15.04.15
www.thebookseller.com
FEATURE BOYS TO MEN
11 Different strokes for blokes
The received wisdom is that boys and men read less than girls and women. But that perception is wrong, argues Lisa Edwards—men read differently, and publishers need to be aware of that and change their strategies accordingly
D
o guys read? There is a prevailing myth— especially in children’s publishing—that they don’t, or that they are “reluctant”
readers. But I have spent much of my publishing career producing books for boys and men and I know that they most definitely do read. A lot. Today I will be chairing a seminar “Publishing
for Boys and Men” [Olympia Room Grand Hall, 5.30 p.m.]. It is my view that, given the right sort of material, not only do boys and men read, they devour books. But they do read differently, which impacts publishing strategies and our understanding of whether they are classed as “real” readers. We can start with ideas around visual literacy and the superiority that surrounds text-only literacy. I will never forget a school library visit I made, where children were asked to pick a book they liked off the shelf. A cluster of boys argued over which Beast Quest book was their favourite but there was one who stood apart from the rest; he quietly told me there was nothing there that he liked. When I suggested that there must be something, he took me over to a set of Horrible Histories partwork magazines (unprompted!), sat on the floor and proceeded to “read” a spread on the Battle of Hastings to me, complete with speech-bubbles and sound effects. I almost cried. “Yes,” I thought, “I publish books for you.”
CATCH ‘EM ALL In many ways the Beast Quest “cluster” was equally significant in that it demonstrated the collectable, completist factor that is a key driver in publishing for boys and men. Series such as Horrible Histories depend on the collectability factor too, but what makes that specific series so successful is a unique blend of fact, illustration and humour, not to mention short-sentence accessibility. We used to talk about “learning by stealth” when I published those books, and undoubtedly children absorbed facts so much more readily when they were accompanied by illustrations and jokes. To me, we weren’t aiming at reluctant readers, we were aiming at children who preferred their reading material to be presented in a different way. And that is OK. Some years ago, I spoke at The Bookseller
Boys and men are often branded “reluctant readers”, but are publishers responding to their needs?
Children’s Conference about Middle Grade fiction (for those aged eight to 12). I am fascinated by it. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants, The Brilliant World of Tom Gates—these are all bestselling series featuring boys who write and illustrate their own diaries (there is a PhD in that, I’m sure). Boys—and many girls, it has to be said—are captivated by them and they sell in their millions. The rise of the author-illustrator, who is able to create and blend visual and textual worlds, has coincided with the proliferation of commercial successes that have come via creating a visual world to accompany a text-only fiction series (hello, “Game of Thrones”). When I worked in illustrated publishing for
adults, I was fascinated by the same things: how visual literacy translates into expertly written factual texts that are accompanied by photographs, documents of historical importance and multimedia. Last year, Carlton produced a 70th anniversary edition of Cornelius Ryan’s The Longest Day for its André Deutsch imprint, with more than 100 photographs, 30 previously unpublished documents and a CD
of never-before-heard interviews with D-Day veterans. A multimedia experience of a well- worn publishing trail, it was so much more than text—and no less a product because of it. For collectors of D-Day militaria and books, who feel compelled to complete their sets, it was perfect. I went on to publish illustrated humour books
for men in the way I once did for boys. One of Carlton’s bestselling titles is How to Poo at Work, from a series by Diagram Prize-winning authors Mats and Enzo. Like Captain Underpants for grown-ups, it is part of a male-oriented gift humour market that sees books like Crap Towns, Pets with Tourettes or The Book of Bunny Suicides take over the Christmas bestseller lists. My sense is that these are being bought for
men by women, and I would like to explore how much of the gift-buying market is actually aimed at male readers.
Lisa Edwards was most recently adult division publisher at Carlton Books.
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