Literary Fiction Research Articles

Editorial intelligence versus artificial intelligence for literary fiction manuscript development

ABSTRACT This paper investigates generative AI (GnAI) as an editorial mediatory for literary fiction. Applying a digital hermeneutics methodology, our experiment tests ChatGPT-3.5’s editing capabilities by comparing its work on a short story to the work of three professional human editors – two working in-house for esteemed Australian literary journals and one freelance, judging for an annual anthology. This case addresses a gap in our knowledge of how large-language-model (LLM) technologies may improve – or assist in improving – literary fiction works, in line with industry-standard editorial conventions, and increase the efficiency and productivity of editorial intervention. The outcomes suggest GnAI cannot yet compare or compete with human ‘editorial intelligence’ – the result of experience and expertise; intuition, iteration, reflection; and, most importantly, author–editor conversations – in the literary sector. We assert that human management is optimal for literary fiction manuscript development, but surmise that GnAI could have potential application in genre fiction – in conjunction with human oversight (to direct the technology). Future iterations of GnAI will likely have fewer limitations. ChatGPT can, however, enable efficiencies for clearly identified works – those with recognisable tropes and formulaic structures – and has potential to support editors and enhance author engagement with reading audiences.

Literary Incest: Moralism or Morality?

ABSTRACT Why is there an incest taboo? People avoid doing what conventions disapprove of their doing, and conventions are dictated by some sort of innate moral good, a moral inclination compatible with the referent kinship system. Essentially, incest avoidance is founded on deep psychological needs within domestic dynamics. However, far from being an anathema, incestuous behaviors in literary fiction become a natural inclination whose avoidance is to be thought less in moral terms and more as an evolutionary adaptation. Implicit in the argument is the suggestion that inbreeding is not about a rational choice but pure instincts that long precede societal taboos.

Thought Experiments, Literary Fiction, and Science Fiction: The Example of Isaac Asimov's Robot Cycle

Abstract Literary cognitivism can be broadly defined as the claim that literary texts can be a source of knowledge. This article proposes the concept of aimless argumentativity to denote a paradoxical epistemic activity performed by fictional narratives. This concept is conceptualized and explored through an engagement with recent philosophical work on the epistemology of thought experiments and their similarities, or lack thereof, with literary fiction. These points are then illustrated through examples drawn from science fiction, and specifically Isaac Asimov's Robot series, which deploys its thought-experimental character in a specific form of nonlinear seriality, thus providing a clear and articulated demonstration of the oxymoronic, aimlessly argumentative power of fictional texts.

Negotiating Good Parenthood in Swedish Climate Change Fiction

ABSTRACT How can you be a good parent to a child who, with the current speed of global warming, will likely live their adult life in a world ravaged by floods, wildfires, and pandemics? In the absence of scholarship that centres the question of how to be a good parent in times of climate change, fictional literature can provide a way to explore this dilemma. This article analyzes how parenthood is conceptualized in relation to environmental consciousness as well as gendered and national ideals of good parenthood in two contemporary Swedish climate change novels, Jens Liljestrand’s Även om allt tar slut (Even If Everything Ends) and Anna Dahlqvist’s Det är tropiska nätter nu (Now We Have Tropical Nights). Liljestrand’s novel depicts how ideals anchored in Swedish family politics trump environmental consciousness when it comes to good parenthood, and it suggests that parents need to take responsibility for the climate crisis. The climate-friendly motherhood represented in Dahlqvist’s novel fails, but it also challenges Swedish family ideals and is in some respects an answer to the call in Liljestrand’s novel: that parents take responsibility for climate change.

