How do you write and sell books to a generation that supposedly doesn't care about books?
Over at Soft Skull Press, Richard Nast is blogging about Page23, a MySpace blogged extension of the Changing Hands bookstore. They created the webpage to specifically reach a demographic that made waves two years ago for abandoning books all-together:
"[Created] in 2005 in response to the NEA's "Reading at Risk" report--a study showing readership plummeting at an alarming rate (especially among those in their 20's and 30's). Our mission is to support writing that speaks to this elusive generation of readers, as well as those hungry for books outside the mainstream."
Page 23 has a killer reading list, and the blog sidebar features some interviews with writers we like, including an an interview with Kevin Brockmeier (author of The Brief History of the Dead) about how he balances writing books for children and adults.
What do you think? Is it just more Internet-fueled sensationalism that makes us worry about losing the 20-30-year-old readers? Or do we need some literary first-aid to repair the damage?
(Thanks, Conversational Reading)
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