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Best of the Web 2008
This print anthology compiles the best fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that online literary journals have to offer in an eclectic collection in the manner of other broad-ranging anthologies such as the Pushcart Prize and The Best American Non-Required Reading . This is the first substantial attempt at creating an annual print compilation of the best of material published online. “[The] mingling and occasional blurring of genres distinguishes Best of the Web from any other print collections showcasing online literature...the book is heartily significant , featuring work that is sometimes surprising...and sometimes exhilarating—not unlike the Web itself.”— Los Angeles Times
“The Internet is built for this short and weird, just what one’s attention span wants when clicking through. And Almond and Leslie wisely pick up on that, making the book worth paging through, as well.”— Time Out Chicago
“Such a development could not have come at a better time for online
literary publishing.”— NewPages.com
“Though publishing online provides us the opportunity to present fiction free
from economic imperative, permitting us, our authors, and our readers to relish
in the experiment of expression, one of our great regrets is forgoing the sensation of binding it, printing it, holding the work we proudly select in our hands. Then along comes Dzanc Books, and this gift of a book, Best of the Web , that feels, to us, like the presentation of an award.”— Aaron Petrovich and Alex Rose , editors, Hotel St. George
“While reading this anthology, you may find yourself muttering , ‘Where
did Dzanc find such brilliant fiction and non-fiction-y writing? Are they
witches? ’ I don’t want to give away too much of the magic, but I will say
this...yes, they are witches.”—Eric Spitznagel, web editor, Monkeybicycle.net In Best of the Web 2008 : Zachary Amendt, Jonathan Ames, Arlene Ang, Michael Bahler, Robin Behn, David Bottoms, Kris Broughton, Benjamin Buchholz, Edward Byrne, Melanie Carter, Jared Carter, Nancy Cherry, Elaine Chiew, Andrea Cohen, Myfanwy Collins, Leigh Anne Couch, Elizabeth Crane, Stevie Davis, Bruce Fischer, Abby Frucht, Charlie Geoghegean-Clements, Garth Risk Hallberg, Seth Harwood, Edward Hirsch, Cara Hoffman, Sandra Huber, Richard Jespers, Christina Kallery, Thomas King, Anna Kushner, Frannie Lindsay, Valerie Loveland, Maurice Manning, LaTonya McQueen, Juan José Millás - translated by Peter Robinson, Amy Minton, Bill Mohr, Okey Ndibe, Stefani Nellen, Jenny Pritchett, Jacques Rancourt, Christopher Rizzo, Amy L. Sargent, George Saunders, R. T. Smith, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Andrew Sorge, Anne Dyer Stuart, Sarah Sweeney, Ron Tanner, Justin Taylor, Tess Taylor, Kim Whitehead, David Willems, Paul Yoon, J. W. Young, Claudia Zuluaga, introductions from series editor Nathan Leslie and edition editor Steve Almond, and interviews with select authors.
