Sarah Odedinas new venture at Bonnier to be called Hot Key Books, specialising in childrens fiction for ages 9+'bit.ly/pV2FHO
Polly Courtney and her disdain at being classed as a chick lit author'bit.ly/qAVdUE
Library chic or book genocide?'bit.ly/no9O1d
Which is the best format for ebooks?'zite.to/n9O9xc
ABFFE holds three-week online childrens book art auction to support free speech'bit.ly/n7v3br
The Circus Gates Have Been Opened'goo.gl/fb/1CuWm
AAP Figures for June Show Dramatic Print Slump, Continuing Ebook Explosionhttp://ow.ly/6vL60
Virago acquires university satire'bit.ly/nd6H8s
Mary Hooper talks about who she would invite to her fantasy dinner party (see our review of Marys Fallen Grace)
A free Conan novella on ebook'bit.ly/pRE42w
A nosy look into the weird writing habits of famous writers'cot.ag/ohA53k
5 bad ways to start a novel'bit.ly/qQhhad
Is your smartphone ruining your creativity?'fxn.ws/n2VO36
USPS Rate Increases Could Cripple Magazines and Printers'bit.ly/oPOOjX
RIASS stuff:
See our review of Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Are you a bookish person (publisher, editor, writer, reviewer, reader) and would like to be interviewed by RIASS? Drop Stephanie a line at readinasinglesitting@gmail.com
Cant blame Polly Courtney. The term chick lit makes me shudder.
I agree that its an awful term, and one thats inherently sexist and demeaning, and I can see why its resulted in the genre being looked down upon so. Its a shame, because theres some excellent, excellent chick lit (or womens fiction, for want of a better term) out there, and it saddens me to see it narrowed down in concept to pink shoes and infidelity.
I dont inherently see the term as being bad but I must admit my preconception of chick lit means I expect the protagonist to be under 30, single and most likely work in a glamorous industry usually as a PR or PA with an envious wardrobe full of clothes. I wouldnt mind if that is not the case if I picked up a book with that expectation though.
Shelleyrae
Thanks for dropping by, Shelley Rae.
Always lovely to see you.
Personally, I dislike the term chick from the start, and to me the name of the genre indicates literature thats not good or up to scratch, and theres a huge degree of othering there. I suppose I just hate the fact that theres no such thing as mens fictionwhich suggests to me that all other literature thats not defined as chick lit belongs to men. The feminist in me (which is a rather large part of me!) bridles at this notion.
I think your preconceptions are definitely right to a degree, as a lot of this fiction does tend to feature younger women in glamorous industries, but this is often just a jumping off pointIve read some truly excellent chick lit, I have to say. I think the genre is definitely deepening as well, and Im seeing some great crossover into other genres.
I drop by everyday Steph you must be getting sick of me by now
There is lad lit (or the cruder term dick lit) applied to authors like Nick Hornby but I do understand your point about the absence of the term mens fiction and that some use chick lit as a derogatory term which is unfortunate and I dont think Polly has helped much there
Im a daily BookdOut reader so no doubt our paths cross a bit
Ive heard the term lad lit tossed around a bit, but Im pretty sure that it was effectively buried as a marketing term a few years back. (although lad mags still existbut theyre typically soft porn mags)
I think its hard not to take chick lit as a term thats at the very least unserious and at the worst demeaning. To me word chick is one that makes me balk, so to see it applied to something that is intended for female consumption seems somewhat backward and perhaps even offensive (perhaps its from the pen of Don Draper?)its demeaning the very audience its aimed at, and I think thats hugely problematic.
Hmm, I think I need to gather my thoughts on this topic and writer up a proper post.
I look forward to reading it!