Claire Fuller: book + debut = any age (original) (raw)

A few months before my first novel was published, it seemed that everywhere I looked people were writing about young debut authors. And showing lovely pictures of them, too, with their smooth cheeks, unsaggy jawlines and chins without hairs (unless of course they were male, and then they had full hipster beards).

It seemed those three words – book, debut, young – naturally went together, like three-legged race, or ready, steady, go. I was 47, and would turn 48 before Our Endless Numbered Days was published in February this year. I read lists celebrating debut authors under 40 from heavyweight publications such as the New Yorker and Granta, and discovered book prizes whose cut-off age I had passed more than a decade previously. I felt old, as well as saggy.

And then I read a tweet from Antonia Honeywell, whose debut novel, The Ship, was due out a month or so before mine: “Before I start putting the children to bed, are there any more authors out there who published/will publish their debut novel at 40+?”

My children are grown up and they would think it odd if I offered to put them to bed, but still I tweeted back, and so did many others, although they might have been doing other things like coming home from their full-time job, wiping the food from their aged parent’s shirt or generally keeping a household and family going, as well as fitting in writing a novel and getting it published.

The invitation quickly spread and within a few days we had formed what became known as the Prime Writers – a group of about 50 authors who were over 40 when their debut novel was published. The group spans many genres, publishers and locations; some of us have agents, others don’t; what links us is that many journalists, event organisers and book prize administrators think we’re getting on a bit.

And actually, when it comes to writing, I’m happy with that. I like to think that all my life experience – children, jobs, travel, love affairs, divorce (not necessarily in that order) – has composted down into a kind of fertile history I can delve into. But what I’m less happy with is the general assumption that debut authors can’t be over 40.

Of course it’s a terrific achievement for writers to get their novels published whatever their birth certificate says, and we acknowledge that our group treads a fine line between being supportive and being ageist ourselves with our over-40 entry criterion. And other publishing prejudices shouldn’t be forgotten, including gender and race – but someone has to set the record straight about age.

Not only are the Prime Writers shouting about each other’s successes on Twitter and via our website, we’ve also set up a private Facebook page. Here, we can moan about the one-star review that’s just been posted on Amazon, discuss promotional tactics, and have a little cry about the photograph that our publisher released where we (OK, I) look like a battleaxe – all the time knowing that there are people who will listen and understand, will offer some virtual tissues and tell me that I look fine. We’ve recently met in real life as well and managed to have a group photo without too many of us hiding behind the tall ones at the back. I was happy to share a quick check with one of my fellow Prime Writers that neither of us had spinach in our teeth before we smiled at the camera. I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing that at 25, or maybe even 39. But 48? It’s fine.

We still have a way to go. Another of our group recently told us that he had been asked to attend a bookshop event with a panel of first-time authors. (We all cheered.) But he discovered they weren’t asking him to join the panel to talk about his book, because the panel was reserved for young debut authors; instead, because of his advanced age (early 50s), he would be chairing the event.

It’s not only event organisers we want to re-educate – it’s also the many older writers who think their time has passed. If they read some of the Prime Writers’ tweets, our public Facebook messages or our website; if they can see a photograph of a debut author who is over 40, wrinkles and all, and feel inspired to keep going, then I’ll be happy with what we’ve done.

So enough with the “young”. Let’s drop it and change the equation to: book + debut = any age.