“The Internet is built for this short and weird, just what one’s attention span wants when clicking through. And Almond and Leslie wisely pick up on that, making the book worth paging through, as well.”— Time Out Chicago
“Such a development could not have come at a better time for online
literary publishing.”— NewPages.com
“Though publishing online provides us the opportunity to present fiction free
from economic imperative, permitting us, our authors, and our readers to relish
in the experiment of expression, one of our great regrets is forgoing the sensation of binding it, printing it, holding the work we proudly select in our hands. Then along comes Dzanc Books, and this gift of a book, Best of the Web , that feels, to us, like the presentation of an award.”— Aaron Petrovich and Alex Rose , editors, Hotel St. George
“While reading this anthology, you may find yourself muttering , ‘Where
did Dzanc find such brilliant fiction and non-fiction-y writing? Are they
witches? ’ I don’t want to give away too much of the magic, but I will say
this...yes, they are witches.”—Eric Spitznagel, web editor, Monkeybicycle.net In Best of the Web 2008 : Zachary Amendt, Jonathan Ames, Arlene Ang, Michael Bahler, Robin Behn, David Bottoms, Kris Broughton, Benjamin Buchholz, Edward Byrne, Melanie Carter, Jared Carter, Nancy Cherry, Elaine Chiew, Andrea Cohen, Myfanwy Collins, Leigh Anne Couch, Elizabeth Crane, Stevie Davis, Bruce Fischer, Abby Frucht, Charlie Geoghegean-Clements, Garth Risk Hallberg, Seth Harwood, Edward Hirsch, Cara Hoffman, Sandra Huber, Richard Jespers, Christina Kallery, Thomas King, Anna Kushner, Frannie Lindsay, Valerie Loveland, Maurice Manning, LaTonya McQueen, Juan José Millás - translated by Peter Robinson, Amy Minton, Bill Mohr, Okey Ndibe, Stefani Nellen, Jenny Pritchett, Jacques Rancourt, Christopher Rizzo, Amy L. Sargent, George Saunders, R. T. Smith, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Andrew Sorge, Anne Dyer Stuart, Sarah Sweeney, Ron Tanner, Justin Taylor, Tess Taylor, Kim Whitehead, David Willems, Paul Yoon, J. W. Young, Claudia Zuluaga, introductions from series editor Nathan Leslie and edition editor Steve Almond, and interviews with select authors.
332 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Nathan Leslie
32 books13 followersNathan Leslie’s ten books of short fiction include Sibs, Three Men and Root and Shoot. He is also the author of Night Sweat, a poetry collection. His first novel, The Tall Tale of Tommy Twice, was published by Atticus Books in 2012. His short stories, essays and poems have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines including Boulevard, Shenandoah, North American Review, South Dakota Review, and Cimarron Review. He was series editor for The Best of the Web anthology 2008 and 2009 (Dzanc Books) and edited fiction for Pedestal Magazine for many years. He writes a regular music column for Atticus Review and was interviews editor for Prick of the Spindle. He is also the host of Reston Readings--a monthly reading series featuring three authors/month. Check him out at nathanleslie.com, on Facebook and Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 26, 2008
From the LA Times:
'Best of the Web 2008'
The collection of online literature, from series editor Nathan Leslie and guest editor Steve Almond, offers a range of voices rarely found together.
By Chris Daley
July 27, 2008
With growing mainstream acceptance -- and, more important, better writing -- online literature has started to come into its own. Yet how does a curious reader make sense of it? Nathan Leslie had an idea. He's the series editor of "Best of the Web 2008" (Dzanc Books: 340 pp., $18 paper); Steve Almond is this year's guest editor.
Culled from online magazines published between January and October 2007, the selections here represent three distinct categories: fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. This mingling and occasional blurring of genres distinguishes "Best of the Web" from any other print collections showcasing online literature.
The anthology offers a "collective" of voices rarely found together: international literary lights Juan José Millás and Okey Ndibe; cultural critic-poet Edward Hirsch and poet David Bottoms; netizens Seth Harwood and Garth Risk Hallberg; and a wide array of other writers, including Myfanwy Collins, Elizabeth Crane and Christina Kallery.
This multiplicity of perspectives -- in terms of race and gender, as well as location and experience -- may be organic to the Web. Let's not overlook the good work of the editors, though. The pieces were chosen by "decision of committee"; as a result, the book is largely free of "aesthetic fetishism." The one unifying thread has to do with format: The selections are generally on the short side, with longer texts divided into sections, for easier screen reading.
"Best of the Web" isn't perfect; the editors include several seemingly random author interviews that come across as awkward and self-congratulatory. For the most part, though, the book is heartily significant, featuring work that is sometimes surprising, sometimes frustrating and sometimes exhilarating -- not unlike the Web itself.
'Best of the Web 2008'
The collection of online literature, from series editor Nathan Leslie and guest editor Steve Almond, offers a range of voices rarely found together.
