Wow, Brooke, this is very interesting, and reflects what I know in my bones. As an upcoming She Writes Press author (Fall 2025), debut novelist, and 68-year-old, I have learned to hide my age in a variety of ways when querying work: minimize my extensive background, never include education years, etc. What "prestigious publishers" are missing is that 35% of the US population is older than 50, and many buy books. Why are they missing that? It's a significant market share. I'm not saying that people over 50 only want to read authors over 50, but it does create a built-in connection and shared experience that would be easy to market to. I suspect as Westerners (you and I both) we face other biases in the industry. Being on the East coast offers a great deal closer connection to industry influencers, I would say. But maybe that's worth an exploration like you did with age. I agree with you: complaining about these biases is generally unproductive. I am very glad that SWP if focused not on age, location, platform, or glitz, but on solid writing. When I look at the faces of the women authors in my Fall 2025 cohort, I am giddy. They are smart, funny, and the kind of sexy that comes with living a life of gusto and exploration. Thank you for seeing past the wrinkles and the grays.
Thank you for writing and submitting your novel, Kathy. Another interesting question about region. I think these days we're so online that you can become an influencer regardless of where you live. That said, young people have an advantage in the influencer space as well—because it's so much about images, video, etc. I find younger people are (again, generally) just better at social media. Maybe they also have more time and energy for certain platforms. Also, when I was younger (and especially pre-kid) being out in the world was a big priority—going to events, networking, industry stuff, readings. This necessarily falls off. So it could be that younger people are showing up more for the influencing and the events. But this is admittedly conjecture.
As someone who published at 30 but still considers herself a debut fiction author at 70+, I can say that nothing I wrote or could have written before can hold a candle to what I could write now. The missing element(s)? Life experience, perspective, wisdom. Maybe I'm just a super-late bloomer and everyone else can bring all that straight out of the gate. But somehow I doubt it. So, THANK YOU, Brooke, for opening the door for fiction writers with life experience!!
This. Lifting a glass to all late bloomers out there. I personally want to read novels that have some maturity baked in, some nuance, and often this comes with age and more experience.
I experienced this at Sewanee Writers Conference. So thrilled to get in, thought it would push my career. But not only did some (I mean only some) of the writers avoid me, I had a terrible experience with an agent who told me she wasn't accepting pitches. But the person who left her booth right before me was crowing that she'd asked for pages. This and a couple of other incidents were so disheartening. Now I'm excited to be publishing with SWP in June. I keep telling myself I'll be the Grandma Moses of writing!
Revealing and surprising, though I'm glad you took the time to gather the raw data. It's like Hollywood all over again for debut novelists. I wonder if the same is true of nonfiction authors for whom the appeal might increase with age.
Great piece, Brooke. Linked to the issue of age for women authors, is also the issue of appearance you make inference to. I've been an author for over 20 years and there were times I was subjected to-- or made aware of-- conversations about my appearance primarily in nonfiction where some had "concerns" I was "too feminine" (read young, girly, wore makeup, dresses and skirts, had long hair) and thus would not be taken seriously. I could spend a lifetime telling you my thoughts and feelings about this and what women are subjected to that men are exempt from. Yet another reason to love SWP for allowing authors to be their authentic selves in their work and life!
I have to say- not surprised but not over 50? I think of all the talented and exceptional writers I know in their 50s, 60s, 70s and yes, 80s writing non-fiction as well as fiction. They bring such a gift of wisdom, depth, and spice of life to their work and how wrong that the prestigious publishers can't see that. Thank you, Brooke, for holding the hands of all of the amazing She Writes authors and for taking a chance on my story and the 73-year-old woman who finally found the voice to tell it. Because of you and SWP at 75, I feel brave enough to attempt fiction or fiction based on a true story. You and SWP have given so much to us.
When I was preparing to publish my first fiction novel, Searching for Pilar, I was 69. I learned from a panel discussion about the age discrimination. Since my book was timely, I wanted to get it into print as soon as possible. I went through the publication process with Greenleaf Book Group and was very pleased. Between my own efforts talking to book clubs and non profit organizations I sold around 5000 books. Lesson here is hybrids are a great alternative for older writers
This is some excellent reportage, Brooke -- thanks so much for doing the internet legwork. I'm not surprised in the least -- it's good to be young in America. On a rare occasion, a septuagenarian like Harriet Doerr (Stones for Ibarra) can break through, but we're talking Halley's Comet-level frequency. Still, she made quite a splash, so perhaps the lesson to be learned is to be really young or really old with your first novel...!
