Kate, the Must Have A Creative Writing Degree mindset is not quite so far gone in my native UK, but I've been aware that the problem isn't just my chauvinistic prejudices since the 90s, when a history professor walked into our TA office in California in the 90s and asked for reading recommendations in fiction. He was tired of boring, pretentious American literature, and so, it seemed, were my grad student colleagues. Nutshell: When *historians* think novels boring, that's a big hint. Meanwhile, although I'm not above genre fiction (and write it) I find myself reading authors from Before the Deluge of Certifications (about which Penelope Lively has had a few choice words, btw) and now take the Booker as a guide to what NOT to read. Publishing needs a talent search model, not a Publish Only Those Non-Celebs Who Schmooze model. Ooh, I've wanted to say this for years! Thanks!
Kate, the Must Have A Creative Writing Degree mindset is not quite so far gone in my native UK, but I've been aware that the problem isn't just my chauvinistic prejudices since the 90s, when a history professor walked into our TA office in California in the 90s and asked for reading recommendations in fiction. He was tired of boring, pretentious American literature, and so, it seemed, were my grad student colleagues. Nutshell: When *historians* think novels boring, that's a big hint. Meanwhile, although I'm not above genre fiction (and write it) I find myself reading authors from Before the Deluge of Certifications (about which Penelope Lively has had a few choice words, btw) and now take the Booker as a guide to what NOT to read. Publishing needs a talent search model, not a Publish Only Those Non-Celebs Who Schmooze model. Ooh, I've wanted to say this for years! Thanks!