The Offbeat generation was a loose association of like-minded writers working across different styles but united by their opposition to a mainstream publishing industry driven by marketing departments. The term—coined by Andrew Gallix in '' 3:AM Magazine'' in February 2006—was a pun on the

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

but more likely to be associated with the

Chemical generation The Chemical Generation refers to a collection of writers in the 1990s who created work responding to the hedonistic ecstasy culture of the 1990 era of ecstasy and rave culture. Irvine Welsh's book ''Trainspotting'' is often described as inciting ...

immediately before it (who were anthologised at the ''Repetitive Beat Generation'' also). In August 2007 ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

'' wrote of them: "Young, untamed, good-looking and as influenced by punk rock as they are by

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, a new wave of loosely-linked writers dubbed The Off-Beat Generation have been blitzing the net with stories and poems via MySpace and supportive sites such as ''3:AM Magazine'' to organise events and gain publicity." The ''Arena'' article cited

Tony O'Neill Tony O'Neill (born 1978, Blackburn, Lancashire) is an English writer based in New York. A one-time musician with Kenickie (1997–98), Marc Almond (1997–98), The Brian Jonestown Massacre (1999) and Kelli Ali (2001–04), O'Neill is also the a ...

Travis Jeppesen Travis Jeppesen is an American novelist, poet, artist, and art critic. He is known, among other works, for his novel ''The Suiciders''; a non-fiction novel about North Korea, ''See You Again in Pyongyang''; and for his object-oriented writing work, ...

and

Tao Lin Tao Lin (; born July 2, 1983) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, short-story writer, and artist. He has published four novels, a novella, two books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a memoir, as well as an extensive assortment of ...

as its key members. A piece on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' website discussed possible overlaps with the

Brutalists Brutalism is a literary movement formed in 2006 by three writers from the north of England (Tony O'Neill, Adelle Stripe and Ben Myers). The Brutalists are affiliated with the Offbeat generation, a loose association of like-minded writers worki ...

. According to a February 2009 feature in the Spanish daily ''ABC'', the members of the Offbeat Generation are

Noah Cicero Noah Cicero (born October 10, 1980) is an American novelist, short-story writer. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is the author of six books of fiction and two ebooks. Cicero's stories, poetry, and essays have been published in magazines such ...

Ben Myers Benjamin Myers (born January 1976) is an English writer and journalist. Early life Myers grew up in Belmont, County Durham, and was a pupil at the estate's local comprehensive school where he become interested in reading and skateboarding. My ...

, Andrew Gallix,

Lee Rourke Lee Rourke (born 1972) is an English writer and literary critic. His books include the short story collection ''Everyday'', the novels ''The Canal'' (winner of '' The Guardian’s'' Not The Booker Prize in 2010), ''Vulgar Things'', and ''Glitch ...

Adelle Stripe Adelle Stripe (born 1976) is an English writer and journalist. Work Stripe's writing is rooted in the non-fiction novel form and explores working-class culture, untold histories of Northern England, popular music, and small-town life. ''Bla ...

Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to: Academia *Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy *Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts *J. Thomas Mc ...

HP Tinker HP Tinker (born 24 May 1969) is a Manchester-based short story writer of comic avant garde fiction. In 2007, '' Time Out'' called him an "unsung comic genius" and he has been referred to as "the Thomas Pynchon of Chorlton-cum-Hardy". Initially ...

, Chris Killen, Heidi James and

. In June 2009, ''3:AM Magazine'' referred to ''Dazed & Aroused'', by

Gavin James Bower Gavin James Bower (born 28 October 1982, in Lancashire) is a British writer, lecturer and editor. His first novel, ''Dazed & Aroused'', was published by Naim Attallah's Quartet Books in July 2009. Graduating from the University of Sheffield wit ...

, as "nothing less than a ''Less Than Zero'' for the Offbeat Generation".

References

External links

MySpace3:AM Magazine
Literary movements 2000s neologisms {{US-lit-stub