Fiction in the Age of E-BooksProduced in association with THE ATLANTIC

Luminato and The Atlantic magazine join forces to examine the most revolutionary development affecting literature today: the advent of Amazon’s Kindle, Sony’s E-Reader, and other forms of electronic book.

The Atlantic has long been a leader in the field of literary publishing. Now, as writing directly for digital media becomes a growing trend, the magazine has launched its Atlantic Fiction for Kindle series, providing new short stories directly to the Kindle every month. But what does the dawn of this post-print era, regarded with apprehension by some, really mean for the future of literature? Could it herald a new golden age for fiction?

The Atlantic’s first e-contributors, including bestselling authors Paul Theroux and Richard Bausch are joined by other masters of fiction and industry professionals, including Indigo President, Joel Silver, in a discussion moderated by the magazine’s deputy editor, Scott Stossel. If you’re a lover of literature, this is one debate you can’t afford to miss.

Panelists

Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts and has lived in London, Singapore, and Africa. His highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light, Hotel Honolulu, My Other Life, Kowloon Tong, Half Moon Street, The Mosquito Coast, and Saint Jack (the latter three were all made into films). His renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Dark Star Safari, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, and The Happy Isles of Oceania.

He currently divides his time between Hawaii and Cape Cod.

Richard Bausch

Richard Bausch was born in Ft. Benning, Georgia in 1945.  He was educated in the public schools in and around Washington, D.C., and after two failures to maintain a standing in college, served a stint in the Air Force, after which he returned to university studies, first in Virginia and then at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. He is the author of 11 novels and nine collections of stories, including the novels Rebel Powers, Violence, Good Evening Mr. & Mrs. America And All The Ships At Sea, and Thanksgiving Night, and the story collections Spirits, The Fireman's Wife, Rare & Endangered Species , Someone To Watch Over Me, The Stories of Richard Bausch, and Wives & Lovers. His most recent book is Something is Out There. His novel, The Last Good Time was made into a feature-length motion picture. His short stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Esquire, Harper's, The New Yorker, Playboy, The Southern Review, New Stories From the South, The Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Stories and The Pushcart Prize Stories; and have been widely anthologized. Bausch is the editor of The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, and currently serves as The Moss Chair of Excellence in the Writing Program at The University of Memphis.

Joel Silver (President, Indigo Books & Music Inc.) joined Indigo in December 2003 and is responsible for all product categories across all channels for Canada's largest book retailer. All Merchant, Business Intelligence, Performance Management and Online Teams report in to Joel. Joel also holds direct responsibility for Indigo's sustainability objectives.

Prior to Indigo, Joel served as CEO in several start-up companies including SalesDriver, an online sales incentive company that he co-founded and then sold to the Carlson Marketing Group. Prior to these entrepreneurial ventures, Joel led the Ivory brand management team at Procter & Gamble as well as several other key category management roles.

Joel holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Harvard School of Business and an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Sarah MacLachlan has worked in publishing for 24 years.  She began her career in 1986 running the publicity department for Oxford University Press in Toronto. In December 2003 when she was hired by Scott Griffin to become the President of the literary publisher, House of Anansi Press.  Anansi was the original publisher of Margaret Atwood’s, Survival and her award winning poetry collection, The Circle Game.  They were one of Michael Ondaatje’s first publishers.  Most recently they’ve come to international attention as the publishers of the IMPAC award -winning novel by Rawi Hage, De Niro’s Game, and Gil Adamson’s The Outlander and Margaret Atwood’s Payback Debt and the Shadowside of Wealth.

Moderator

Atlantic Deputy Editor Scott Stossel has been associated with the magazine since 1992 when, shortly after graduating from Harvard, he joined the staff and helped to launch The Atlantic Online. In 1996, he moved to The American Prospect where, over the course of seven years, he served as associate editor, executive editor, and culture editor. He rejoined the Atlantic staff in 2002. Scott’s articles have appeared in a wide array of publications, including The New Yorker, The New Republic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.

He is also the author of the 2004 book, Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver. Within the Atlantic offices, Scott will be forever remembered as the managing editor who oversaw the magazine's 2005 move to Washington from Boston, where it had been based since its founding in 1857.

Under Scott's supervision, the magazine shifted all of its operations from Boston's North End to the Watergate building, all the while producing issues that were later nominated for National Magazine Awards. Along with writing and editing, Scott has taught courses in the American Studies Department at Trinity College. He currently divides his time between Washington and Boston, where he lives with his wife, daughter, dog, two cats, and many fish.

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