Over at the Literary Platform, news of the New Media Writing Prize:
New Media Writing is a genre and a form, but the boundaries of both are still unclear. It’s much like jazz – you know it right away even if you couldn’t necessarily describe what makes it so.
I looked at the winner, Underbelly, by Christine Wilks, and runner up, The Winter House. The former was rather bewildering. Perhaps it was that I'd come straight from Hild World and found the transition too jarring. Perhaps I was just too tired. Perhaps it's just not my thing. On the other hand, The Winter House by Naomi Alderman, was fairly straightforward and deliciously atmospheric (big old house, crackling fires, hushed library). If you liked Myst, you'll like this. But, again, it's not what lights my touchpaper. It feels like a first step effort, not a mature art form. Not a high enough information density. Slow. Not really immersive. Definitely worth taking a look at, though. Let me know what you think.
