Who actually puts the "lit" in the much-vaunted Brooklyn lit scene? Sure, it's a well documented fact that you can't throw a Moleskine in this town without hitting a novelist, but it's not just a glut of writers that gives Brooklyn its deserved reputation as a literary destination. You see, a thriving writing scene requires the energy and passion of those tireless, slightly mad individuals who love books, writing and writers so much that they open bookstores, tirelessly promote reading series and read through hundreds upon hundreds of stories, that we might all benefit. Here are some of favorite of these indie lit impresarios...

Ladies and gentlemen, we salute you.

All Photos Matt Feddersen

Why are you doing this?

Vol. 1 Brooklyn started out as a blog so I could get publishers to send me free books. At some point I decided it might also be nice to put on a reading series which I started at Bar Matchless three years ago. Now the site has a pretty large readership, a great team of editors, a dozen contributors and Vol. 1 does two events each month. I think we do it for a number of reasons. We get to meet authors we respect, get to introduce the world to writers they may not have known before, and it's really amazing when a writer comes up to us a few months after doing a reading and tells us they got something published in a big journal because they were published on Vol. 1, or they met their agent at our event.
Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?

I'm always a bit perplexed by this idea that Brooklyn is suddenly a very literary place. Walt Whitman lived here, Arthur Miller, Woody Allen, Capote, etc. I think it really has something to do with that fact that writers are removed from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, but still definitely in a city. I also believe walking is great for writers and Brooklyn is one of the greatest places on the planet to do that. 

It might sound like a bit much, but a lot of the writers I know who have been in Brooklyn since around the start of the new millennium tend to point to Dave Eggers setting up the McSweeney's store (pre 826Brooklyn) as the catalyst to Brooklyn becoming the place it is. I heard stories of people going to a David Foster Wallace reading there with like six other people. But slowly, all the writers that really influenced post-9/11 literature (especially fiction) started coming here. I think that might have something to do with it as well. 

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

I'm not really sure if these are people that people haven't heard of. Some of them are already published or have stories in big magazines or journals, but I loved Adam Wilson's Flatscreen. I'm really looking forward to Rosie Schaap's Drinking With Men, I think Joshua Cohen is brilliant, Rachel Syme's biography on F. Scott Fitzgerald living in Hollywood is something I'm super interested in reading, and I love Kathleen Alcott's debut and Karolina Waclawiak's How to Get Into the Twin Palms. But there's an entire laundry list of other brilliant writers like Emma Straub, Alexander Chee, Jami Attenberg, Justin Taylor... and Zachary Lipez is a really great essayist. People who don't have books out yet that I love are James Yeh and Lincoln Michel (of Gigantic), Royal Young and I think people need to pay a lot of attention to Courtney Maum. She's fantastic. 

I know that's a lot, but Brooklyn is also full of really fantastic folks who write about books as well. Maud Newton, Jacob Silverman, Michelle Filgate, Ed Champion and so many others. I think that so many people who love literature in one place really gets into the soil. It also can't hurt that there are several great indie bookstores and lots of coffee. 

Do you also write yourself?

I do. I just finished my first book and I'm about to start doing research on my next one. I've been published by the New York Times, The Paris Review, NPR, the New York Observer, Tablet, The Rumpus and a bunch of other places.

What's your day job?

Writing and editing.

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?

I think that even though we're living in Brooklyn we still live in the New York City bubble where we tend to forget that there is a whole world past the city limits. Roxane Gay and Blake Butler are brilliant and prolific writers who live in Illinois (Gay) and Georgia (Butler) and the world (including Brooklyn) come to them. Brooklyn is part of a bigger picture. 

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?

I think it looks bright. I think it's a really great community. A lot has been written about how the literary community lives online these days, but you wouldn't know that if you attended readings and parties here. People socialize here, friendships are made and ideas are cultivated. I think that will continue and you'll see more and more happen in the next few years.

