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-World War II era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by members o ...

but more likely to be associated with the Chemical generation immediately before it (who were anthologised at the ''Repetitive Beat Generation'' also). In August 2007 ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

'' 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, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French language, French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Pas ...

, a new wave of loosely-linked writers dubbed The Off-Beat Generation have been blitzing the net with stories and poems via

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

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 in 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 has wri ...

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

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 o ...

as its key members. A piece on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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 wo ...

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

Ben Myers Benjamin Myers FRSL (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 became interested in reading and skateboardin ...

, 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 ''Glitc ...

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. ''Bl ...

, Tom McCarthy, HP Tinker, Chris Killen, Heidi James and

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