic impulse. The Barker springs. Upright, feet.) BARKER: ELECTRONIC BOOK REVIEW is here to bring you— (Inhale.) Articles! (Inhale.) Meditations! (Inhale.) GLOSSES AND INSINUATIONS! (Stark white spotlight. Automaton imitation. Hard jaw.) BARKER: As an non-AI language model, I am able to introduce you to Nick Montfort’s latest offering with this attempt at both surrealism and summary: (Pause.) the socio-cultural collective unconscious emerges fettered by $2 mal[content]ed moderators to be… continue

(The tick-tick-tick of a counter climbing up as messages are sent. The ding of an inbox visible to only one person. The looming crumple of an email automatically sent to ‘Trash’. A digital veil rises, allowing the brief imitation of contact to be made. Here, THE BARKER stands, center stage.) BARKER: This month, in electronic book review: (The lights drop. A pale blue spotlight bursts into life.) BARKER: Jussi Parikka, Paolo Patelli, and May Ee Wong delve into their captivating post-digital narrative work, The Environmental Audiotour, in “Ecocritique between Landscape and Data: The Environmenta… continue

(A click as an unopened email is opened. A virtual curtain rises. The Barker stands alone at center stage, but we are aware of a larger editorial team working in the wings.) BARKER: Another month. Another issue. Another mailshot. (Darkness, before a hard, white spotlight pierces the gloom. The Barker stands in sharp relief.) BARKER: Data is power! Stephan Paur illuminates the issues surrounding the (in)formation of identities in Infopower and the Ideology of Extraction! (The lighting shifts, whites becoming a mix of greens and turquoises reminiscent of an affiliate’s branding. The Barker waits… continue

WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED [SUN/MON/TUES]DAY TO BRING YOU THIS MESSAGE Winter or summer, rain or shine, night or day, you can rely on the electronic book review to deliver cutting edge academia straight to your inbox! I’m TEGAN PYKE—ebr’s latest co-editor and PhD researcher in Digital Culture at the University of Bergen—and I’m here to give you the inside scoop! Join us this month for— MORE OFF CENTER! Are you a scholar interested in the interplay of creative practice and research? An academic lost in the limbo of invisible labor? A disaffected millennial looking for inspiration in… continue

Following last month’s essays about the impact of generative AI on digital writing come two articles that further address the evolving states of creativity in a rapidly changing digital world. Stuart Moulthrop’s review of Steve Tomasula’s Ascension explores the work’s cybernetic and apocalyptic dimensions. Moulthrop traces its subterranean, encyclopedic lineage through print fictions like Joyce’s Ulysses, Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy, Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, DeLillo’s Underworld, David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, and Zadie Smith’s White Teeth… continue

We are excited this month to present three pieces that contribute to a richer understanding of the evolution and current state of electronic literature, and highlights the diversity of e-lit, including works outside the English language.  Roberta Iadevaia’s essay is a thought-provoking analysis of the origins of Italian electronic literature and its relationship to literary traditions and contemporary aesthetics. It begins by describing the recent surge in critical attention to Italian e-lit, reviewing differing approaches of two recent essays that aim to reconstruct the history of the ge… continue