Bookplanet: Litbloggers hook up to push overlooked fiction

'Marking a departure from the solitary life of reading and writing, about 20 independent literary bloggers announced Friday that they will begin working together in hopes of drawing readers to books they feel deserve more attention, while seeking to generate more and deeper public discussions of literature. Calling themselves the Litblog Co-Op, the effort includes the sites the Elegant Variation, Moorishgirl, Rake's Progress and Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind, all of which will continue to operate separately, the bloggers say. Key to the effort is the Read This! campaign they've created, in which five of the bloggers will each nominate a title he or she thinks deserves readers' attention, then the co-op will vote for one to promote jointly. The first title (four will be selected each year) will be announced May 15 on the group's website, http://www.lbc.typepad.com.' Read on. What a great thing. Maybe they should give a prize. Hey, they don't have to fork out money, just call what they do giving an award. The Litblog Prize. The four chosen books could be their annual shortlist. At the end of the year they vote for the Litblog Prize Winner.