Darran Anderson, "WWW Killed the ISBN?", Verbal Magazine (April 2008)

So much has happened within the Internet that it's incredible to think how short its lifespan has been. From its scientific Cold War origins, it's covered all facets of human nature from the sublime to the inane to the sinister in the space of mere decades. If it can be visualised today, it's closest to a nervous system spreading across the globe and increasingly into our lives.

What this all means for literature has been uncertain, with some heralding a utopian age of free expression and naysayers prophesising the death of the book and the denigration of language. The fact remains that we are the first generation for whom the Internet is the primary means of communication. We read newspapers, download music and watch films online, we can view our homes from space or gamble away a small fortune with the click of a mouse.

The literature world's initial response to these advances was tentative at best but there were notable individuals imbued with a pioneer spirit. The New York-based Beat-inspired Literary Kicks was formed in 1994 (the Middle Ages in internet chronology) and, with its icon of decadent poet Verlaine - glass of absinthe in hand, remains an influential resource for cult writing and opinion.

In 1998 sci-fi writer Geoff Ryman produced 253, a series of online stories revolving around passengers of a train that's destined to crash. Using 253's inter-connecting hypertext format, Ryman was able to transcend the linear restrictions of the novel and create a literary world that we could explore from many angles and entry-points. Whilst now somewhat crude technically, it was hugely influential.

With electronic libraries like Project Gutenberg hosting works from Shakespeare to Victorian erotica, we now have the digital equivalent of transferring the contents of the National Gallery to Welsh mines for preservation during the Blitz.

However, it's only in recent years that Internet publishing has become accessible and available enough to make a substantial impact. With free facilities such as Blogger and MySpace, the means of expression are now available to those who couldn't afford, or didn't have the expertise, to host a website.

With means of promotion and interaction offering an international dimension to online publishing, like-minded literary groups have coalesced and seized the initiative. Inspired by the outsider cool of Bukowski and Brautigan, many have seen it as a continuation of the underground fanzines of the 60s and the punk DIY ethic. Daring, irreverant and passionate, this new wave of writing has come under a variety of guises.

At one end of the spectrum is McSweeney's Internet Tendency, a publishing dynamo captained by the young literary sensation Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius). Primarily known for it's surreal, absurdist style, there's no doubting it's ingenuity and good humour (typical titles include The Sadomasochistic Fisherman Visits Pyramid Lake, Mondays With Kafka and A Robot Performs Standup Comedy to a Lacklustre Response).

For those finding McSweeney's too fey or self-consciously wacky, there's the edgy, eclectic writing of the Offbeat Generation. The loose collective term originates from Andrew Gallix, editor of 3AM Magazine, a highly regarded cult website that has been lauded by the likes of Dazed and Confused and The Guardian. Along with the likes of Scarecrow, Social Disease, The Beat and Susan Tomaselli's Dogmatika, 3AM have championed the new wave of writing and given a platform to young writers for whom Booker Prize lists are an irrelevance and who've been neglected by more established publishing outlets.

Some of the most exciting affliates have come in the form of The Brutalists, a provocatively honest trio of writers comprised of Adelle Stripe, Ben Myers and Tony O'Neill. Adapting a manifesto from punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue ("Here's a chord. Here's another. Now form a band.") to their own writing equivalent ("w"), they've distributed copies of their first gritty collection Brutalist 1: Nowhere Fast, via the internet alongside editing their Straight from the Fridge site.

Speaking to Adelle, it's clear how important the Internet is for the group, 'Well firstly, it helped us hook up with each other – we read each other's writing and found out we had a lot in common. Secondly, it has opened up our writing to a whole new readership internationally. Thirdly we can publish whatever we want, no holds barred, and also it doesn't have to cost a penny.'

Given that writers can publish and engage with readers without the corporate involvement, there's a theory that Internet publishing is a democratising process. Stripe wholeheartedly agrees, 'Definitely. We are living in a new, unprecedented era as far as publishing goes. As the middle men have now been cut out, there is a closer relationship between writer and reader.'

For all the excitement created, there's been a certain level of apprehension, with critics warning that social networking and e-books could bring about the redundancy of print. Stripe remains an optimist when it comes to the apparent demise of paper fiction, 'People like to take books with them on the train, the bus, over lunch, before bed – I think people stare at computer screens too much which is why I think an i-Pod style book reader will never work. For starters you don't need a battery for a book, and if you drop it – it doesn't break. These little things mean a great deal in terms of objects, which is why I think books will continue in their present form forever.'

Though news of the death of the book may be greatly exaggerated, Stripe insists the form will evolve to survive, 'I think stories will become shorter…and flash fiction and poetry will see a resurgence in popularity. I believe this'll happen because of the instant culture in which we exist. Why read a difficult novel, when you can read a poem in two minutes that will sit in your head for the rest of the day? I'm not saying 'death to the novel!' - as they're wonderful things that take a huge amount of time and effort not only to write - but also to read. What I do think is that we may be pleasantly surprised by the resurgence of poetry.'

The idea that a mutually beneficial relationship can exist between print and Internet has fuelled the more forward-thinking of writers. The website of Generation X author Douglas Coupland contains not just artwork, blogs and non-fiction but also minisites that act as extensions of his novels. In turn Chuck Palahnuik, of Fight Club fame, hosts The Cult on his personal website, a writers' workshop that guides and rewards original contributions from aspiring writers.

Perhaps the most impressive sites have been those established in connection to The Raw Shark Texts, the recent, critically acclaimed novel by Steven Hall. A complex but thrilling metafiction involving amnesia, conceptual fish and Jaws; the book made the leap from cult notoriety to commercial success with a major film adaptation reputedly in the works (Hall famously rejecting a phonecall offer from Nicole Kidman to adapt the screen version). The novel has been accompanied by websites and promo films that, rather than simply publicise, visualise his text, add annotations and deepen the original content.

The idea of the book expanding and seeping into the digital world is something Hall is keen to explore, revealing to Verbal, 'I always had the idea that I wanted this story to stretch out beyond its covers. Life isn't a neat and complete little unit and I wanted The Raw Shark Texts to echo that. This is a story about loss and missing things, so it just made sense for there to be hidden extra things out there. I like the idea that the book might never be complete, that you can never know everything. The Internet is a wonderful tool in that respect. I think writers are still only just tapping into its potential.'

The mainstream seems to finally be taking notice of this untapped potential. Online writers have been snapped up by major publishers with Chris Killen signing up with Canongate for The Bird Room and Tony O'Neill with Harper Perennial for his Down and Out on the Murder Mile novel this year. Publishers have also been keen to adopt underground innovations. Having pre-empted Radiohead in providing books for a pay-what-you-like fee, Another Sky Press have seen their methods passed on to the likes of Random House, who've released free-to-download PDF versions of novels (the first being Charles Bock's Beautiful Children).

Evidently the mainstream's got some catching up to do, especially with sites like the mesmerising art/poetry project Dreaming Methods, the sublime doodles and verse of A Poet Instead and the uproarious online graphic novel The Sound of Drowning pushing the boundaries. The signs have never been more promising. Far from proclaiming the death of the book, the resurrection is only just beginning.