Gender Equality in the Modern Fiction Marketplace

Jeannie K. Holmes
Sept. 10, 2007
EH 468
Celebrating the Alien

Alice Mary Norton legally changed her name to Andre Alice Norton in 1934 (Cooper 376). She chose to take on a male name because, at the time, “the most authoritative voice in the kinds of genre fiction Norton like to write was a male voice.” Does this same belief hold true in today’s marketplace?

The modern fiction marketplace is vast and varied. Take a walk through a bookstore and look at the names on the covers. Women writers hold an almost equal footing across the genres, and more so in some genres such as romance. Does this mean that the gender bias faced by Andre Norton is a thing of the past?

No, it doesn’t. Just as women during the 1930s through 1960s – the years when Andre Norton was publishing – were taking on male pseudonyms or using their initials, women authors continue this practice today because of a perceived bias against female authors within certain genres. A female author who has used initials to her advantage has been J. K. Rowling. No one can deny the success of the Harry Potter series in reaching children as well as adults and in crossing genre boundaries. However, some women authors, particularly in the thriller genre, who have chosen to keep their names with interesting results.

A recent Publisher’s Weekly article highlighted nine debut thriller authors, including two women. The seven male authors had first printings of their books numbering from as low as 20,000 to as high as 200,000 books – numbers that are almost unheard of for debut authors in any genre. The two female authors are slated for first printings of 100,000 to 200,000 (Publishers Weekly, April 2007).

Is there a perceived bias against women authors in the modern fiction marketplace? It’s hard to determine by simply looking at the shelves of the local bookstore. More women are reading and writing science fiction and fantasy. More women are writing mysteries and thrillers. A trip down the romance aisle will show that it is a genre still ruled by female authors. However, looking at then science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and thriller genres reveals more women who are following Rowling’s example and using their initials. Three modern examples of female authors using initials to level the gender playing field within the thriller genre are M. J. Rose, J. T. Ellison, and C. J. Lyons. C. E. Murphy, author of Urban Shaman, uses her initials in the fantasy genre. L. A. Banks, an African American author, writes incredibly rich fantasy fiction that incorporates the supernatural with science in modern urban settings.

Gender bias in the modern fiction marketplace seems to linger. However, it is slowly changing. As women’s roles have expanded in society, the modern marketplace reflects this expansion. Because fiction – especially science fiction – often comments on our modern cultural views, it will continue to evolve and show a diversity of nationality, ethnicity, and gender both within the stories being told and in the storytellers themselves (Colatrella, 563).


Works Cited

Colatrella, Carol. “Science Fiction in the Information Age.” American Literary History, Vol. 11, No. 3. (Autumn, 1999), pp. 554-565.

Cooper, Carol. “Celebrating the Alien: The Politics of Race and Species in the Juveniles of
Andre Norton.” Dark Matter: Reading the Bones, Sheree R Thomas, Ed. Aspect: New
York. 2005.

Danford, Natalie. “Maiden Mysteries: Nine first-timers vie for the attention of whodunit fans.”
Publisher’s Weekly. April 23, 2007.