GalleyCat - The First Word On the Book Publishing Industry

Her Novel Is Out, But Not Quite Out

aoibheann-sweeney.jpgOver the last few months, literary writers seem to be making a point of declaring how much more they love newspaper book reviewers than bloggers—or, at least, those are the authors that get quoted most often by newspaper reporters—so when I met Aoibheann Sweeney (pronounced "even") for lunch Monday, I was delighted to find that she holds the exact opposite view. We'd been talking about the ambivalent treatment her debut novel, Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking, had gotten in this upcoming weekend's NYTBR, as opposed to the enthusiastic reactions she'd been getting from readers online, when she sighed, "There's something so alive about bloggers; it's like they're writing as soon as they can put the book down, instead of trying to come up with something polished that makes them look smart." A capsule review in another New York outlet had left her similarly cold: "Why would I even want somebody to make a 200-word article out of my book?" (It should be noted, though, that they love her in Cleveland, without reservations.)

Sweeney first started writing Among Other Things when she was a book editor in the mid-'90s, at the beginning of a boom period in gay publishing. "I really thought of it as a gay book," she says, and confesses that she was thrilled when Penguin Press bought the manuscript "because I had a huge crush on Ann Godoff." But—and this may help explain the unsure critical reaction—it's a gay novel that doesn't particularly make a big deal out of being a gay novel; the emotional and sexual blossoming of Miranda, the protagonist, is treated subtly enough that the significance is allowed to sneak up on the reader, and the queerness of other characters is handled utterly matter-of-factly. And, too, there's the fact that, Sweeney's own outness—her August readings are at the Park Slope B&N and Bluestockings, so she clearly knows her demographic—and her enthusiasm for the book's themes aside, Among Other Things has clearly been positioned as a literary work for general audiences; we joked about how the line in the flap copy about how Miranda's move to New York City would "open up her world in ways she cannot begin to imagine" was like some sort of coded message from the golden age of closeted gay literature.

Then, Sweeney raised the more serious question of why gay male writers seemed able to easily work their way into the literary mainstream without toning down their identity, while similarly "out" lesbian writers were classified as "alternative." The counter-example of Alison Bechdel came up, particularly because she and Sweeney explore similar themes in their work, but, then again, we mused, would Fun Home have gotten as much attention from the general press if it had been a prose memoir rather than a comic book? "Still," Sweeney said, "I'd really love it if Alison Bechdel read my book and liked it." I'd lay good odds on that happening sometime soon.


new on mediabistro.com

The Future of Social Media with Chris Anderson

The editor of Wired explains how to create a social network that works.
Watch the video

Email This Post

Fill out the following information and click on the Send button in order to send this post, Her Novel Is Out, But Not Quite Out, to a friend.
Friend's name
Friend's email address
Your name
Your email address
Note to your friend (optional, max 200 Characters)

Read more on GalleyCat >

The First Word On the Book Publishing Industry
GalleyCat in Your Inbox
Mobile Version
RSS Feed
Our Blog Network

BayNewser

WebNewser

TVNewser

PRNewser

MediaJobsDaily

FishbowlNY

FishbowlDC

FishbowlLA

MobileContentToday

AgencySpy

UnBeige

GalleyCat

GalleyCat Staff

Editor:

Jason Boog

Senior Editor:

Ron Hogan

Correspondent:

Jeff Rivera

Follow GalleyCat

Email GalleyCat

Anonymous Tips
Favorite Posts

heather-thomas-sidebar.jpg Our Chat With Heather Thomas
jack-oconnell-sidebar.jpg The (Long-Awaited) Return of Jack O'Connell
marya-hornbacher-sidebar.jpg Marya Hornbacher: "No Tortured Artists Here"
stean-sagmeister-sidebar.jpg Stefan Sagmeister: "Design for Non-Designers"
 Why Does Maureen Dowd Hate Popular Women?
Topics

About the 'Cat

About Us - Modules

Adaptation

Agents

Authors

Awards

Behind the Deal

Book Fairs

Book Jackets

Book Trailer

Bookselling

Buzz/PR

Celebrities

Comicbookland

Contests

Deals

eBooks

Editors

Feuds

Food & Drink

GC's Hitlist

Lecture Circuit

Libraries

Lit Crit

Litterbox

LOLgalleycats

Mailbag

Monday Morning

New & Upcoming

Paper Cuts

Party Hopping

People of Color

Polls

Publishing

Q&A

Readers

Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll

The Revolving Door

Trends

Undiscovered Writers

Web & Tech


Links

Book Beast@The Daily Beast

Bookseller.com

Books@Wowowow

Buzz, Balls & Hype

Danuta Kean

E-Reads

Eco-Libris

MarianLibrarian

Publishers Marketplace

Publishers Weekly

Publishing Contrarian

Publishing For Profit

Publishing Insider

Publishing News

Publishing Perspectives

The Publishing Spot

Publishing Trends

PubRants

Rick Frishman

Shelf Awareness

TeleRead

Weekly Publishing Moves

The Write Report

...more...

Archives

November 2009

October 2009

September 2009

August 2009

more...


Job Listings

Featured Listings

Supervisor Transactions & Journals Production
IEEE
Piscataway, NJ

Administrative Assistant to Photo Director
Book/Calendar Publisher
New York, NY

Account Executive - Denver
The Bump
Denver, CO

EDW BI Manager
Scholastic
Secaucus, NJ

ADVERTISEMENT


mediabistro.com l Member Benefits l Jobs l Freelance Marketplace l Courses l Events l Forums l Content
mediabistro Blogs: Media News l TVNewser l GalleyCat l UnBeige l FishbowlNY l FishbowlLA l FishbowlDC l PRNewser l AgencySpy
MobileContentToday l WebNewser l BayNewser l MediaJobsDaily l mbToolbox
Site Map l Advertising/Sponsorships l Partners l About Us l Contact Us/Help

internet.commediabistro.comJusttechjobs.comGraphics.com

Search:

WebMediaBrands Corporate Info

Legal Notices, Licensing, Reprints, Permissions, Privacy Policy.
Advertise | Newsletters | Shopping | E-mail Offers