Season 8 · Episode 11
Criticism in The Conglomerate Era
As mass-market literature has been consolidated into a small handful of publishing conglomerates, the critical work once done by publicity and editorial departments has been offloaded. In this epis...
The American Vandal · Matt Seybold, Center For Mark Twain Studies
October 17, 20231h 21m
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (media.resonaterecordings.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
As mass-market literature has been consolidated into a small handful of publishing conglomerates, the critical work once done by publicity and editorial departments has been offloaded. In this episode we discuss the rise of literary agents and their function as critics [8:00] and the role of literary awards in canon formation and other processes of homogenization [28:00]. Finally, we ask, can criticism be a countervailing force against conglomeration? [60:00]
Cast (in order of appearance): Dan Sinykin, Matt Seybold, Laura McGrath, Sheri-Marie Harrison, Ainehi Edoro, Howard Rambsy
Soundtrack: Joe Locke's "Makram"
For episode bibliography, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/conglomerate, or subscribe to our newsletter at TheAmericanVandal.SubStack.com, where you will also receive episode transcripts.