The Rise of Digital Thinking

摘要

Brunei University's MA in Creative Writing: The Novel is unique among other writing programmes in that it has developed valuable relationships with publishers and agents. Students gain insight into the fast-moving creative industries from professionals within the field as well as from their own experiences as an intern. This paper was written as a coursework project examining the potential future developments within the industry. Inspired by a visit to the London Book Fair where digital publishing was the biggest topic of conversation, I took a creative approach to the assignment by inventing a dystopian future in which printed books have been replaced by 'e-texts' and conglomerates such as Amazon have their own educational institutions. Presented as one of these e-texts written in 2150 by fictional Professor Beyonce Hall, cultural historian at Amazon University, I analyse the role of e-books in 2009 and posit that it was the beginning of a 'Digital Revolution'. Interpolating the argument is an extract from the diary of book-thief Angela Holmes, whose shoplifting subtly explores intellectual property theft and celebrates the book object. The paper's original exploration of contemporary and future publishing trends exemplifies the type of industry-focused work produced on this course.