Tracking literary journalism's transatlantic migrations

This chapter explores the transnational migration of literary journalism by examining the cross-pollination between fiction and nonfiction within the print cultures of France, Britain, and the United States. It posits that the development of literary journalism was facilitated by a hybrid print culture that not only tolerated but even encouraged the coexistence of various genres, including serialized novels and political chronicles, which frequently and purposefully blurred the lines between journalistic forms. Turning away from traditional nationalist and comparativist approaches in literary journalism studies and toward a burgeoning transnational perspective that emphasizes the fluid exchange of styles and influences among nations, this chapter analyzes the roman-feuilleton and chronique in France, alongside the importation of American “new journalism” in Britain to highlight how these genres influenced and transformed journalistic practices, ultimately shaping modern literary journalism. This chapter concludes that the implications of this transnational exchange not only enriched the genre’s development but also fostered a more inclusive understanding of its global dimensions, thus contributing to the broader critical conversation on how historical, political, and cultural contexts have informed the development of literary journalism as a dynamic and evolving form of narrative nonfiction around the world.