Reflecting
There has “never been an independent publisher that champions literary fiction by men,” said Cook. “Which is not to say we won’t publish fiction by women in the future – but the emphasis at first will be on male authors. We believe there is ambitious, funny, political and cerebral fiction by men that is being passed by.”
Heard about that new publishing house?
Are you referring to Conduit Books, quoted above, a new press that is hoping to publish books “focusing initially on male authors?”
That’s the one! Let me guess, you have a problem with it, you liberal hippy Vatican II snowflake?
You read my bio! Aw. Anyway, no, I don’t think this Cook dude is entirely wrong, just mostly. I like how he criticizes the “prevailing toxic male-dominated literary scene of the 80s, 90s and noughties” and praises the way female authors have created “excitement and energy around new and adventurous fiction.”
Well, that’s good!
Sounds good! Cook wants to offer a different voice for men to turn toward. And, along the way, he hopes to do away with the notion that men don’t read (at least, not fiction). He hopes to address male concerns in the books Conduit publishes, which he believes modern literature has left unaddressed.
And he thinks the best way to do that is to publish a variety of male voices, or at least male voices that run counter to the loudest, most dominating, damning dudes out there.
What a great idea! I can’t imagine another way!
You know, I was thinking about this, and I may have another way. It’s unorthodox, but it might be crazy enough to work.
What if men…read women writers?
gasp Is such a thing legal?
There’s no Executive Order against it. Yet!
Are you saying men don’t read women?
#NotAllMen, but #ALottaMen. Bookscan tells us that, in 2023, men made up less than 20% of the readers of the top ten titles by bestselling women (nearly half of male bestsellers were read by women, on the other hand). There’s also a general industry acceptance that men simply don’t read as much fiction as women do.
But how would reading women benefit men in any way? I don’t get it. Explain it to me like I was a child or a middle-aged man.
In my own genre of crime fiction, women are absolutely putting out the best work. Which means that - in my view of “best work” - they’re writing stories that are rich in character, masterly in prose, and meeting the demands of a thriller, suspense, or mystery. Their insight into people can help us understand ourselves and each other better, one of the things great literature does rather well.
If you want to write good fiction, read the best fiction.
But some men don’t like reading women. Or, frankly, don’t care much about women’s interests. I assume those interests are…fun socks? Do women like fun socks?
I don’t know. But I think a real problem is indicated by that Bookscan stat, and furthering the distance between men and women doesn’t solve it.
People shape each other. Our lives and emotions reflect each other’s impact and influence, and good, insightful, character-driven literature can show us that reflection. If we want to understand ourselves, we need to read outside of ourselves.
What about the men who refuse to read women? How do we reach them?
There are some guys out there who just hate women. And I don’t mean in a comedian’s wry “my wife gets so mad about the toilet seat left up” kind of way.
I mean, some men fucking hate women.
I don’t want to say anyone’s unreachable, but those guys generally don’t tend to be big readers. I also don’t think books are the solution they most immediately need. But, like a racist discovering the works of James Baldwin and having his or her perspective changed, there’s a chance that a misogynist may discover a woman writer who does the same for them.
In any event, we shouldn’t pander to bigamy.
Ugh, I hate when guys get like this: Hey, fellow men, we should be better! Acting like you’re perfect or something.
No one would say that. My wife asked me to do something earlier today and I very seriously said, will do!, but honestly, I was watching wrestling at the same time and I have no idea what she said and I’m growing increasingly worried that I need to pick up our kid from somewhere or get the dog neutered. I mean, he was already neutered, but do dogs need to be neutered twice? One for each testicle? I don’t know how it works.
My point is, we can all do better.
That was uncomfortable. Anyway, this approach to men reading women seems really hard. Can I please just read men?
You should! But the goal shouldn’t be to segment men off any further, or narrow their worldview. Read men, yes, but it’s imperative that we teach this next generation of men to read women.
We need men to read women so that they understand themselves better. So men can get a better sense of how they’re shaped and reflected, and how we do the same to others.
At the end of the day, men simply have to be strong enough to stare into their reflection.
And not care who is holding up the mirror.
