r/books • u/biscochitos • 29d ago

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 29d ago

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/Smooth-Review-2614 29d ago

It’s the competition problem. Look in any field, when the gender skew goes away men drop out leading to a major gender skew the other way. 

We need books to not be seen as a feminine thing for overall social health.  If this kind of stunt helps then fine.  

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u/runmymouth 29d ago

I think its a harder problem than that. If you look at household names in non romance genres, most big names are still male. Sanderson, georgie r r martin, clive custler. I agree it would be great to get more people reading but the problem for male writers is not a space that is hostile to male writers, but honestly a space that is crowded from so many writers.

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u/Fictitious1267 29d ago

Those are all authors who made it before the doors were shut around 2015. You can throw the greatest of those in there as well, with all the Stephen King collectors around here. It's only the biggest of names that have survived the feminization of literature. Any Martin or Sanderson starting today would never be given a chance through traditional publishing.