Although this isn't the answer we're looking for exactly, fellow blogger and word crafter extraordinaire, the other lisa of The Paper Tiger, blogs about a cool on-line tool called Gnooks:
According to the site: Gnooks - Welcome to the World of Literature! Gnooks is a self-adapting community system based on the gnod engine. Discover new writers you will like, travel the map. of literature and discuss your favorite books and authors.
So I tried it and it's pretty cool. It's not what we're looking for, I don't think, but it's good for an hour or so of entertaining exploration. There's even a feature for finding new authors you might
like. When asked to type in three authors I like, I gave them Katherine Neville, Lois McMasters Bujold, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. I was given Ann Benson. (Not to be confused with Anna Benson, the American model, former stripper, and wife of Major League Baseball pitcher Kris Benson.) A quick google search reveals the literary Benson to be more closer aligned with Neville than the other two, but who am I to grumble? Woo hoo: new author Ann Benson, here I come!An interesting addition: When I typed in Courtney Summers, it didn't recognize the name. So it asked me to verify spelling. Then it asked me if I wanted to submit the name for review. I clicked yes. The awesome thing is that the site doesn't just accept whatever name you submit. It then puts it up for review to the next site-comers, and everyone gets a chance to vote. Is this a real author?
So, try it out. See if we can get Courtney Summers on the play list. Explore and see if it really works, or if it's just yanking our chains. And keep an eye out for new authors. I want a list!
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7 comments:
Hi, Alex, great to see you over at EL. Finding new authors is indeed a bit hit-or-miss, although it's certainly a lot easier today than it was before the advent of the Net. If one is looking for new authors in a specific genre or niche it's easier, as there are so many online readers' and writers' groups. A couple of other places to look: Publishers Weekly, which specifies debut authors in their reviews, and Publishers Marketplace, which is full of pages by new and emerging authors.
Meh. A run at Library Thing might give one better ideas on new authors. Essentially, as long as your buddies are updating their lists, you're going to find what you want to read.
Word of mouth though, seems to be king still.
@elizabeth: thanks for the suggestions. i tend to look for on-line resources, but that's totally cool.
@anthony: i always end up taking your suggestions...you're that good. ok. i'll look into Library Thing. But I'm singing, "...deleted lyrics..."
Alex, Publishers Marketplace is online. Check out the writer pages.
Anthony's right, though, that nothing trumps good old-fashioned word of mouth.
@elizabeth: here's hoping you come back and see this comment. is there a way you can set your profile to public? i've lost your blog site, & when i try to click on your name, it won't send me any where. (or is there an easier step i'm missing here, folks?)
http://www.elizabethloupas.com/
Nothing escapes The Anthony.
Wow, all this connectiony stuff is pretty cool! Yeah, I got the lit map from Elizabeth and reposted it and now Alex has it. I thought it was pretty cool, and the authors I tested definitely returned relevant hits. I will have to check Library Thing as well...
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