Today on the American Short Fiction blog, the web editor posed the question, “What does online publishing mean to you?” to literary luminary Rick Moody. Moody recently garnered much buzz with his Twitter story, “Some Contemporary Characters,” a series of tweets which appeared over 3 days for Electric Literature.  Though Moody clearly appreciates the possibilities and new directions provided by online publishing, he also still firmly believes in the power of print:

“Online publication, to me, is of interest because it’s cheaper and easier to produce, thus emboldening people who want to bring their vision out into the marketplace of ideas. But that doesn’t mean it’s better. Best of all is written on stone, and if that doesn’t work, whatever is nearly as long lasting as stone.”

What do you think? Do you agree with Rick? What do you see as the ultimate future of publishing as we know it?

“The only true currency in this bankrupt world… is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.”

In a recent essay for Rumpus, Rick Moody confesses his dark past as a high school outcast. Ostensibly, this is surprising–though not necessarily a household name, Moody is very well-known in the literary set, and gained fame with his novel, The Ice Storm, which later became a feature film starring Kevin Kline, Tobey Maguire, and Sigourney Weaver. However, those who know writers and other creative types pretty well will tell you that most of us share a bond stronger than art–we were all tragically uncool in high school.

The main focus of Moody’s essay is about Bill, a band composed of Bill Gage, a man with Down’s Syndrome, and his brother John, whom Moody was friends with in high school. Moody sets the stage for his discovery of this band by describing his group of high school friends: a motley and eccentric group of outcasts that others called a “cult.” They were fused together in their loneliness and creativity–talent that gets automatically labeled “weird” by teenagers everywhere.

I was, of course, uncool in high school, as were many of the most awesome people I know.... more »