Writers Ask: Is my work “literary” enough?

The problem with the hand-wringing over what is considered literary and what is not has everything to do with the power dynamics and who’s talking to who and almost nothing to do with what the work actually is. Agents and editors who are trying to convince the powers in place to buy your manuscript so everyone can get a big pay out are going to use terms that remind the powers that be of money. Commercial, page-turning, bestseller material, book club pick… in other words, upmarket. When it’s awards season, these agents and editors (and now publishers) will take that same book and suddenly begin selling it as brilliant, wickedly talented, sparkling, a great American novel, a story of our times… in other words, literary.