Evolution of Azerbaijani Science Fiction and Emin Mahmudov

The evolution of science fiction literature in Azerbaijan has been characterized by a delayed emergence compared to European, American, and Russian counterparts. Despite this initial lag, Azerbaijani science fiction writers have made commendable strides, drawing influence from both global and local literary traditions. This article explores the historical context and thematic concerns of Azerbaijani science fiction literature, analyzing the impact of influential global authors on Azerbaijani writers and examining the stylistic elements present in their works. Additionally, the article delves into the life and career of Emin Mahmudov (1925-2010), a prominent Azerbaijani writer celebrated for his contributions to the genre. Mahmudov’s vivid imagination, intellectual depth, and exploration of cosmic themes have left an indelible mark on Azerbaijani literature. Through an exploration of Mahmudov’s works, such as “Prisoners of Neptune” and “Turbulence,” which delve into existential questions amidst rapid cosmic voyages, this article sheds light on the unique trajectory of science fiction literature in Azerbaijan and its broader significance within the global literary landscape.

Do generation Z students read? Reading habits of the students of Dhaka University

PurposeThe proliferation of digital tools and instant access to information has diversified reading habits among Generation Z (Gen Z) students. The primary objective of this study is to examine the reading habits of Gen Z students at Dhaka University.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire method was employed to collect data from 354 university students. We collected research data through printed questionnaires, and randomly selected students to answer survey questions. A total of 500 printed questionnaires were distributed to the seminar library, university hall library and Dhaka University library. Additional efforts made to engage students in classrooms.FindingsStudents prefer printed materials, particularly fiction and enjoy reading at home. The majority have emerged as dormant readers and prefer using mobile phones for reading. Hobbies and interests have been identified as significant influencers in shaping reading habits. Promoting a reading culture, improving access to books, integrating technology, expanding fiction collections, creating engaging content and tailoring outreach strategies are key steps to enhancing the reading habits of the Gen Z students in Bangladesh.Social implicationsThese findings provide valuable guidance for policymakers and educators seeking to foster effective reading habits among students by aligning strategies with their preferences and needs.Originality/valueThis study offers original insights into the reading habits of Gen Z students at Dhaka University, focus on enhancing library collections, particularly in fiction literature, addresses challenges such as space constraints and reflects innovative approaches to fostering improved reading habits among students.

Stories into song: theory and co-creative practice of adapting literary fiction into pop and rock songs

Abstract Despite the many pop and rock songs adapted from literary texts, there has been little scholarship on the theory and practice of adapting novels and short stories into short-form musical works. This article is part of a British Academy-funded pilot project carried out by two researchers at Keele University, UK. Locating story-into-song texts within adaptation studies, it explores the theoretical issues involved in such adaptations; describes the methodology employed in a series of co-creative workshops with volunteers; and analyses the original songs that emerged from the project.

The Return of the Tortured Ghost in Harkaitz Cano’s Novel Twist (2011)

This article investigates the issue of political torture and forced disappearances within the context of the Basque political conflict as represented in the novel Twist (2011) by Harkaitz Cano. Although all violence is traumatic, the violence implicit in the systematic infliction of pain and humiliation on the state’s political ‘enemies’ by members of its security forces, and, in some cases, their enforced disappearance, translates into a traumatic memory that afflicts not only the victims but also the society represented by that state. Unresolved traumatic memory installs itself in the collective consciousness and generates ghosts that haunt the living and future generations. One way they may be exorcised is by the cultural transmission of the events that caused the trauma through literary fiction.

Dungeons, Dragons, and Rogues: How Picaresque Literature Shaped the Thief Class in Dungeons & Dragons

This article advocates for a reevaluation of the thief class as a bridge linking literary narratives and tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs). It traces the roots of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) thief class in Picaresque Literature against the wider importance of literature in the early TRGP scene, by comparing the thief class to the Picaresque rogue. Through a thematic analysis of articles from eight key TRPG periodicals published between 1975 and 1986, the article illustrates how “extensibility mechanisms” facilitated creative exchanges between hobbyist game designers, Fantasy fiction, and Picaresque Literature via the rogue archetype. These exchanges demonstrate a turn towards nuanced narrative-supporting mechanics, complex player character development, and including vibrant fantasy cities as settings for adventures in D&D, and TRPGs more broadly, influenced by Picaresque Literature.

