"Mature" women's fiction

aruna · Aug 12, 2006

Transita , based in the UK, publishes books by and for women over 45. They accept unagented submissions.

Here's what they say about themselves:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Transita books reflect the lives of mature women. Contemporary women with rich and interesting stories to tell, stories that explore the truths and desires that colour their lives.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Until now there hasn’t been an identifiable body of fiction that mirrors the experiences of today’s 45+ woman – and yet we make up almost 40% of the female population in the UK. Now Transita will be tapping into a whole new world of fiction, publishing transformational stories that mirror the lives of women our age.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The majority of women’s fiction is published for twenty and thirty year olds. Those are our kids! As much as we love them we don’t always want to be reading about them. We spend enough years living our lives through theirs as it is! We want to read about women of our own age.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There’ll be something for everyone, and for every occasion and mood. The books can be as varied as women themselves are at this time of life. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry – but they all have one thing in common: they’re written especially with you in mind.[/FONT]

JanDarby · Aug 12, 2006

I don't know anything about this particular publisher, but it strikes me that they are right about this growing segment of the market, in the US as well.

A lot of Boomers will be retiring soon (or are already retired), and will have more time to read than when they were working full-time and raising kids and so on. It's hard to predict what they'll WANT to read, but if anyone can figure that out and can write to that market, it should make for a good career.

JD

nevada · Aug 12, 2006

Harlequin just came out with a new line for mature romance readers called Next. To me it seems like a cross between chick lit and romance. although I guess it's called hen lit for mature women. And I really hate the word mature. Just wanted to say that.

Cathy C · Aug 12, 2006

Awesome, aruna! Thanks a lot for posting it. I have several additions to make to the markets sticky, and I'll add this one to it!

aruna · Aug 12, 2006

nevada said:
And I really hate the word mature. Just wanted to say that.

So do I, that's why I placed it in " "; but they call it mature themselves. Middle-aged isn't synonymous with mature, and young peole can be mature too!

But I would not seethis the same as hen-lit, which in my eyes is chick-lit for older women. I see this as mainstream reading - serious themes for older women who have seen a bit of life.

aruna · Aug 12, 2006

Here's a good article about transita:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/01/14/cbstar14.xml

Brenda Hill · Aug 13, 2006

Great information, aruna. Thank you.

Laurie · Aug 15, 2006

I have a really stupid question.

Are UK publishers interested in a book set in America? I know it's a stupid question, but are UK publishers interested first in promoting UK writers and stories that relate more directly to UK readership?

My WIP's heroine is 50-ish and dealing with issues related to that time of life.

aruna · Aug 15, 2006

I think US is fine for the UK market. Readers are already familiar with all things American through books and TV, so it's almost like home. More dificult would be a book set in Argentina or - or - Togo.

"Mature" women's fiction

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

JanDarby

nevada

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

Brenda Hill

Diva in Training

Laurie

aruna

On a wing and a prayer