I don’t class myself as a literary writer, despite the majority of my stories having a serious intent, but nonetheless I find Will Self’s essay in The Guardian on the future (marginal at best) of the literary novel persuasive reading. Most chilling of all is his description of the present ecosystem in which many literary novelists make money to live on by teaching creative writing to would-be novelists. What does it mean for a purveyor of short science fiction tales to modest (at best) audiences like me? Perhaps nothing, but it doesn’t stop me caring.