Coming into this subject in 2024, I had a sort of semi-formed idea of digital literature being a category of publication that was kind of a moving target – evolving as technology made new storytelling platforms available. Now, however, on take two, I am starting out as seeing it as more of a spectrum in that it is three-dimensional, simultaneously sort of ethereal, and multimodal. And I’m acutely aware of there being a plethora of qualifiers and iterations of the sub/genre that I have no idea about yet!

Project Gutenberg, for example, could be said to be an (the?) original example of digital literature – paper-and-ink books that have been uploaded for reading from a screen. Limiting the genre to that which can be read on a screen, however, discounts many publications such as Vox Books wherein the words to narratives are read from paper but are also heard via a digital file, or Audible books which are auditory only. It would also exclude artifacts such as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries which were not originally presented via the printed word but do represent a digitally-based adaptation of a well-known narrative.

And then there’s ‘Bandersnatch‘, the critically acclaimed episode of Black Mirror (2018), which presents a narrative that the audience is required to interact with, much like a 21st Century choose-your-own-adventure for adults. What is it? Definitely an exercise in multimedia storytelling, but does that make it an example of digital literature?

This semester, I am hoping to come closer to defining criteria by which to evaluate digital literature for specific purposes and, consequently, be able to identify quality examples. This includes literature for my own enjoyment, making recommendations as a teacher of primary school students, and selecting material for shared reading as a parent.

Onwards into the breach!