In Search of the Symbolic Truth about Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath in Kate Moses’s Wintering and Susan Schaeffer’s Poison

Attaining the status of a recognized genre of fiction via postmodernism with its immanent polyphony and deconstructivist possibilities, biofiction in the last two decades of the 20th century eventually became a neat blend of biographical fact and literary fiction with a hybrid aesthetic which opened new perspectives for both enquiries into and interpretations of this kind of fiction in the 21st century. While biographies are still studied and used as references to historical figures, recent criticism has also considered some of the biographical novels as relevant sources about their fascinating lives. With the unwaning interest in the “star-crossed” lives of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath and the enormous amount of critical material about them in the form of numerous biographies, monographs, articles, and films, at least five well-known novels have tried to shed light on their tumultuous relationship and marriage culminating with the intention to start divorce proceedings and Plath’s suicide. This paper will explore empathy, endurance, authenticity and readability in two of them – Kate Moses’s Wintering (2003) and Susan Schaeffer’s Poison (2006) while making a commentary on the ever-elusive symbolic truth about the two poets that both novels attempt to illuminate.

The theme of unity in modern English-language science fiction literature

The article discusses various ways to implement the theme of unity in modern science fiction literature based on the work of English-speaking writers. The relevance of the research is due to the need to comprehend the complex of ideas underlying the concepts of unity in the works of modern science fiction literature. The purpose of the article is to identify and describe the main options for implementing the theme of unity in the work of English-speaking science fiction writers of the last decade of the XX–XXI centuries. The subject of the research is the cosmological, philosophical, ethical, psychological and natural science concepts of unity present in the literary works of the science fiction genre of the last decade of the XX and the beginning of the XXI century. At the same time, unity is understood as the unity of living beings as the most popular way of revealing this topic in the literature of this genre. When considering the topic of unity in modern science fiction, the author of the article identifies three of the most common variants of its interpretation by writers: the first is associated with the depiction of non– human communities of terrestrial or extraterrestrial origin, similar to communities of collective insects; the second – with various forms of unity in human society associated with psychological, moral concepts or social institutions; in the third variant – superhuman – unity is achieved through trans- or posthumanistic technologies. This approach makes it possible to systematize numerous texts of science fiction literature devoted to the theme of unity, and identify in them the main trends in the disclosure of this topic. As a result of the conducted research, the author comes to the conclusion that in modern science fiction there are such interpretations of unity as a human collective united by a common goal or some social institution, as a unity of the laws of the psyche, language and thinking, as a collective intelligence distributed in individuals of extraterrestrial or terrestrial origin and, finally, as inaccessible to individual understanding is the fusion of all consciousnesses at one point. The constant appeal of science fiction writers to this topic testifies to its relevance to the modern world, due in large part to the development of technologies that unite humanity (including in the field of media). Further study of the theme of unity in science fiction will allow not only to cover the diversity of interpretations of this topic more widely, but also to better understand the cultural and historical context of this literary genre. В статье рассматриваются различные способы реализации темы единства в современной научно-фантастической литературе на материале творчества англоязычных писателей. Актуальность исследования обусловлена необходимостью осмысления комплекса идей, лежащих в основе концепций единства в произведениях современной научно-фантастической литературы. Целью статьи является выявление и описание основных вариантов реализации темы единства в творчестве англоязычных писателей-фантастов последнего десятилетия XX–XXI вв. Предметом исследования выступают космологические, философско-этические, психологические и естественнонаучные концепции единства, присутствующие в литературных произведениях жанра научной фантастики последнего десятилетия XX и начала XXI в., при этом под единством понимается единство живых существ как наиболее востребованный в литературе этого жанра способ раскрытия данной темы. При рассмотрении темы единства в современной научной фантастике автор статьи выделяет три самых распространенных варианта ее интерпретации писателями: первый связан с изображением нечеловеческих сообществ земного или внеземного происхождения, подобных сообществам коллективных насекомых; второй – с различными формами единства в человеческом обществе, связанными с психологическими, моральными концепциями или социальными институтами; в третьем варианте – надчеловеческом – единство достигается благодаря транс- или постгуманистическим технологиям. Такой подход позволяет систематизировать многочисленные тексты научно-фантастической литературы, посвященные теме единства, и выявить в них основные тенденции в раскрытии этой темы. В результате проведенного исследования автор приходит к выводу о том, что в современной научной фантастике присутствуют такие трактовки единства, как объединенный общей целью или каким-либо социальным институтом человеческий коллектив, как единство законов психики, языка и мышления, как распределенный в индивидах коллективный разум внеземного или земного происхождения и, наконец, как недоступное для индивидуального понимания слияние всех сознаний в одной точке. Постоянное обращение писателей-фантастов к этой теме свидетельствует о ее актуальности для современного мира, обусловленной по большей части развитием объединяющих человечество технологий (в том числе в области медиа). Дальнейшее изучение темы единства в научной фантастике позволит не только более широко охватить многообразие трактовок этой темы, но и лучше понять культурно-исторический контекст этого литературного жанра.

