The Novel in French and the Internet

Fulop, Erika (2021) The Novel in French and the Internet. In: The Cambridge History of the Novel in French :. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 724-743. ISBN 9781108497077

[thumbnail of 40 FULOP The novel in French and the internet FINAL]
Text (40 FULOP The novel in French and the internet FINAL)
40_FULOP_The_novel_in_French_and_the_internet_FINAL.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial.

Download (357kB)

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the ways in which the boom of digital technologies has affected the novel. The Internet and especially social media are now recurrent themes in print fiction, which also often reflect the changes in our experience of space and time through new structures and styles. Beyond such thematic manifestations, however, the novel has seen more fundamental innovations that stretch its traditional boundaries. We can discern three main areas of evolution. First, the emergence of new modes of publication, including digital publishing, self-publishing, and writing platforms such as Wattpad have democratized the access to audiences and incited amateurs to write fiction. Secondly, the new modes of communication facilitate the exchange between authors and readers, while also bringing about the rise of the ‘influencers’, who are taking over the role of trend-setting from professional critics. Last but not least, new modes of storytelling have emerged that rely on digital networks: interactive fictions that break up the linearity of the text and give agency to the reader, and blogs, websites, and social media experiments that play with temporality, form, and modes of interaction with the audiences.

Item Type:
Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings
Additional Information:
This material has been published in revised form in The Cambridge History of the Novel in French edited by Adam Watt https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-the-novel-in-french/5BB496D480E15DFB7BCE3A4465049E36 This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use. © Cambridge University Press.
ID Code:
152575
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
31 Mar 2021 11:38
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jan 2024 00:27