A recent e-mail from the fascinating F (who has, I think, great potential as a t&p stringer) reminded us to take a closer look at the litblog co-op (we will respect their deliberate use of lower case). Those who have already done their research can skip this piece; others may want to read this overview article from Inside Higher Ed.

Basically the litblog co-op is a group of approximately twenty literary bloggers who have united (to quote from their site) “for the purpose of drawing attention to the best of contemporary fiction, authors and presses that are struggling to be noticed in a flooded marketplace”. A scan through the participating blogs reveals that, while the gender split is fairly even (13 males; 10 females), they are emphatically American in origin (although one participant hints at a dark Canadian past).

The whole endeavor has been garnering quite a bit of attention in certain circles, but only time will tell how successful they are in their attempts to influence the market (read: you, me, and our fellow book-buyers). Displaying a canny sense of drama they are making the most of the media spotlight, delaying the announcement of their first “Read This” winner until May 15.

This is a noble venture and we wish them well. Lord knows we’d love to believe that “bloggers who care about books and inflict their opinions on like-minded others” can wield some influence. Why else would we prattle on?

Naturally we are curious about the litblog co-op’s organizational structure: do they use Robert’s Rules of Order? Are they incorporated? Just how do they make their decisions: Seance? Best-of-five coinflip? Is force employed in the event of deadlock?

Based on our own experience an editorial collective is the only way to go; we can’t remember the last time we’ve come out on the losing side of a vote.