An Overview of Non-fictional Literature in English About Partition of Indian Subcontinent

It is said that literature is the mirror of the society. The reflection of the partition of India can be seen in the partition literature. Partition literature has mainly been divided into two types. First is fictional partition literature and second is non-fictional partition literature. Fictional partition literature sheds light on the partition of India through a fictionalised manner and is seen more as an art. Non-fictional partition literature talks about real life events and happenings that took place during the partition. They are presented by real life people such as eye-witnesses, survivors and their descendants and are penned and documented by writers from both India and Pakistan based on true events, stories that have been passed down from generations to generations. Fictional partition literature revolves around the partition with an essence of love stories and artistic expressions where as non-fictional partition literature is made of the actual experiences and does not contain artistic expressions.

Redefining Family Relationships: The Impact of Disability on Working-Class Families during the Industrial Revolution in Britain

The Industrial Revolution traditionally has been seen in Disability Studies as marking a decisive shift in the lives of disabled people. It is argued that the rise of mechanisation, time discipline and standardisation made the industrial workplace a hostile environment for people with non-standard bodies. According to this view, increasing demands to work outside the home also meant that families were less capable of caring for older and disabled members, leading to greater institutionalisation. This view of increasing segregation of disabled people from home and work has dominated understanding of disability in the British Industrial Revolution, but it does not reflect the variability of disabled people's experiences at the time. Drawing on official enquiries, fictional literature, journalism and social commentary from the 1830s and 1840s – a time when the impact of industrialisation on the bodies and family relationships of workers became matters of public, political concern – this article shows the continuing importance of family in the lives of disabled people. The legal duty of families to care for sick and disabled relatives was an enduring social principle throughout this period. Interpersonal relations were tested and sometimes re-drawn by disability, forcing a change in traditional familial roles and expectations. For working people and their families, the potentials for poverty resulting from disability could be great. However, disabled people continued to play significant roles in the lives of their families, and where possible continued to contribute to the domestic economy. Taking a disability perspective on the history of the family highlights the interdependence between family members in industrialising Britain.

Filling literary gaps of convention

ABSTRACT This article is an interrogation of gaps which hide sex in literature. Avoiding the narration of sex is a persistent narrative convention in much literary fiction, and these gaps offer an opportunity for creative writing to intervene. My critical enquiry is grounded in my creative writing practice, which is further grounded in lived experience of disability. As an embodied orientation to the world and a critical concept, disability can be productively used as a methodology which challenges ingrained attitudes to embodiment and capacity, thereby, according to Siebers, ‘defamiliariz[ing] how we think currently about sex’, and how we write it. Following a theoretical elaboration of the presence of absence in narrative, I present an original story ‘How to be an Other’, which plays with Lorrie Moore’s ‘How to be an Other Woman’ and which offers a practical application of how gaps can be generative of new ways of thinking.

