Chick Lit - podcast

What is chick lit? What kinds of stories are included in this genre? Agent Jill Marsal explains this genre and reviews chick lit trends. She says that the term chick lit describes a kind of book that was generating a lot of buzz about five to ten years ago. "The Nanny Diaries" are a good example. The topics addressed are light—the kind of thing that’s appropriate for summer beach reading—and the protagonist is a young woman in her twenties. Often she is trying to find her first relationship or is about to start her first job. Lately what’s come into fashion is women’s literature, which is much more robust and explores a wider range of topics. The characters tend to be a little bit older, and the books tend to have a bit more thematic depth and maturity. As a result, chick lit has become a little bit harder to sell unless it finds ways to explore some of the issues that you might now find in women’s literature. But trends come and go. While chick lit isn’t particularly strong right now, it could come back any time.