Why are you doing this?

Like other forms of popular art—music, books, movies—people need a new way to consume short stories that's internet friendly. I want to make it as easy, no-reason-not-to easy, for casual readers to find and read great literary fiction from diverse sources. That's why Electric Literature's Recommended Reading is free and publishes online—you can click straight through from Facebook or Twitter, follow us on Tumblr, and never be without something great to read.

Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?

Everyone's doing it.

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

Cody Adams. We had workshop together in college, and I still talk about the stories that he wrote for that class, including ones he claims not to remember. I believe his first publication is forthcoming in the Michigan Quarterly Review. And Joshua Harmon who wrote a beautiful novel called Quinnehtukqut, and a book of poems, Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie, which will mean a lot to anyone who has ever lived in Poughkeepsie or any other down-trodden American city.

Do you also write yourself?

Yes. I'm really excited to have a story coming out in one of my favorite fiction magazines, One Story, later this year.

What's your day job?

This. Electric Literature.

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?

There are so many great presses and magazines coming out of Brooklyn—Bomb, A Public Space, One Story, Melville House, Akashic, Verso to name a few. By sheer volume and quality of output, Brooklyn Lit has to be pretty influential. I also think Brooklyn is a place where people are willing to try new things and be early adaptors of new technologies. We're on the front lines.

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?

Pretty soon, the print vs. digital conversation has to be old news. We'll keep doing both, and gradually the stigma will be lifted from very useful digital tools like self-publishing and reading online.

Why are you doing this?
When I joined Electric Literature in 2009, I hated the idea of eBooks. I'd nearly lost friends who'd become Kindle converts; I'd been indoctrinated by all these people who were predicting that digital publishing would mean the death of literature. But that was all before I'd actually read an eBook. After reading a story on EL's iPhone app (on my subway ride to my first interview with the founders—I consequently missed my stop), I realized that digital publishing was not a threat but rather a great resource for readers and publishers.

Put basically, I'm doing this because literature is vital. Beyond the beauty of the sentence and the hypnotic force of a well-told story, nothing helps us practice empathy as deeply and effectively as literature does. I can't think of a more important way to spend my day than helping to discover and share powerful works of fiction. In short, I'm doing this because literature matters. Also, it means I get to read for a living.

Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?

Much as we might deny it, Brooklyn (or at least the part where I live) is an outer-borough. We're on the fringe of the city. Literature is a little like that in respect to popular culture. We're not getting the attention of Times Square, but we don't necessarily want all that madness either. It's a smaller, slower community, where there's more room for the things we care about.

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

Carson Mell or Scott McClanahan. Carson self-published Saguaro, a short novel about Bobby Bird who's this washed-up rock star trying to reconcile his life, or at least reflect on it. The novel is funny and fucked-up and deeply moving, but there's only a few copies left—so get it while you can. Carson's also a brilliant animator, and Bobby Bird makes appearances in his animations, too. Scott McClanahan's name is getting around, and if you ever have a chance to see him read, you should. Scott goes into this trance-like state and winds up hypnotizing the audience while he's at it—it's powerful stuff and exactly what a reading should be.

Do you also write yourself?

I do. Or at least I try to, but I'm much better at procrastinating. I finished the Brooklyn College MFA program in May (where Halimah also went), and now I'm trying to negotiate a writing schedule.

What's your day job?

Electric Literature. Aside from walking my dog, working for EL is the first thing I do when I wake up and the last thing I do before I go to bed.

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?

I'm horrible with history, but I think Brooklyn has always been an important place in the literary world. Walt Whitman first published out of DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights was home to Norman Mailer, we've got Jennifer Egan and Colson Whitehead, and now Martin Amis. Brooklyn Lit is part of an important legacy, and hopefully we're contributing to it in a meaningful way.

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?

It'd be great if it continues to grow to the point of long-term sustainability, but I hope we all maintain our indie sensibilities: taking risks, publishing work that we believe in.

