Scott Rettberg won the Hayles award for "Electronic Literature"
The 2019 N. Katherine Hayles Award for Criticism of Electronic Literature was awarded to UiB professor Scott Rettberg, for his monograph Electronic Literature.
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The award, which was announced at the Electronic Literature Organization's annual conference in July 2019 in Cork, is given to the聽"the best work of criticism of electronic literature of any length", and is financed by a generous donation from the distinguished researcher N. Katherine Hayles and other donors.聽
According to the judges,聽鈥淣o other work addresses with such consistency the varied and extensive selection of born digital literary works over the past two decades.鈥� They continue,聽鈥淎lso, one finds here a substantive (and varied) context in critical theory and creative practices. It is the first monograph [we]聽know of that articulates electronic literature as both a scholarly field and a viable creative practice with much, much room for development.鈥�
聽also praises聽Rettberg's broader research on electronic literature, which is tightly woven into the book itself. They write,聽"Not only has Rettberg been pivotal in the formation of this field, but after moving to Norway, he expanded the field through spearheading the , an extensive database of digital works, many of which appear in this book."
Rettberg commented, "I have immense respect for N. Katherine Hayles, whose work has been a vital influence on my career. Winning the award for best book of criticism of electronic literature that bears her name means a great deal to me. I'm proud of the book I wrote and the field that it describes, and I hope this award helps to get the book out there and read and taught."
The second and third prizes are shared this year by the anthology聽聽, which was co-edited by聽Astrid Ensslin, Pavel Frelik, and聽Lisa Swanstrom, and the monography聽 by Simone Murray.聽The 2018 winner of the Hayles Award was Joseph Tabbi, editor of . Tabbi has just joined the faculty of the University of Bergen Institute of Foreign Language.
In 2016, along with co-authors Roderick Coover, Arthur Nishimoto, and聽Daria Tsoupikova, Rettberg was awarded the Robert Coover Award for a Work of Electronic Literature for聽Hearts and Minds: The Interrogations Project. Rettberg is the first person to receive both the top award for criticism and for creative work in the field of Electronic Literature.
聽considers new forms and genres of writing that聽exploit the capabilities of computers and networks 鈥� literature that would not be聽possible without the contemporary digital context. (..) Considering electronic literature as a subject in totality, this book provides a聽vital introduction to a dynamic field that both reacts to avant-garde literary and聽art traditions and generates new forms of narrative and poetic work particular聽to the twenty-first century. It is essential reading for students and researchers聽in disciplines including literary studies, media and communications, art, and聽creative writing.
(From Polity Press catalog description)
