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Thirty years ago, Mexican artist, writer and critic, Ulises Carrion, wrote in The New Art of Making Books.

“In the old art the writer judges himself as being not responsible for the real book. He writes the text. The rest is done by the servants, the artisans, the workers, the others. In the new art, writing a text is only the first link in the chain going from the writer to the reader. In the new art, the writer assumes the responsibility for the whole process.”

Many artists and authors have created books with this sensibility for decades, if not centuries. The “desktop revolution” brought with it the flowering of the new book in electronic form. With the technological ability to make Carrion’s vision commonplace through electronic book authoring, a paradigm shift in critical thinking about authoring and reading is required.

Digital authoring solutions are now varied and far simpler to use. The authors will demonstrate, discuss and show examples of ebook authoring tools from Comic Life to FlipAlbum, FlipPublisher, Acrobat, TK3, MobiPublisher, StorySpace, Word (using the RMR & TTS plugins) to print on demand in application to daily life in academic libraries.

The main thrust of the workshop will be the use of Comic Life Deluxe as a multipurpose tool for the creation of unique electronic books. The authors have used this inexpensive, low learning curve software to create traditional ebooks, museum quality publications, digital art, electronic memory albums and library instruction presentations.

  The author also recently returned from an extended visit to Japan. There, he experienced the pinnacle of state-of-the-art technological life he dubs “I’maPod.” Businesses such as Gera Gera and Popeye’s have merged the concept of library, bookstore, cybercafé, video store and gaming parlor into a $4/hour 24/7 electronic paradise. Using Comic Life Deluxe, the authors will give you a guided tour of the future, Japanese-style.

And what else does the ebook authoring future hold? The latest developments in open source technologies, software from OverDrive (My Media Mall), the Institute for the Future of the Book (Sophie) and WGBH (MAGpie) promise the ideal of authoring in every computer writer / reader’s hands. As Carrion prophesized,

“In the old art all books are read in the same way. In the new art every book requires a different reading.”

Stream: Information Society, and Print and Electronic Texts

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Harroff has received an NEA Regional fellowship, an NEA RAP grant, a Ragdale Foundation residency and top honors in several international art competitions. He holds degrees with Highest Distinction from Purdue, Indiana University and the ISBK (Austria). His artwork has been profiled in leading art journals such as AfterImage, Art Calendar and Contemporary Impressions. He has lectured extensively on electronic bookworks and has held faculty positions at McKendree College, SIUE and Oklahoma State.