Literature in the Age of the Internet

What does the future hold for literature in the age of the Internet? The more optimistic commentators believe that the Internet is good for books since it democratises reading and the e-book expands the reading public. More pessimistic observers, however, argue that the Internet has intensified the crisis of the publishing world because self-publication has created an endless, unfiltered offer, while new mobile devices encourage disperse, fragmentary reading.

In this debate on the future of the book, which is organised by the CCCB and the publishing conglomerate Grup 62, speakers will analyse how the Internet is changing the publishing sector. Is cyberspace a threat or opportunity for the world of the book? Is the reader changing? How do digital natives read? What about creators? Has the Internet changed ways of writing? Will the books of the future be full of images and videos? If everyone is writing and publishing, is this good for democracy? In brief, does cyberspace democratise or does it create new hierarchies?

Programme

6.30 p.m. – The Future of Authors
Lecture by Luciana Castellina
Presented by Josep Ramoneda, president of Grup 62

7.30 p.m. – Writing in the Age of the Internet
Conversation between Sergi Pàmies and Imma Monsó
Moderator: Vicenç Villatoro, director of the CCCB