Why are you doing this?

I am lucky enough that running events is my full-time job. I've had other jobs outside of publishing, but none ever managed to keep me busy or interested enough to stick with them. The literary events scene, on the other hand, is non-stop!

Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?

The geography definitely helps—you have a really high concentration of people, which is a boon for any type of event. And then throw in the fact that this is where a lot of publishing houses are headquartered, and you've got a very literate audience, one that is paying attention. I will say that, having run events in other parts of the country, there are engaged crowds in most cities. And a lot of those stores run just as many events as we do. But in my experience working elsewhere, there's usually a specific demographic that you're pitching to. Here, you've got a huge cross-section of people with different interests, backgrounds, and reading habits. It definitely makes it more interesting!

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

It's hard to pick, but there's a young author, Brian DeLeeuw, whose novel In This Way I Was Saved is one of the creepiest and smartest modern ghost stories I've ever read. It's his only book, but I fervently hope that he's working on more. I handsell that book at least once a week at WORD.

Do you also write yourself?

Nope, I'm a reader to the bone.

What's your day job?

As I mentioned before, I've been very lucky and worked very hard to make events my primary job. Of course, since New York is expensive, I do some freelance on the side—mostly data entry, and a few columns here and there.

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?

It's definitely known for being a taste-making scene—there's a bubble-out effect that can happen with a book that gets big here, it has the potential to get coverage in markets it might not otherwise. Beyond that, I'm not sure; every city has its own specific book culture, and there's only going to be so much overlap with other regions. I will say that the intense amount of competition for attention and attendance has pushed a lot of us to try new things with events, take risks, and tweak formats in ways that we might not otherwise, and then if they're successful, those tweaks get used other places as well (since publishing and bookselling really are just one big family). But then again, I steal ideas from stores like Rainy Day Books, which is in Missouri, and The King's English, which is in Salt Lake City, so it goes both ways.

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?

If anything, things seem to be speeding up, not slowing down! We've already got events booked into next Spring, and attendance is strong. There are some exciting new opportunities coming around—for example, this past summer the Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy hosted a series of events at the Park called Books Beneath the Bridge, in cooperation with six Brooklyn bookstores including WORD, and those had hundreds of people attend. They've assured us they're doing it again next year, so I'm already brainstorming. I think these kinds of partnerships are going to be more and more common, bookstores and series teaming up with organizations to offer different kinds of events from your typical reading/signing. It's pretty exciting, actually; sometimes it's a little crazy trying to keep up, but when you see so many people getting excited about so many different books, it's a huge thrill.

Why are you doing this?

Eric and I started Fireside Follies in 2010 because we didn't know anyone in the literary world and as young writers, we wanted to. We had already organized events with writers in Philly and Baltimore (and separately in Detroit, L.A., Boston...), and we'd done a lot of one-off readings in NYC, so we knew a lot of writers at our level in the game that would jump at an opportunity to read with more established folks.

Plus, it seemed (still does) like most reading series pander to one crowd: fiction or poetry, this scene, that scene, etc. It's stuffy and limiting, and part of the reason poetry and literary fiction get a bad rap. We wanted to do the opposite: a big space, a fun crowd, a wide range of voices at every reading, and goddam if someone breaks a glass or slams the door in the middle of a reading who cares.

Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?

We've got the biggest small-town lit scene in the country! Maybe the world.

The thing I find most interesting, though, is that the people in the Brooklyn lit scene are largely from almost anywhere else: the Midwest or Massachusetts (most everyone), the West coast, Canada, etc. There are a handful of people from Long Island who admit it, and a LOT of Jerseyites (who'll always admit it).

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

There are so many people making interesting work in Brooklyn who don't have first books yet. Here are links to poems and stories I think are exceptional, written by people who are or will be exceptional writers:

Dolan Morgan

Allyson Paty

Emily Brandt

Erika Moya

Do you also write yourself?