The English Studies Interview with Alan Hollinghurst: In Conversation with Dominic Dean

ABSTRACT Alan Hollinghurst is the author of seven novels including The Swimming-Pool Library (1988), The Stranger’s Child (2011), The Sparsholt Affair (2017), and The Line of Beauty (2004), with the latter winning the 2004 Man Booker Prize. He is widely celebrated for his distinctive style, his tragicomical explorations of English life in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and his introduction of richly imagined and humanely observed gay themes to mainstream literary fiction. His latest novel is Our Evenings (2024). Alan Hollinghurst spoke with Dominic Dean about Our Evenings, its themes, inspirations and treatment of social and political history; the role of buildings and material objects in his fiction; his style and formal innovations and influences; and his relationships with TV adaptations and with the literary academy.

Ethan Frome's Poly Pessimism

This article explores the theory and practice of non-monogamy at the turn of the twentieth century across a range of texts, including anarchist periodicals, mainstream newspapers, and literary fiction. Moving from utopian to ambivalent representations of multipartner relationships, it turns to a canonical novel to explore a perspective we might call poly pessimism, which not only critiques monogamy but exposes the systems that make non-monogamous alternatives equally unlivable. Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome (1911) offers a blistering naturalist account of the constraints of monogamous marriage as the organizing institution of care work under capitalism, but the monstrous menáge à trois revealed at the novel's end suggests only the multiplication of domestic duty and the expansion of marriage and the private home rather than their abolition. Both in its sexual utopianism and its calls for the practical reconfiguration of home life and the economies of care, critical non-monogamy at the turn of the twentieth century holds an important position in a tradition of radical thought that connects antebellum socialisms to more recent liberation agendas.

Bano Qudsias’ Novel “Moom ki Galian”. A study

"Moom ki Galian" is an allegorical novelit. Bano has done justice to the analogy of human society and the Honeycomb. Especially the points of Apiology have been presented with great precision and skill. This novelit is meaningful and interesting from start to finish. This novel will be considered an important milestone in the history of fictional literature. She narrates examples of animals mocking humans at many points. This style of Bano Qudsia is unique and quirky. Due to which he has a prominent position in Urdu literature. The main purpose of this novel is to correct the evils found in our society, so Bano Qudsia narrates two stories and by giving a light romantic color, she is comparing the human society and their organization, arrangement, lifestyle. But while doing this, she has also conveyed his extensive knowledge and deep observation to us through this novelit. Reference: Mumtaz Mufti, Bano Qudsia. Pati Bhagat, mashmoola: Aur Okhe Log, Lahore: Feroze Sons, 1991, p. 155 Mumtaz Mufti, Ashfaq Ahmed. Storyteller, mashmoola: Aur Okhe Log, Lahore: Feroze Sons, 1991, p. 118 Zaka-ur-Rehman, Syed Javed Akhtar, Jaan Pehchan, mashmoola: Adab Latif, Monthly, Lahore: February March, 1966 Bano Qudsia, Towajha ki Talib (flap), Lahore: Sang-e-Mail Publications, 1985Mumtaz Mufti, aak almia.Bano Qudsia, mashooma: Four hundred, Monthly, Rawalpindi, 1993, pp. 65-66. Bano Qudsia, Moom Ki Galian, Lahore: sang e meel Publications, 2010, p.20 Ibid,P:24 Ibid,P:28 Ibid,P:28 Ibid,P:30 Ibid,P:36 Ibid,P:30 Ibid,P:41 Ibid,P:38-42 Bano Qudsia, Chaharchaman, Lahore: Milestone Publications, 1999, pp. 56-255. Banu Qudsiyya, moom ki galian, ibid., p. 254 Ibid,P:265-266 Ibid,P:260-261 Ibid,P:261 Ibid,P:261-262

