First, Ms. Weiner is reacting not to the panel, as you are, but to that obviously ridiculous post by this McAfee woman.

Second, the panel is set up as asking questions about the exact issues you’re complaining about where in this list: “Why do critics review genre fiction so condescendingly? Why does genre fiction get so little critical attention? Who are the hacks, and who are the pros, and how do we tell them apart – and do literary critics have the skills to do it?” Where from that list do you get a message that they’re signaling genre fiction has no literary worth? If anything the list is implicitly critical of the job critics do of sorting through the genre works, and not critical of the work itself.

Last, that panel has a genre writer (Mosley), an editor/reviewer at a genre friendly pub (EW) and an editor at the most comprehensive reviewing source that must review more genre works than any other publication (PW).

How can you possibly have a beef with that? Are you confusing that one poster’s message with the purposes of the panel?

That’s the point isn’t it? I (we) miss it, you get it. That’s the (sub) text of your whole blog. It’s what makes you fascinating.

Here’s an earnest question: Why isn’t Ike Reilly even half as critically adored as The Hold Steady? (See also Menomena v. TV On the Radio.)

I’m just not sure how you take the questions ” Why do critics review genre fiction so condescendingly? Why does genre fiction get so little critical attention? Who are the hacks, and who are the pros, and how do we tell them apart — and do literary critics have the skills to do it?” as anything other than OPEN to genre, and WILLING to address the disparities in review attention. I would imagine that someone who reads across genres would be glad to know that the NBCC is considering this sort of issue — but then I’m at a disadvantage: I haven’t heard the panel discussion yet.

Well! Look who’s hipper-than-thou!

What I love about you is that you can get on your high horse about close-minded book critics (asses, no doubt, I agree with you there) and then display your sneering hipster superiority about someone else being late to the acclaimed music game all in the same post. You fascinate me, I admit it.