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Fifty Shades of Grey: blazing a trail for modern online literature

February 4, 2013

Fifty Shades of Grey is the literary sensation of the season. 65 million copies of the erotic trilogy have been sold worldwide. But the blockbuster had humble beginnings - it got its start as a story posted by author E. L. James on a fan-fiction site for the Twilight films.

https://p.dw.com/p/17Y1T

The internet is changing the world of books. Thanks to e-publishing, authors no longer need publishing houses - instead, they can communicate with their readers online. Sometimes, the readers even add to the stories. Berlin-based literature professor Stephan Porombka calls this online phenomenon viral feedback.