Ann Steiner

Literary celebrity reconsidered

The ongoing celebritisation of society not only comprises ‘celebrity sectors’ such as entertainment and sports, but also literature. As in other cultural fields, the commodities to be sold – books – are marketed using the ‘personalities’ directly connected to them by authors appearing on television shows or being selected for feature articles. The aim of the article is to point out limitations to the theoretical framework used in the study of literary celebrity. We argue for a differentiation in the use of the concept of celebrity in literary studies in three respects. Firstly, there should be a differentiation regarding author’s cultural capital. In contrast to the general tendency in celebrity studies to focus on popular culture, in literary studies the application of the theory has been limited to the most prestigious areas of the literary field. Consequently, a broadening of the perspective is necessary: authors of trade fiction may be conceived of as literary celebrities too. Secondly, there is a need for geographical differentiation, since the scope of influence of literary celebrities may vary significantly. Thirdly, we will argue for a diachronic differentiation that takes into account the changing functions and uses of a celebrity author over time. The main example, the Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf, shows the necessity of a stronger focus on the functions of literary celebrities, for instance in the construction of cultural and national identities. Furthermore, celebrity is important for establishing a more comprehensive literary history and for the complex concept of literary value.

Select, Display, and Sell: Curation practices in the bookshop

Bookshops are one of the most visible places for books in public space. No bookshop can ever offer every book available; rather it is in its selection that each bookshop is unique. Value, writes Michael Bhaskar in Curation (2016), no longer resides in access, but in curation—in selecting and arranging. The article argues that curating practices in bookshops can be mapped from four main aspects: space, selection, display, and experience. In order to understand the day-to-day practices in a bookshop, and the different form of curation that takes place, an ethnographic observation study was performed. The results in this study point to the bookshop being a place where more than books are sold: there is also selling the experience and sensation of being in a bookshop. In the borderlands of culture and commerce, bookshops are important curators of books.