By Chris Daley
July 27, 2008
With growing mainstream acceptance -- and, more important, better writing -- online literature has started to come into its own. Yet how does a curious reader make sense of it? Nathan Leslie had an idea. He's the series editor of "Best of the Web 2008" (Dzanc Books: 340 pp., $18 paper); Steve Almond is this year's guest editor.
Culled from online magazines published between January and October 2007, the selections here represent three distinct categories: fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. This mingling and occasional blurring of genres distinguishes "Best of the Web" from any other print collections showcasing online literature.
The anthology offers a "collective" of voices rarely found together: international literary lights Juan José Millás and Okey Ndibe; cultural critic-poet Edward Hirsch and poet David Bottoms; netizens Seth Harwood and Garth Risk Hallberg; and a wide array of other writers, including Myfanwy Collins, Elizabeth Crane and Christina Kallery.
This multiplicity of perspectives -- in terms of race and gender, as well as location and experience -- may be organic to the Web. Let's not overlook the good work of the editors, though. The pieces were chosen by "decision of committee"; as a result, the book is largely free of "aesthetic fetishism." The one unifying thread has to do with format: The selections are generally on the short side, with longer texts divided into sections, for easier screen reading.
"Best of the Web" isn't perfect; the editors include several seemingly random author interviews that come across as awkward and self-congratulatory. For the most part, though, the book is heartily significant, featuring work that is sometimes surprising, sometimes frustrating and sometimes exhilarating -- not unlike the Web itself.
June 8, 2009
With growing mainstream acceptance -- and, more important, better writing -- online literature has started to come into its own. Yet how does a curious reader make sense of it? Nathan Leslie had an idea. He's the series editor of "Best of the Web 2008" (Dzanc Books: 340 pp., $18 paper); Steve Almond is this year's guest editor.
Culled from online magazines published between January and October 2007, the selections here represent three distinct categories: fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. This mingling and occasional blurring of genres distinguishes "Best of the Web" from any other print collections showcasing online literature.
The anthology offers a "collective" of voices rarely found together: international literary lights Juan José Millás and Okey Ndibe; cultural critic-poet Edward Hirsch and poet David Bottoms; netizens Seth Harwood and Garth Risk Hallberg; and a wide array of other writers, including Myfanwy Collins, Elizabeth Crane and Christina Kallery.
This multiplicity of perspectives -- in terms of race and gender, as well as location and experience -- may be organic to the Web. Let's not overlook the good work of the editors, though. The pieces were chosen by "decision of committee"; as a result, the book is largely free of "aesthetic fetishism." The one unifying thread has to do with format: The selections are generally on the short side, with longer texts divided into sections, for easier screen reading.
"Best of the Web" isn't perfect; the editors include several seemingly random author interviews that come across as awkward and self-congratulatory. For the most part, though, the book is heartily significant, featuring work that is sometimes surprising, sometimes frustrating and sometimes exhilarating -- not unlike the Web itself.
- Originally appeared in the LA Times on 7/27/08
Culled from online magazines published between January and October 2007, the selections here represent three distinct categories: fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. This mingling and occasional blurring of genres distinguishes "Best of the Web" from any other print collections showcasing online literature.
The anthology offers a "collective" of voices rarely found together: international literary lights Juan José Millás and Okey Ndibe; cultural critic-poet Edward Hirsch and poet David Bottoms; netizens Seth Harwood and Garth Risk Hallberg; and a wide array of other writers, including Myfanwy Collins, Elizabeth Crane and Christina Kallery.
This multiplicity of perspectives -- in terms of race and gender, as well as location and experience -- may be organic to the Web. Let's not overlook the good work of the editors, though. The pieces were chosen by "decision of committee"; as a result, the book is largely free of "aesthetic fetishism." The one unifying thread has to do with format: The selections are generally on the short side, with longer texts divided into sections, for easier screen reading.
"Best of the Web" isn't perfect; the editors include several seemingly random author interviews that come across as awkward and self-congratulatory. For the most part, though, the book is heartily significant, featuring work that is sometimes surprising, sometimes frustrating and sometimes exhilarating -- not unlike the Web itself.
