Authors have asked whether the novel will continue to exist in the future when competing against new entertainment trends such as online streaming and television box sets.
Robert Harris argued that novels have "moved away from the central position in our culture" while Claire Messud has suggested that "maybe in 50 years there won't be novels" due to perceived declining attention spans in readers.
Harris talked about how books had been displaced by the popularity of box sets which are "in many ways, our modern novel" on BBC Radio 4's "Today" programme on Monday (4th September).
Presenter John Humphrys quizzed him on whether the novel could compete with other mediums. He said "You're slightly anxious - is that the right word - for the future of the novel set against opposing attractions?
The Pompeii author refuted this but argued that novels no longer enjoyed a "central position in the culture". He said: "I'm not anxious about it. I think people will always enjoy the immersive experience of reading and of getting inside the heads of characters, that's something no other medium can do. So there'll always be novels.
