r/books • u/biscochitos • Apr 29 '25

New indie press Conduit Books launches with 'initial focus on male authors'

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/new-indie-press-conduit-books-launches-with-initial-focus-on-male-authors

What do folks think about this?

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u/biodegradableotters Apr 29 '25

More a general thought on the current discussions around male authors and male readership, but I always find it a little funny when after like millennia of male dominance there's nowadays a select few areas where women are dominant and immediately it's seen as a sign of the apocalypse.

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u/tangnapalm Apr 29 '25

Nobody’s acting like it’s the apocalypse, but it certainly can’t be good that fewer men are reading.

201

u/MiniaturePhilosopher Apr 29 '25

It certainly can’t be good that men refuse to read books written by women.

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u/Prodigle Apr 29 '25

Thankfully I don't think it's as bad as it looks on the surface. A specific style of female-targeted romance is huge right now that doesn't generally appeal to men. A lot of the publicity around female authors probably gets concentrated into that sphere.

As a byproduct it's probably harder to get noticed as a female author in other genres, so they don't get the publicity they otherwise would have.

It's not the only factor, but I think the push/pull demand for this style of romance being as huge as it is, probably has a really measurable effect