- Originally appeared in the LA Times on 7/27/08
November 11, 2014
Most of the pieces are vibrant with youthful and/or iconoclastic voices. A poor copy editor marred what was otherwise a fine premiere edition.
Funny story: my story “Basketball Is Not a Drug” was selected after having been published in Blackbird, and I considered it an honor to be represented in this inaugural edition of Best of the Web. The entire process moved along very quickly, and before I knew it, the copy had been released in July. I was never asked to read the “galley proof” (What’s that? you ask) of my story. So I proudly sent the news to family, friends, and associates. I then read my copy and saw that someone had toyed heavily with my story.
In composing it I intentionally and purposefully write the entire story in the second person, present tense, even while referring to the past. It is an artificial practice, but I had a method to my insanity, which was to give the reader the feeling that this madman who’s on a million prescriptions is living in a world that seems entirely in the now, past or not. But a sweet little copy editor (girl friend to someone on staff) had attempted (and gave up) changing some of the prose to past tense. My temperature rose three degrees in three seconds, and I fired off a letter to Dzanc Books owner Dan Wickett outlining every error the copy editor had created. By the time he called to soothe my hurt ego, I was over it. (Meditation has its properties, one of which is a forgiveness mantra.) However, I still refer readers to the original publication online at Blackbird: http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v6n1/fic...) or as I edited it for my collection, My Long-Playing Records and Other Stories: http://www.amazon.com/My-Long-Playing...
Funny story: my story “Basketball Is Not a Drug” was selected after having been published in Blackbird, and I considered it an honor to be represented in this inaugural edition of Best of the Web. The entire process moved along very quickly, and before I knew it, the copy had been released in July. I was never asked to read the “galley proof” (What’s that? you ask) of my story. So I proudly sent the news to family, friends, and associates. I then read my copy and saw that someone had toyed heavily with my story.
In composing it I intentionally and purposefully write the entire story in the second person, present tense, even while referring to the past. It is an artificial practice, but I had a method to my insanity, which was to give the reader the feeling that this madman who’s on a million prescriptions is living in a world that seems entirely in the now, past or not. But a sweet little copy editor (girl friend to someone on staff) had attempted (and gave up) changing some of the prose to past tense. My temperature rose three degrees in three seconds, and I fired off a letter to Dzanc Books owner Dan Wickett outlining every error the copy editor had created. By the time he called to soothe my hurt ego, I was over it. (Meditation has its properties, one of which is a forgiveness mantra.) However, I still refer readers to the original publication online at Blackbird: http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v6n1/fic...) or as I edited it for my collection, My Long-Playing Records and Other Stories: http://www.amazon.com/My-Long-Playing...
October 4, 2008
Guest edited by Steve Almond and introduced by Series Editor Nathan Leslie, Best of the Web 2008 collects the best prose and poetry published on the Internet from October 2006-07.
What’s great about the book? It’s always pleasant to see Elizabeth Crane in an anthology—this time it’s “Promise” from Failbetter.com. Also, while I typically avoid reading anything with an overly medical nature (it freaks me out, man), Richard Jespers’s “Basketball Is Not a Drug” from Blackbird is phenomenal. Yeah, the length is disconcerting at first, but the story’s a surefire winner....
Read the rest in the October 2008 issue of decomP .
What’s great about the book? It’s always pleasant to see Elizabeth Crane in an anthology—this time it’s “Promise” from Failbetter.com. Also, while I typically avoid reading anything with an overly medical nature (it freaks me out, man), Richard Jespers’s “Basketball Is Not a Drug” from Blackbird is phenomenal. Yeah, the length is disconcerting at first, but the story’s a surefire winner....
Read the rest in the October 2008 issue of decomP .
January 27, 2009
Featuring work from The Furnace Review! http://www.thefurnacereview.com
November 22, 2010
Don't get me started. Fuck Dzanc.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews