2) New draft: Online literary magazines
In 1991, with the invention of browsers and the implementation of domains, the Internet became what is now known as the World_Wide_Web. The digitalization of content revolutionized communication, media and commerce, leading to the development of web-compatible products and new methods of distribution. [1]
Soon, the first online literary magazine appeared. Among those dating back to the early years and still online/running are: Alt-X (1993), Eclectica Magazine, Spike Magazine, elimae, 5_Trope (1996); The Barcelona Review (1998); Failbetter, 3:AM Magazine, Identity Theory (webzine), and McSweeney's Internet Tendency (2000).
With the establishment of the Internet, online literary magazines thrived. Writers and editors alike - the established, the new, the entrepreneurial and innovative – began to capitalize on the advantages that the medium offers: the worldwide circulation of content, an international readership, accessible archives, and the capacity for authors to link published works to their blogs and websites, making them ever-accessible to their followers.
In addition to traditional text-based literature, Internet technology inspired new, web-specific publication formats: [2]
- Hypertext, text-audio collages, animated texts. Examples of magazines that specialize in these formats: “locus novus”, “Otoliths”, “Trickhouse”.
- Flash_fiction / Microfiction: short stories that can be read on a screen without scrolling. Examples: “rumble”, “minima”.
- Additional technologies are integrated as they emerge, such as Podcast and videos.
Enhanced by the technological possibilities of linking, commenting, and e-mailing, networking platforms developed, which offer writers the possibility to showcase their work and to get peer feedback. Examples: “Edit Red”, “Fictionaut”.
One of the difficulties that comes with online publication is the virtual nature of this medium: when online journals go offline, their content is lost. Recently, some online journals started web initiatives which address this theme: Cha:_An_Asian_Literary_Journal plans a special “Lost Teas” feature, and Blueprintreview hosts a list with web archive links to Retrieved Online Literary Magazines, including some of the early literary online magazines: Blue Moon Review (1994), and Makar poetry (1995).
Various webpages keep track of the spreading number of online venues and provide centralized summaries of new issues of online journals: NewPages.com, LitMag Central. In addition, Duotrope Digest is hosting an extensive database of current fiction and poetry markets. Dzanc Best of Web Anthologies (print).
Among the portals available to explore the current trends in the world of online literary magazine are contests like the Story South Million Writers Award, the Sundress Best of the Net Online Anthology, or the Dzanc Best of Web Anthologies.
There is increasingly a blending of old and new print media. It's not unusual for online literary magazines to publish print issues, common formats being "Best-Of-Year" issues, special theme issues, or chapbooks. Examples: qarrtsiluni In Print, Hobart Magazine minibooks. On the other side, a lot of printed works are now available in e-form, a development that is enhanced by E-books and mobile web access devices.
The line between printed texts and e-texts is getting less defined. Meanwhile, online literary journals continue to multiply in number and experiment with new formats, creating opportunities for artists to present their works and for readers to access them.
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