This is an explanation of 21st Century Literature’s “Wild Card” pick, which we choose four times a year.
The thinking behind the Wild Card pick is that there are some very imaginative and literary writers who create their work within genres. In a way, it raises the question of why writers must fall on one side or the other of the genre divide. Who decided, for example, that Haruki Murakami was literature rather than science fiction or fantasy?
The main purpose of the Wild Card pick will be to explore fiction outside the range of our usual reading and dip into selections that may fall into genre classifications, or even challenge the idea of genre itself. We’re not looking for bestsellers such as J.K. Rowling / Dan Brown / Suzanne Collins etc., since there are plenty of groups already devoted to these books and their many imitators. What we’re looking for are those books with elements that might put them outside the mainstream of literature, but which are still original, challenging and thought provoking. Our intention is that the Wild Card will provide an avenue for a bit of fun outside our comfort zones.
The thinking behind the Wild Card pick is that there are some very imaginative and literary writers who create their work within genres. In a way, it raises the question of why writers must fall on one side or the other of the genre divide. Who decided, for example, that Haruki Murakami was literature rather than science fiction or fantasy?
The main purpose of the Wild Card pick will be to explore fiction outside the range of our usual reading and dip into selections that may fall into genre classifications, or even challenge the idea of genre itself. We’re not looking for bestsellers such as J.K. Rowling / Dan Brown / Suzanne Collins etc., since there are plenty of groups already devoted to these books and their many imitators. What we’re looking for are those books with elements that might put them outside the mainstream of literature, but which are still original, challenging and thought provoking. Our intention is that the Wild Card will provide an avenue for a bit of fun outside our comfort zones.