Utopian Science Fiction and Ethnic Future Imagination in Chinese Contemporary Science Fiction

Utopian science fiction, as a fusion of science fiction literature and utopian literature, integrates the construction of imagined interactions between people, technology, society, and the environment in future narratives. In doing so, it deepens the aesthetic value and social significance of science fiction literature. Chinese science fiction utopian future narratives use technological imagination to construct three models of expression. First, they re-examine the symbiotic patterns of technology, humanity, and time within the multiple dimensions of human subjectivity. Second, within the transformation of social structures, they reassess the subject and emotions, recognizing that the acceleration of social change has transformed human nostalgia into a series of rehearsals seeking future possibilities in the past. Third, within the dissolution of cultural politics, they reconsider space and the environment, reconstructing planetary existence through a model of deterritorialization. The imagined technological developments constitute the internal logic of Chinese science fiction utopian future narratives, suggesting that the future is an uncertain movement entangled with technology, time, space, and human nature. The confluence of technology, time, and humanity gives rise to people’s expectations and yearnings for eternal life. However, these three modes of narrating the future also lead us to return to Earth as the central theme, highlighting the planetary nature and reflecting on the meaning of existence.

The Transitional Period in Japanese Translation: Children’s Literature

ABSTRACT This article focuses on a study of the transitional period in Japanese translation that was initiated by Yuri Furuno in 2002. This transitional period refers to a time when Japanese-speaking translators shifted their approach from adequacy to acceptability in translation. Specifically, my study examines the situation with children’s literary fiction translation during the transitional period identified by Furuno. It conducts an analysis of the translator’s afterthoughts and a comparative analysis of the translated texts to gain a better understanding of whether or not Furuno’s transitional period is applicable to children’s literature translation in Japan. The analysis conducted in this research reveals that while both translators, whose works are investigated, claimed they opted for acceptability in their afterthoughts, only one of them managed to achieve that goal in their actual writing. In this article, I conclude that my findings align with Furuno’s, and the transitional period could be applied to other genres of literature in Japan, including children’s literature. In light of these findings, this study creates a basis for further research on transitional periods in Japanese book history.

Science Fiction in the Post-occupation Iraqi Short Story in English Translation

English translations of Arabic literary works have interacted with -and possibly influenced- the Western context of science fiction literature. This thesis investigates how the English translations of post-occupation Iraqi short stories possibly contributed to the evolution of the Western science fiction genre. The study seeks to explain the relationship between post-2003 Iraqi literary works -that are a diverse range of corpus- as well as the possible influence of their translations and their counterparts in Anglophone literary systems. The research particularly focuses on Iraq +100 and The Corpse Exhibition and Other Stories of Iraq by Hassan Blasim. Blasim’s edited anthology, Iraq +100, is a prominent element in this study as it is analyzed to illustrate the interrelation between Arabic science fiction and Western traditions of this genre of fiction. As the roles of this edited anthology and short story collection are addressed and discussed in terms of the interaction between Anglophone and Arab literary systems, the study discusses the science fiction theories of Thomas Lombardo (2006) and Darko Suvin (2010). The primary objective of this study is to analyze the two selected books as they are introduced to the Western world and scrutinize how these books can be considered as a response to the evolution of the science fiction genre. Moreover, the translated works of post-occupation Iraqi short stories deal with the political and social impacts of the situation in Iraq after 2003. This thesis follows up by proposing that the anthologized English translations of these Arabic post-occupation Iraqi texts have contributed to the making of a dialogue between Arab and Western cultural and literary canons as well as traditions. The study also analyzes the short stories of the Iraqi writers, as illustrative of a specific expression of post-2003 Iraqi fiction that depicts the terror of violence in Iraq by delivering scenes of excessive violence in their texts. All in all, this study appears as an interdisciplinary work as it engages with translation studies, literary studies, history, and in a way, political science.