Older Authors Refuse to Fade Away
Where are the books for grownups? For those who really know what it’s like to face ageist stereotypes?
The older I get, the more I prefer to read books by authors who write realistically about people my age and older. Maybe I once found it funny to see older people as “comedy characters,” but that humor has long worn thin.
Instead, let’s write books about how older, experienced workers are the first to “face redundancy” because it’s cheaper to pay the young. At the age of 53, I think about these things more.
Books and authors I used to enjoy now seem to be very juvenile. Dialogue that sounded witty when I was younger now grates on my ears like it was written by, and for, 12-year-olds. And characters my age and above seem to revert to stereotype and do not think and act with any kind of nuance or maturity.
Where are the books for people like me? For grownups? For those who really know what it’s like to face ageist stereotypes?
And that’s what I focused on in this 2018 episode of my IndieVoices podcast for the Alliance of Independent Authors. I talked to Claire Baldry, 63 years old, and an indie author who is also an advocate for older authors; Maggie Christensen, 73 years old, who writes about mature women facing life-changing situations. Click the arrow below for the interviews.
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