Has Publishing Abandoned Male Readers?

Over at the Huffington Post, Tom Matlack, the co-founder of The Good Men Project, blasts publishers for being out of touch during the publishing recession–losing a valuable chance to connect with male readers.

He recounts his struggle to find a home for an anthology of first person stories about manhood. Ultimately, Matlack and his partner built a website and will publish the book themselves on November 15. The anthology will include work by Mad Men creator Matt Weiner, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff, and author Steve Almond.

Here’s more from the essay: “Fifty (that’s 5-0, including a who’s who list of the literary world) [publishers] turned us down. They told us guys don’t read, would never read any kind of anthology, and most certainly wouldn’t read an anthology about men. Apparently we are all mindless fools. The publishers also said they were focused exclusively on the ‘sure-thing’ celebrity books in the wake of deteriorating economics.”

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