EA
One way to find a variety of good writers to read is to go to a book festival, and the Gaithersburg Book Festival is one of the best in the country. I’m moderating a panel with NY Times and USA Today bestsellers Carter Wilson and Matt Goldman, and the entire festival has (as always) an amazing lineup. My panel closes up the day at the Mystery Tent but, earlier that day, you can also see Sarah Pekkanen, Alex Finley, former National Archivist Colleen Shogan, KT Nguyen, Jeffery Deaver, my DC Reads homie Lauren Francis-Sharma, Jenny Bort-Yacovissi, Holly Smith, and more. Also, they have the best food trucks of any festival in the world - I ate so much Maine lobster last year that Barbara Corcoran sent me a personalized bib. Find out more information here!
When we talk about crime fiction regions in America, one of the most exciting is the American South. S.A. Cosby, Laura McHugh, Eli Cranor, and more have produced some of today’s most notable books, and Emily Carpenter is absolutely one of the cool kids in that class. She’s written five acclaimed novels, but I’m not sure if any of them have captured the excitement of her newest release, Gothictown. The story of “a restauranteur lured by pandemic-era incentives (who) moves her family to a seemingly idyllic small town in Georgia, only to discover a darkness lurking beneath the sun-dappled streets and Southern hospitality,” Gothictown is an immersive culmination of Carpenter’s themes, and <reviewer voice> firmly establishes her as a worthy chronicler of the south’s storied past and uncertain future.
I love Emily’s writing and I’m so happy she was willing to write the following for Crime Fiction Revolution, about her best moment in publishing:
As someone who’s been obsessed with movies and wanted to be an actress and producer back in my distant youth, my first attempt at telling stories was writing screenplays. I worked really hard to learn the craft, wrote about eight of them, placed in a couple of contests, and even made the shortlist for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. However, I just couldn’t seem to break in. I couldn’t get an agent or sell a script.
In the 2010s, we started to see an influx of book-to-movie adaptations, and it occurred to me that maybe, if I wrote a book, someone might option it and make it into a film. That could be my way into filmmaking! I decided to write a book—my first, but not last, to be put in a drawer— and to be honest, it was a means to an end, the end being the film business.
Eventually, I did write a book that garnered me an agent and a book deal, and I was on my publishing path. In the almost ten years since, something beautiful happened. I came to love writing novels as an end to itself, and the dream of getting into film fell by the wayside.
Then, out of the blue and much to my surprise, my latest book GOTHICTOWN was optioned by AMC TV and Made with Love Media, even before the book sold to a publisher. I was about to go see a movie — alone, midday, as I often do, and was browsing around an Athleta store when I got the email. AMC had sent the option contract for the book. They really wanted it. I started crying and told both the salespeople, who were spectacularly unenthused.
That was my absolute, best moment in publishing: achieving a dream I’d thought was out of my reach. There’s no guarantee a show will be made, but just getting that call was a pinnacle moment for me.
Ha, I love the unexcited salespeople. When I got an offer for No Home for Killers, I ran and told an officemate and she said, “Oh, cool, do you have that spreadsheet I asked for?” So I get it. Also, no, I DIDN’T HAVE THAT STUPID FUCKING SPREADSHEET.
Emily Carpenter has been on tour for Gothictown (I saw her when she came to the DC region, and she’s so fun and gives a great show), so follow her on social media or visit her web site to see when she’s doing something in your area (or virtually). And check out Gothictown here!
It's giveaway time! The winner of a copy of Gothictown is:
Congrats, and I'll send you an email with more information soon!
Thanks for reading! Want to support Crime Fiction Revolution with cash? I accept tips! Or you can check out my most recent thriller, When She Left. I also accept compliments, as long as they come with cash or a book purchase.
When I think about the "men not wanting to read women" problem I will always remember an article I read somewhere were some lit dude was disparaging Glimmer Train magazine (which before the owners shut it down was a really well respected place to get lit fic published.) Anyway he said something like "they only publish stuff about women discovering they have fibroids." Which I find a really gross thing to say as a woman, person with fibroids, and a person whose published story there had nothing to do with fibroids.