Post by amcnabb on Nov 1, 2008 10:21:52 GMT -5
Hello, all. There is an interesting thread going on on another site and I thought I would bring it to this one. The subject is Catholic Literary Writing, and what is the difference between writing with that descriptor and writing that might be described as "Christian" or "Catholic" Genre Fiction or simply Literary Fiction with a Catholic sensibility.
As a writer of Literary Catholic Fiction (www.andrew-mcnabb.com,) and the founder of Leoness Books (http://www.LeonessBooks.com), I have a good grasp on the distinction. I have come to describe literary Catholic writing as "literary, yet artfully overt." Unfortunately, very few books fall into this category, and that, I believe, is because of the lack of publishing outlets for this type of writing.
Based on my experiences as a writer I decided to start Leoness. I am a widely-published writer, with short stories appearing in such esteemed secular literary journals as The Missouri Review, the Potomac Review, Many Mountains Moving, and many others. I have also published in "Religious" journals, Rock and Sling and Relief, and in the anthology "Not Safe, But Good (Best Christian Short Stories, 2007.) Both Bret and Joseph Pearce have written blurbs for the cover of my story collection, "The Body of This," (Warren Machine), which is due out in April.
I mention the above to shed light on my experience with literary agents. I have been aprroached a number of times by prominent literary agents who have seen my work in secular literary journals. Upon seeing my collection, and the memoir following it, the reponse has been nearly universal: "too Christian for the Trade, and too Catholic for the CBA (Christian Book Association.)" And not much fiction is published by the Catholic publishers. That left me, in particular, with two outlets: University Presses or small publishers. My collection was picked up by the latter, and things are working out great. But I know there are other writers out there whose work conforms to the defintion, "literary, yet artfully overt," and who can't find a home for their work. And furthermore, there are writers who are incline to produce that type of work, but don't try given the dearth of outlets.
I believe that first and foremost, to be able to achieve the "literary," component, one has to work at the craft of writing, in most cases, for a long time. Though inspired by my devout faith, I didn't set out to write "Catholic fiction." It will just happen naturally if the writer is Catholic and looks at the world through the lens of faith, and his intent, ultimately, is to write work that is "artfully overt." It takes a long time to be able to cross that line between preachy and didactic and authentic and contemporary.
I look forward to what others have to say. If any of you are writers and have put your time in, please consider submitting to Leoness. I also encourage everyone to send an e-mail to mailinglist@leonessbooks.com to sign up for our mailing list, and thus help our cause in providing an outlet for Catholic wrters (as well as helping us prove to our investors that a viable audience exists.) And please spread the word if you can! I can be contacted at editor@leonessbooks.com, if anyone would like to correspond on a personal level.
I look forward to reading what you have to say.
Andrew McNabb
Reply
As a writer of Literary Catholic Fiction (www.andrew-mcnabb.com,) and the founder of Leoness Books (http://www.LeonessBooks.com), I have a good grasp on the distinction. I have come to describe literary Catholic writing as "literary, yet artfully overt." Unfortunately, very few books fall into this category, and that, I believe, is because of the lack of publishing outlets for this type of writing.
Based on my experiences as a writer I decided to start Leoness. I am a widely-published writer, with short stories appearing in such esteemed secular literary journals as The Missouri Review, the Potomac Review, Many Mountains Moving, and many others. I have also published in "Religious" journals, Rock and Sling and Relief, and in the anthology "Not Safe, But Good (Best Christian Short Stories, 2007.) Both Bret and Joseph Pearce have written blurbs for the cover of my story collection, "The Body of This," (Warren Machine), which is due out in April.
I mention the above to shed light on my experience with literary agents. I have been aprroached a number of times by prominent literary agents who have seen my work in secular literary journals. Upon seeing my collection, and the memoir following it, the reponse has been nearly universal: "too Christian for the Trade, and too Catholic for the CBA (Christian Book Association.)" And not much fiction is published by the Catholic publishers. That left me, in particular, with two outlets: University Presses or small publishers. My collection was picked up by the latter, and things are working out great. But I know there are other writers out there whose work conforms to the defintion, "literary, yet artfully overt," and who can't find a home for their work. And furthermore, there are writers who are incline to produce that type of work, but don't try given the dearth of outlets.
I believe that first and foremost, to be able to achieve the "literary," component, one has to work at the craft of writing, in most cases, for a long time. Though inspired by my devout faith, I didn't set out to write "Catholic fiction." It will just happen naturally if the writer is Catholic and looks at the world through the lens of faith, and his intent, ultimately, is to write work that is "artfully overt." It takes a long time to be able to cross that line between preachy and didactic and authentic and contemporary.
I look forward to what others have to say. If any of you are writers and have put your time in, please consider submitting to Leoness. I also encourage everyone to send an e-mail to mailinglist@leonessbooks.com to sign up for our mailing list, and thus help our cause in providing an outlet for Catholic wrters (as well as helping us prove to our investors that a viable audience exists.) And please spread the word if you can! I can be contacted at editor@leonessbooks.com, if anyone would like to correspond on a personal level.
I look forward to reading what you have to say.
Andrew McNabb
Reply