The latest example, which manages quite epically to combine both those forms of snobbery, comes from Sir Peter Stothard, editor of the Times Literary Supplement and Man Booker Prize judge, who has expressed fears that the standard of literary criticism has slipped and that book bloggers are some sort of literary kryptonite that will destroy the industry.

FORBES: Who Reviews The Reviewers?

Hitchens wrote for numerous publications including The Times Literary Supplement, the Daily Express, the London Evening Standard, Newsday and The Atlantic.

BBC: Christopher Hitchens dies at 62 after suffering cancer

My poetry editor, Sam Witt, and I typically begin the process by discovering an innovative literary work, one that explores the possibilities of language beyond the standard 19th century model that is (unaccountably) still used today.

FORBES: The 21st Century Novel: Jaded Ibis Sees a 'Mashup'

Two more authors, disgruntled with the standard approach to getting fiction published, have found success without a literary agent, thanks to the Kindle model.

FORBES: Kindle Approach Leads British Pair To Major Book Deal