Our friends at Chamber Four have come a long way since launching in January of 2009. In the past two years they’ve published hundreds of book reviews and weekly columns and special features, and their readership continues to grow. And what started as a site focusing on the merits and drawbacks of e-publishing has now put its money where its mouth is and released its very own fiction anthology.

The Chamber Four Fiction Anthology contains 25 of the best stories published on the Internet since 2009, chosen by the C4 Eds. It includes pieces from such journals and sites as PANK, AGNI, Boston Review, and Granta, and features writers like B.J. Hollars, Ron MacLean, Angie Lee, and the ubiquitous Steve Almond.

You can download it here for free, and it’s also available in paperback from the Harvard Book Store.

To provide additional insight into the stories, the C4 Eds are running an interview series with several of the writers from the Anthology. And here, co-founder Nico Vreeland discusses what the C4 staff learned during the publishing process.

Also, late last week the guys announced that they’re taking submissions for the first issue of their very own literary magazine.

Smells like some friendly competition is afoot. Or unfriendly, depending on how aggressive... more »

Here’s the conclusion of our interview with Chamber Four:

Aside debates about the value of ereaders, and clips of other sources discussing the value of ereaders, what type of content are you trying to publish?

Sean: We’re really trying to promote the book reviews as a source of book information for readers by readers. The database is growing steadily, and our ambitions for it are big; we’ll be importing it to a searchable, cross-referencing database at some point, hopefully soon. We’re also planning to launch a digital magazine soon.

Nico: I’ve always been frustrated with the way book reviews are done. Music and movie reviews are geared toward telling people if the music/movie is good or not, why aren’t book reviews the same way? On the blog side, we also post about literature and reading, as well as ebook issues. I think our best posts are the more sprawling, big-picture pieces, because we’re all in the midst of figuring out this tectonic shift in a medium that’s been stable for almost 600 years, so I find pieces that can encompass the magnitude of that shift to be the most compelling. And while we do repost some big news items, we filter a lot... more »

Fringe has been collaborating with Chamber Four on an interview swap to exchange information about digital literature. It’s been an interesting dialogue–the interview with Fringe’s Editor-in-Chief Lizzie Stark can be found here. Now it’s Chamber Four’s turn to answer some questions! Lizzie sat down with Chamber Four founders Sean Clark and Nico Vreeland (Eric Markowsky wasn’t available, due to a little thing called his thesis) to talk about writing and reading in the digital revolution.

Part I now, Part II will be published tomorrow.

Why did you decide to start this site? How did you come up with the name? Who are its founding members and how long did it take you to get the site up?

Sean: The three of us (Eric, Nico, and Sean–all from Emerson College’s MFA program) came up with the idea while discussing books and Nico’s new Sony e-reader. We actually got the first build put together after a long week of work, but some of our planned improvements are still being worked on. I think an enormous disconnect seems to exist between readers (and to an extent writers) and publishing as a business. Since finishing school, I’ve longed for a better way to discuss and share... more »

Check out this interview with Fringe editor-in-chief Lizzie Stark over at Chamber Four. Later on, we’ll be posting an interview with the minds behind Chamber Four in this space, so stay tuned.

The Fringe blog will be running an interview with Fringe EIC Lizzie Stark and the founders of Chamber Four, a new blog “for readers of books and ebooks,” in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Fringe Assistant Fiction Editor David Duhr fills us in on the backstory:

Halfway between Harvard and MIT, a new website devoted to readers is developing an underground following that grows by the day. Chamber Four—created by Nico Vreeland, Sean Clark, and Eric Markowsky—provides daily news and analysis about the world of publishing, literature, and e-reading technology, always advocating for book readers stymied by an industry that often puts them second (or third, or fourth). These guys aren’t afraid to let their opinions loose, and their content is presented in a manner that is both informative and entertaining.

The C4 team scours the Internet to bring users only the most interesting and relevant reader-related news, while also sharing their own hopes and concerns about the future of e-readers, paper books, and the publishing industry as a whole. Book reviews are posted at a near-daily pace, with easy-to-follow ratings designed to help readers find good books quickly. The e-reader comparison will help those interested in e-reading technology but unsure of... more »