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« ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE | Main | MARIAN THE LIBRARIAN HUMBLY REQUESTS A BUDGET INCREASE »

July 20, 2005

THE FAIR SEX

It’s not unheard of for women writers to gripe that their male counterparts produce more, sell more, and are taken more seriously by the critics. This griping is not unjustified. But a recent study completed by Lulu.com (a website that lets anyone publish a book and sell it on the Internet—you decide for yourself what that means) reveals that female authors now account for a near-majority of the country’s bestsellers. Between 1955-1964, our share was 17.8 percent. As of the 1980s, we still languished at 23.8 percent. Over the last decade, however, we’ve crept up to 46 percent—and now, 8 months into 2005, we’re at 50 percent.

Here are the top 5 books from the New York Times Hardback Fiction List for the week commencing July 17, 2005.

1. Eleven On Top, by Janet Evanovich
2. The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
3. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
4. Miracle, by Danielle Steele
5. The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd

I’m not sure what to make of this, or what the significance is for the midlist (where, let’s face it, most of us live). Writers like Danielle Steele and J.K. Rowling surely account for much of the increase (in 2002, the Times moved Rowling over to the newly created children’s list, just to keep her from mucking up the numbers), and more power. But I’d be happier with Cynthia Ozick, Alice Munro, or Marianne Wiggins on the list. Beatrice had a post up yesterday about this same item, in which Ron wondered why Kathryn Harrison’s novel Envy was given short shrift in the NYTBR compared to John Irving’s latest. The paper’s own critics seem to feel that she’s better at handling psychological and sexual themes, so why gift Irving with the cover and all those column inches?

Bob Young, CEO of Lulu says, “Once writers took on male pen names, like George Eiliot, whose real name was Mary Ann Evans. Before long, male writers may have to adopt female pen names: the Dan Brown of the future will become Danielle, while the Stephen King will be Stephanie.”

When pigs fly. Or as Hemingway might say: Isn’t it pretty to think so?

Posted by Karen Palmer at 12:22 AM |

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I can only see it happening with a man who wants to be a successful chick-lit author.

Posted by:Pete | July 20, 2005 at 07:34 AM

Yes, the speculation about pen-names is clearly for comic effect. On the other hand male authors commonly assume female pen-names in the erotica genre--the literary equivalent of cross-dressing. I am reminded of a British comedy from the 1980's (the name escapes me) about a brothel in London. In the movie one of the male customers pays to dress up like a school girl and sit between the working ladies (also dressed as schoolgirls) while they whisper secrets to one another. "Ahh," he giggles, "Just one of the girls!"

Posted by:Stephen | July 21, 2005 at 07:55 AM

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