Short Lists for Electronic Literature Awards Announced

Posted on April 25, 2001

The Electronic Literature Organization (ELO) has announced the short lists for the first Electronic Literature Awards. The two $10,000 Award-winners will be announced at a ceremony May 18, 2001 at the New School's Swayduck Auditorium in New York City. The ELO, based in Chicago, ia a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote and facilitate the writing, reading, and publishing of literature designed for the electronic media.

Sixteen judges have whittled the international pool of one hundred and sixty three works down to a short list of six in each category. Final Judges Heather McHugh (Poetry) and Larry McCaffery (Fiction) will select the winner in each category.

"Many of the first and second round judges commented on the remarkable diversity of works submitted," said Scott Rettberg, executive director of the ELO. "Collectively, these works represent the efforts of a nascent literary movement that takes the electronic media not only as a new means of distributing literature, but also as an interactive space that can be utilized to create entirely new kinds of literary art."

Short List for the 2001 Electronic Literature Award for Fiction

Alternumerics by Paul Chan of Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

Lexia to Perplexia by Talan Memmott of San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

Patchwork Girl by Shelley Jackson of Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

-the data][h!][bleeding texts_ by Mez of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

These Waves of Girls by Caitlin Fisher of Toronto, Canada

The Impermanence Agent by Noah Wardrip-Fruin et al. of New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Short List for the 2001 Electronic Literature Award for Poetry

Configuration by Hilary Mosher-Buri of Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A.

"Cyberpoetry Underground" By Komninos Zervos of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Him by Dane Watkins of Somerset, England, U.K.

The Minotaur Project by Kim White of Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

"Nepabunna" by Geniwate of Prospect, South Adelaide, Australia

"Windsound" by John Cayley of London, England, U.K.