The Center for Fiction

The Center for Fiction is the only nonprofit literary organization in the U.S. solely dedicated to celebrating fiction, and we work every day to connect readers and writers. Time Out calls The Center one of the top three reasons to stay in Manhattan for literary events, citing the innovative panels, lectures and conversations that take place in our beautiful building on East 47th Street. We also feature workspace, grants, and classes to support emerging writers, reading groups on classic and contemporary authors, and programs to help get kids reading.  We recognize the best in the world of fiction through our annual awards, and we operate one of the few independent fiction book shops in the country.  We are also an important piece of New York City history, continuing to build our renowned circulating library collection, begun in 1820 by New York City merchants before the advent of the public library system. (site)

"The website also offers considerable content for visitors outside Manhattan, such as essays by writers discussing their work and methods; access to its e-journal The Literarian, which publishes articles, interviews, and short fiction; details on two sponsored awards; and videos of past events, such as speeches by Margaret Atwood and a panel on international noir. Readers' advisers and collection librarians can make use of the annotated book lists, such as novelist Thomas Mallon's five essential books about politics. The home page sports a vibrant design, with a large carousel of images promoting current happenings. Two menus organize the site by subject, with categories including For Readers, For Writers, Audio and Video, Magazine, and Library. Membership details are included as well (the center is a nonprofit organization). The search engine leads users to relevant subpages, but literature students and faculty may find browsing just as useful, since this can lead to serendipitous finds. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers". Reviewed in ACRL's Choice, Dec 2013.