Yes.

What's your day job?

I teach English language learners from other countries in Flatiron and do freelance editorial work, or other odd jobs. The other day I watched the door of a really nice apartment building in Soho while some plumbers pulled a 19th-century, cast-iron boiler out of the basement.

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?

I have no idea.

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?

In five, ten years, everyone in this feature will either be doing something completely different or will have dropped out of the game. Kids. All the old reading series will be gone, the hot neighborhoods will have turned over (goodbye, Bushwick!), the rags will have different editors (or will have folded), and the writers will be well on their way to fame or irrelevance. Movements are of the moment.

Why are you doing this?

I started the Fireside Follies series with poet Mike Lala because we had already been booking group readings in Brooklyn and in a few other cities on the East Coast. I had just come off doing my own book tour and found that a lot of the series I had seen could be pretty homogenous in terms of programming. We wanted to do something with multiple genres that would have a wider appeal and not be as dry.

Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?
 
Well, it depends on what you’re talking about. A lot of the poets stick together, because poetry as a genre makes much less money than fiction, so there’s a greater sense of community because you have to help each other out. And that’s a double-edged sword, because it can also breed back-slapping and a lack of real honesty when it comes to quality of work. People love to talk about Brooklyn as a brand when it comes to marketing, but artists moving to cheaper neighborhoods in major cities has always been happening. Just like the No Wave folks of downtown Manhattan 30 years ago, Brooklyn is currently in the limelight. In a few years you could be reading about the Los Angeles literary scene all over the blogosphere. These things can be cyclical.

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

Right now that would be Donald Goines, or really anybody that was published by Holloway House back in the 1970’s. While I'm sure you know them both, Laurie Weeks and the text in Raymond Pettibon's work are two of my current favorites and both of them have been more than kind and supportive. For contemporary poetry, Matthew Zingg is one of the most accessible out there and has some strong imagery that sticks to your ribs.

Do you also write yourself?


Yes, I write short fiction and am currently editing a novel. I had a book of short stories published in 2010 called The Silk City Series that originally came from a series of zines. I also recently started contributing to blogs and write a weekly column for the website Bushwick Nation.

What's your day job?


I work in data management and web editing for a large non-profit organizations’ fundraising department.

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?


In my opinion, there seems to be a collective ego amongst Brooklyn writers. With that said though, I can't deny the borough has had a long history of being home for some important writers. I think it’ll continue to be so, but it’ll be interesting to watch what happens if there’s a backswing from the migration of young people into the cities if violent crime were to increase drastically like it did in the 1960’s.

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?
 
It’s difficult to say. With so many creative young people still moving to Brooklyn and media exposure, particularly about the “hipster” culture and some of the alt lit that’s come out, there could be a backlash. It’s up to people to challenge themselves and not become too smug with their abilities because they made it out of their flyover state to NYU and got published.

Why are you doing this?

J: For the joy it brings. Because my dreams were a good fit for the place and the people. Because at some point I was lucky enough to realize what I wanted to do with my life.

R: When I was young I watched my dad, who is fortunate enough to have found a career path that enables him to get paid to do something he loves, and I aspired to do the same. I love what I do and am passionate about it. Or, to put it in more scary (to me) terms: If I weren't doing this, I have no idea what I would be doing.

Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?

J: This is a massive generalization, but creativity follows cheap rent, and culture follows creativity. Brooklyn has been a cultural incubator, and now everything that has grown here is bursting out.

R: Manhattan has long been thought of as the literary capital, but to channel Mark Helprin for a minute, 'beautiful womanly Brooklyn' feels like it's slowly taking the crown from 'her rich Uncle Manhattan'.

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

J: Joan Silber. She was a finalist for the National Book Award and remains perhaps the most underrated writer in America. Her novels/short story cycles are the art that's closest to life I've ever encountered.

