About the ELO
The Electronic Literature Organization (ELO) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1999 to promote and facilitate the writing, publishing, and reading of electronic literature. Since its formation, the Electronic Literature Organization has worked to assist writers and publishers in bringing their literary works to a wider, global readership and to provide them with the infrastructure necessary to reach one another.
What is Electronic Literature?
The term refers to works with important literary aspects that take advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand-alone or networked computer. Within the broad category of electronic literature are several forms and threads of practice, some of which are:
- Hypertext fiction and poetry, on and off the Web
- Kinetic poetry presented in Flash and using other platforms
- Computer art installations which ask viewers to read them or otherwise have literary aspects
- Conversational characters, also known as chatterbots
- Interactive fiction
- Novels that take the form of emails, SMS messages, or blogs
- Poems and stories that are generated by computers, either interactively or based on parameters given at the beginning
- Collaborative writing projects that allow readers to contribute to the text of a work
- Literary performances online that develop new ways of writing
The ELO showcase, to which new works are continually added, provides a few outstanding examples of electronic literature.
People of the ELO
(Board of Directors - Staff - Literary Advisory Board)
The board of directors, headed by Joseph Tabbi, our president, plans and implements ELO programs and projects. After five years at UCLA, in 2006, ELO moved to the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) at the University of Maryland, College Park. The ELO’s office at MITH is run by Managing Director Helen DeVinney. The literary advisory board provides guidance and offers the perspective of the broader literary community. Members of the ELO provide some financial support and form a community that participates in conferences, online chats, and other events.
History of the ELO
The Electronic Literature Organization was initiated in 1999 by electronic author Scott Rettberg, novelist Robert Coover, and internet business leader Jeff Ballowe. Realizing the promise that electronic media offered for literature but the lack of a supporting infrastructure, the three assembled a board of directors that included writers, publishers, internet industry leaders, and literary nonprofit experts to found this not-for-profit organization.
In the fall of 2001, the ELO moved its headquarters from Chicago to the University of California, Los Angeles, where the ELO received generous assistance from the UCLA English Department, SINAPSE (Social Interfaces and Networks in Advanced Programmable Simulations and Environments) and the Design|Media Arts Department.
After five productive years at UCLA, in the summer of 2006 the ELO moved to the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) at the University of Maryland, College Park, where Professor Matthew Kirschenbaum, MITH’s Associate Director, is the ELO’s faculty advisor.
The ELO has grown to be a vital part of the electronic literature community. Landmark events in the organization’s short history have included the launch of an acclaimed database-driven Directory of electronic literature maintained by authors and visited by thousands of readers; readings and outreach events in Chicago, New York, Seattle, Boston, and Los Angeles; an Electronic Literature Awards program that recognized exemplary works of poetry and fiction and rewarded winners with substantial cash prizes; the State of the Arts Symposium which united over one hundred international writers, scholars, and publishers of electronic literature at UCLA for two days of panels and presentations; and a yearlong reading series to showcase the latest advances in the emerging field of electronic literature.
Sponsors
The ELO acknowledges the support of the Ford Foundation for the 2002 State of the Arts Symposium, and the Rockefeller Foundation for their generous support of the Electronic Literature Directory project. We also thank our hosts at UCLA: the Center for Digital Humanities, the English Department, the Design| Media Arts Department, the School of the Arts and Architecture, and SINAPSE. We thank also the Illinois Humanities Council and the Illinois Arts Council, which supported the 2001-2002 Interactions program, and 2001 Awards and founding sponsor ZDNet and founding sponsor NBCi.
Colophon
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