Abstract Globalization has fundamentally transformed English literature publishing, creating a dynamic interplay between unprecedented market expansion and significant challenges to creative diversity. This seminar paper investigates how economic mergers, technological disruptions, and cultural flows have reshaped the industry since the 1980s, when independent presses gave way to the dominant "Big Five" conglomerates Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and others that now control over 80% of English-language fiction sales. These giants prioritize profitable, transmedia blockbusters like the Harry Potter series, fostering a "winner-takes-all" economy where top titles capture 90% of profits, often at the expense of experimental or midlist works.Counterbalancing this consolidation, digital platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and e-books have democratized access, empowering self-published successes like The Martian and enabling diaspora authors from regions like Nigeria and the Philippines to reach global audiences. Translation booms, fueled by prizes like the Man Booker International, introduce hybrid narratives Salman Rushdie's multilingual *Midnight's Children*, Mohsin Hamid's migratory Exit West that embody HomiBhabha's "third space" of cultural negotiation.Yet, risks loom: algorithmic recommendations promote formulaic "McLiterature," English hegemony marginalizes non-translated voices , and profit motives encourage tokenistic diversity. Through case studies of Penguin Random House's global strategies, Amazon's market dominance, and indie rebels like Tilted Axis Press, alongside emerging AI tools and Web3 royalties, the paper evaluates impacts on content, authors, and pluralism. It concludes that while globalization amplifies voices, safeguarding literary risk-taking require balancing commercial imperatives with equitable, culturally rich publishing in our interconnected era.
This paper offers a discussion and reflection on my work titled "Cabinets of Curiosities for the Postcolony II: Tokens, Collections I-V" (hereafter referred to as "Tokens") which was exhibited in 2022 both physically in a gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa, and virtually on the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea.The physical component of "Tokens" consists of five entomology cases, each displaying a collection of unique, handmade objects, and an artists' book, and the digital component takes the form of 51 NFTs.I describe the origin, development and nature of the project and explain the reasoning behind the creative decisions that I made.Initially the project was driven by my need for tactility and experimenting and crafting with physical materials, but it evolved into an exploration of the question of what is considered "new knowledge" in creative practice.This exploration eventually led me to the world of NFTs and resulted in a final creative project that engages with further questions around uniqueness, the aura of physical and digital art, and value.I propose that by making and naming new objects, I created new knowledge, which I then attempted to validate by minting the objects as NFTs.However, I realised that by digitally reproducing the physical objects I ran the risk of destroying their "aura" as postulated by Walter Benjamin in his 1935 essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction".I consider Benjamin's concept of "aura" in relation to physical and digital art and highlight more contemporary views that refute his claim.This leads to a brief discussion of the financial value of NFTs and the importance of community in creating value in the NFT world.I conclude by noting that many questions remain on what blockchain technology can do and become for artists and the study contributes one such perspective and experience.Creative practitioners are encouraged to become acquainted with this technology.