Binding Media. Contemporary Electronic Literature and Experimental Publishing

There is no shortage of ways in which the print and the digital intersect within the literary realm. Binding media is a particular manifestation of these intersections. It refers to the creation and publication of literary works—fiction, essay, and poetry—using both print and digital media. Published simultaneously or sequentially in both print and digital media, this type of work reveals the tensions between media, specific modes of reading and writing, the stability of the codex and the rapid changing landscape of digital technologies, experimental writing, bookmaking, and trade publishing. Binding media works stage a contact zone and the media-cultural encounters taking place at the juncture of transnational, transcultural, and media exchanges fostered by technological shift, neocolonial dynamics, migration, neoliberal markets, and globalized communication. The examination suggests that at the turn of the 21st century, in our globalized and hyper-connected world, cultural and media encounter are best seen as a continuum.