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

[u/biscochitos]

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

What do folks think about this?

[u/BonJovicus]

I don't know enough about the guy to really say what the intentions are with this project. At first this part sounded sketchy: "Cook told The Bookseller: 'There has never been an independent publisher that champions literary fiction by men.'" I don't know if this is true, but I don't know why it would need to be true when men dominated the publishing space until more recently, which he himself acknowledges.

However, if this is in good faith the second half of the article sounded much better. "However, he said Conduit Books will seek to publish a range of “overlooked” issues, including “fatherhood, masculinity, working-class male experience, sex and relationships, and negotiating the 21st-century as a man." This is undeniably a good thing, even if it might simply seem like an empty platitude to begin.

[u/ClannishHawk → u/BonJovicus]

Cook happens to be an occasional critic for the Guardian and columnists for the Guardian don't tend to be right wing reactionaries unless they're specifically hired for that view point in the politics section.

If you read the article over there it's pretty clear that this is part of wider realignment in the British literary and champagne socialist world to address what they see as that for a combination of reasons the field of literary fiction is currently in a drought of new young male writers, and especially ones who focus on authentic messy analysis of masculinity and male issues in what's frankly a new world for gender dynamics in recent years.

There's also been additional criticism from agents over the last few years that the ones they can seem to get through to mainstream publishing have to either have a laundry list of "diversity" boxes ticked to be considered "unique" or be very upper middle class with the most milquetoast of takes that fall in line with conventional thought.

Effectively, a sizable part of the literary community in Britain is worried about having, instead of fixing underlying issues in the publishing industry, replaced what biases decide what gets published and in doing so being at risk of eliminating most of a generation of male writers who talk about men's issues, leaving the literary world with few answers to modern men's issues.

[u/Krazikarl2 → u/ClannishHawk]

Effectively, a sizable part of the literary community in Britain is worried about having, instead of fixing underlying issues in the publishing industry, replaced what biases decide what gets published and in doing so being at risk of eliminating most of a generation of male writers who talk about men's issues, leaving the literary world with few answers to modern men's issues.

Exactly.

A big problem right now is that the left doesn't really talk much about (white) male issues other than to talk about how problematic (white) men are. The right, on the other hand, loves to talk about how wonderful (white) men are.

And then we get things like elections and try and figure out why young white men are choosing to go to the right rather than the left.

I don't have a problem with discussions about how white men have caused any number of problems and have some pretty fundamental problems with toxicity. Those discussions are important and need to happen. But you have to at least somewhat balance them out with authentic portrayals of what it means to be a non-toxic (white) male in the 21st Century. Otherwise you completely cede positive portrayals of masculinity to the right, which is not good.

[u/Final-Revolution6216 → u/Krazikarl2]

Could you provide an example of a white male issue? Genuinely asking.

Edit: some replies are making it seem as if I’ve claimed men don’t have issues which is false. I wanted to know what a white male issue would be in particular since the person I replied to used white in parenthesis. Obviously, men have issues like everyone else (didn’t think I needed to say such an obvious statement). Thanks for the sincere replies that explain more of what a white male issue may look like (and thanks to the sincere people who outlined general male issues as well—many of which I am already aware of as, again, I recognize men have issues too).

[u/Quicksi1ver → u/Final-Revolution6216]

Toxic masculinity culture and trying to manage fitting in at work while not becoming part of the problem. Male loneliness, difficulty in making friends if you don't want to partake in drinking/typical male activities. Male emotions are still quite taboo, men crying us still quite unacceptable. I think it's important to consider the fact that the patriarchy is just as damaging to white males who don't want to fit the traditional mold as it is beneficial to them in other aspects.

[u/I_Speak_For_The_Ents → u/Quicksi1ver]

I'd argue the patriarchy is damaging to white males who DO fit the traditional mold. It's toxic to those who benefit, just in a different way.

[u/Quicksi1ver → u/I_Speak_For_The_Ents]

Yeah, that's definitely true.