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'An unconscious extension of the class system'

9 August 2004

'I think that the perception of genre in this country is an unconscious extension of the class system. People have a dreadful snobbery in their approach to their book-reading. Lots of literary books are marketed almost as accessories that they reflect in the person you are. Lots of people buy literary books because it gives them a poetic image of themselves... '

Looking down on SF and fantasy is 'perpetuated by some of the fiction editors and commentators and professional spitters, like Germaine Greer, who was furious when The Lord of the Rings won Waterstone's Book of the Century poll. They hate the fact that there are people out there unpicking their opinions.'

Graham Joyce, author of World Fantasy Award-winning The Facts of Life, in Publishing News