R: It's a back-handed compliment to say someone is 'a favorite you've never heard of'! I don't want to offend anyone by implying they aren't known. That said... Chris Adrian? He's literary, thoughtful, and has a writing career worth watching.

Do you also write yourself?

J: Blog posts, the occasional review. I used to write more poetry before I got so happy. It was a relief at some point to realize that I didn't have to write books just because I love books.

R: I think that some people are writers and some people are readers. I am a reader. It makes me happy to suss out books that I love, and to find books that I think other people will love.

What's your day job?

J: Greenlight co-owner, events coordinator, publicity manager, webmaster.

R: I am the co-owner and buyer for Greenlight Bookstore.

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?

J: I think it's been good for the publishing world to experience the fact that there's cultural life outside of Manhattan—it's energizing and inspiring.

R: Half of publishing and oh so many authors live here. There's something awesome to be said for creative critical mass.

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?

J: I think we're past the initial explosion of growth and beginning to establish institutions and traditions. That's a good place to be.

R: Strong.

Why are you doing this?

Since we believe that quality literature and art are essential for the existence of an intelligent society, we’re trying to help perpetuate an intellectually engaged culture.

Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?

It’s the pizza. We’re all here for the pizza.

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

Have you heard of Bruno Schulz? [Ed. note: yes.]

Do you also write yourself?

Randy has been known to put down a word or two, and Laura’s retired.

What's your day job?

Laura helps Americans with bad credit, and Randy teaches English to foreigners.

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?

Brooklyn reminds the rest of the publishing industry that young, hip people still think reading is cool.

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the world is ending on December 21st, 2012.

Could you share a few tips for Brooklyn Lit success?

Not really.

Why are you doing this?

From a very young age, I've been a lit enthusiast—both as an avid reader and aspiring fiction writer. After living in Crown Heights for several years without any local lit peers, I was thrilled to discover, in 2008, as a journalist reporting on neighborhood news, an influx of writers and editors in my own backyard. I'd come in contact with Franklin Park's owners (who'd opened their establishment in April 2008), new local merchants, longtime Caribbean-American and Hasidic residents and recent transplants, and I thought a reading series at the bar would be an enjoyable community event celebrating the neighborhood's diverse mix and a means to coalesce the burgeoning lit community.

Is there something particular to Brooklyn Lit beyond geography?

I feel like there's more camaraderie and collaboration between Brooklyn-based curators, booksellers, publishers and authors than you'd find in other places. Not to mention more laid back, enthusiastic and dedicated audiences.

Who's your favorite writer we've never heard of?

Well, you've heard of her in the sense that she's a Brooklyn Magazine and L contributor, but I'm really impressed by Catherine Lacey's fiction and am eagerly awaiting a story collection from her. She's a Franklin Park alum and I've recommended her to other curators. I think she'd be a publisher's dream—her work is thought-provoking, gripping and displays an inventive prose style and distinctive voice, not to mention a sly sense of humor. These are all qualities we value at Franklin Park.

Do you also write yourself?

I've attempted fiction, which is mostly what I read, but I've only published journalism. For now, I'm more comfortable with reported pieces and I'm searching for a new literary project (abandoned that novel I'd been struggling with for over five years).

What's your day job?

I'm doing some freelance editing and writing, but I'm looking for a full-time job in publishing. If you know of anything... :)

What impact do you think Brooklyn Lit has had on the publishing world at large?

I think that risk-taking indie publishers like Akashic and Meliville House, as well as the owners of our thriving indie bookstores and curators of local reading series, have expanded the reach of innovative writing and authors from outside the margins of mainstream lit. I think Brooklyn-based readings showcase a more diverse range of voices, writers from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

What does the future look like for Brooklyn Lit?

I could give a really long answer, since our borough is rapidly growing in influence around the lit world, but one important change I think we'll see is a shift from the LES and East Village bars as reading venues to Brooklyn ones—especially since bars and clubs receptive to arts programming are opening here all the time

Photo Ashley Minette