Dispatch From PLA 2010: More than Martinis and Manolos

Editors Note: The 13th Annual Public Library Association Conference took place this past week at the Portland Convention Center, and this is the sixth and final (read the first here, second here, third here, fourth here, and the fifth here ) in a series of dispatches from Reading Local contributor Teresa Bergen on her experiences at PLA 2010.

Jane Porter’s publicist recently asked her to delete all references to chick lit, even in her book reviews, from her website. “Publishers now cringe at the label,” she said.

What is this stigmatized genre? Four authors and a publisher defined chick lit, discussed why they write it, why fans love it, and why publishers want to call it something else.

Panelists agreed that chick lit involves a strong first person voice. Leah Hultenschmidt, editor at Dorchester Publishing, said that first person voice “that gets in your head was an essential quality of chick lit. It was so influential.” While she believes the classic chick lit story line — small town girl moving to the big city, buying shoes and finding the best job ever—is played out, the strong, confiding voice lives on. “I see it carrying over into paranormal stories now,” Hultenschmidt said.

Some of the famous examples of chick lit are Bridget Jones’ Diary and Sex in the City.

Joyce Saricks, author and retired librarian, said with chick lit fallen into disfavor, she worries there will be a gap in books. What about twenty-somethings who aren’t ready for mom lit, she asked.

So what is the deal with women’s fiction, anyway? What do all the sub-genres have in common?

For Porter, women’s fiction is about validating and empowering women. After her father died of a heart attack at only 43, her mother remarried. Her second husband had been a POW in Nam. He took his PTSD out on Jane’s mom. “He beat her senseless,” Porter remembered. “I can’t even explain how important happy endings were to me.”

Panelists Susan Wiggs and Beth Kendrick both stayed away from college fiction writing classes. Wiggs knew she had a more commercial voice early on. Kendrick said she thought “real writing” required “quiet desperation.”

Kendrick got her PhD in psychology. She researched all day and wrote fiction at night. She sold her first book before she finished her dissertation. As soon as she defended, she quit psychology and devoted herself to a career writing women’s fiction. She also believes in the uplifting possibilities of a book. A while back she got a fan letter from a military captain serving in the Middle East. On his birthday, one of his buddies left a Kendrick romance novel on his bunk as a joke. According to Kendrick, the captain wrote, “But the joke was on them, because it was a good book.” He was tired of being in a war zone and ready for a happy story about home.

Sometimes writers sneak in serious topics. Porter’s new book, She’s Gone Country, stars a mother of three who falls in love with a bull rider. But there’s a subplot about dealing with boys who are depressed. “My editor says, ‘No, no. Write fun. Write fluffy.’ So I make this sweet package, and hide stuff in the middle.”

Many women’s fiction writers work their writing schedules around caring for small children. Wiggs told the audience of librarians, “Story time at the library was my time to park the kid there and sneak off to read in the adult section. You do the women of America a huge service.”

While chick lit is stigmatized for being fluffy, some readers simply don’t feel included. During the question and answer period, a middle aged audience member stood at the microphone and asked, “What about those of us who aren’t gorgeous?” She gestured at her not so svelte body, at the age showing on her face. “Where’s our lit?”

The authors assured her that not all women’s lit is about the young and unnaturally attractive. Some heroines are older. Kendrick said she deliberately writes hazy physical descriptions. But readers fill in the blanks, and often assume the protagonist must be gorgeous.

Porter insisted it’s more about the love than the looks. “A lot of women don’t get told they’re loved and appreciated,” she said. “I’m fiercely devoted to women’s fiction. I believe women deserve smart fiction, loving fiction.”

Image credits Jane Porter, Peninsula Women’s Expo, Simon & Schuster.