Challenges Regarding E-Books in Norway

The market for digital literature continues to grow, which means that writers and publishers alike are faced with new challenges and possibilities concerning the writing and creation of fiction. Yet, the e-book has somehow ended up as a poor copy of the paper book. A key question becomes: Is this because the industry has a too narrow approach to the opportunities that exist in the digital medium?

Throughout this paper I will discuss a number of issues related to this new reality of book publishing. Firstly, the new technology that e-books brings and how this is limiting and encouraging new ways of expression. Secondly, the Norwegian market with its small size that gives opportunity to establish beneficial trade agreements. Thirdly, there are a number of options open to those willing to take new creative steps when writing digital fiction. This includes publishers who can work to make tools available and invest in new types of texts, and writers who can tell stories in different ways by implementing technology. Moreover, the new media also bring with them supposed disadvantages and challenges, such as immature technical solutions. Last, the authors Stai, Egeland and the numerous contributors to the anthology komPost#1 all represent people who are living in this new digital literary reality and that have published digital fiction. How do Norwegian publishers and Norwegian writers use the opportunities of the technology? At the end of the day, the differences between the printed book and the e-book might not be as vast as one thinks, because they both concern language and narrative, and aim to facilitate a good reading experience.

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