You hit the nail on its head with one blow. Age doesn’t matter except to the marketing department. I was 79 when I published my first novel and it received a Kirkus star review and a best book designation. The advantages of an older writer include length and depth of life experience to draw on enriched by years of reflection. I could not have written my novels with such nuance in my 30s and 40s. My second novel received the Midwest Book Award. The final book in this trilogy just came out. Why quit now?
I tell aspiring authors this all the time. Not that they should give up on getting an agent & big 5 publisher but that it will be a hundred times harder for them to do so. Their manuscript has to be top-notch: perfect, compelling, and very marketable. Then the age of the author can be part of the promotional story. But once again, this is exceedingly rare.
Thank you for this revealing but not surprising deep dive, Brooke. One thing I noticed while querying agents with no success was that most older agents are closed to new queries because they have their established clientele and plenty of work. It’s the new, younger agents who are open to queries, and I reached out to many of them and heard back nothing. It makes sense to me that younger agents are looking for the books of younger writers. Finding an older agent in search of a debut author (with a memoir, no less) felt like a needle-in-the-haystack challenge. So within the industry, the value of youth might extend beyond authors to the agents and even the big five editors themselves. I’m happy to have found the right home for my debut book with SWP, where I don’t hesitate to share my age of nearly 58.
My son is a music agent with WME, and I see the same approach there too. He’s young and he signs young artists. The older agents are busy with their established artists. If they ever sign anyone new, it’s a well-known artist transferring from another agency.
Thank you so much for sharing these data. Age discrimination (in one form or another) runs rampant throughout our society. I have had immense difficulty finding pedagogical work, because (at age 77) they apparently assume I'm incompetent and senile, with one foot in the grave and the other on life-support.
When I queried dozens of agents less than three years ago (age 74), I got two replies. The rest ignored the query outright (although I understand that's pretty much pro-forma these days).
It is refreshing to know that She Writes Press and SparkPress have the courage and intellectual integrity to "buck the trend." Keep it up!
Late to the party, but I'm proposing a panel at LitFest in Denver about alternate paths to publishing. It will be moderated by a former agent. If it's accepted, I'm going to share this information with her - so germane! Thank you.
Very enlightening. I wasn't sure how many "rejections" I had in me when I tried to go the traditional route. I'm still adjusting to calling myself "older." But with your research, I'm definitely over-the-hill for traditional publishing. At 62, I doubt I have the "it" factor they look for. I am grateful that She Writes Press looks beyond our birthdates and into our written words.
As someone who is no longer on the younger end of the age spectrum haha… this is a fascinating article. I see others commenting that they have employed ways to make their age somewhat vague and that really resonates with me. Ageism is definitely something I have experienced in the publishing industry!
Wow, Brooke, this is very interesting, and reflects what I know in my bones. As an upcoming She Writes Press author (Fall 2025), debut novelist, and 68-year-old, I have learned to hide my age in a variety of ways when querying work: minimize my extensive background, never include education years, etc. What "prestigious publishers" are missing is that 35% of the US population is older than 50, and many buy books. Why are they missing that? It's a significant market share. I'm not saying that people over 50 only want to read authors over 50, but it does create a built-in connection and shared experience that would be easy to market to. I suspect as Westerners (you and I both) we face other biases in the industry. Being on the East coast offers a great deal closer connection to industry influencers, I would say. But maybe that's worth an exploration like you did with age. I agree with you: complaining about these biases is generally unproductive. I am very glad that SWP if focused not on age, location, platform, or glitz, but on solid writing. When I look at the faces of the women authors in my Fall 2025 cohort, I am giddy. They are smart, funny, and the kind of sexy that comes with living a life of gusto and exploration. Thank you for seeing past the wrinkles and the grays.
Thank you for writing and submitting your novel, Kathy. Another interesting question about region. I think these days we're so online that you can become an influencer regardless of where you live. That said, young people have an advantage in the influencer space as well—because it's so much about images, video, etc. I find younger people are (again, generally) just better at social media. Maybe they also have more time and energy for certain platforms. Also, when I was younger (and especially pre-kid) being out in the world was a big priority—going to events, networking, industry stuff, readings. This necessarily falls off. So it could be that younger people are showing up more for the influencing and the events. But this is admittedly conjecture.
Not at all surprising. But nonetheless rattling.
As someone who published at 30 but still considers herself a debut fiction author at 70+, I can say that nothing I wrote or could have written before can hold a candle to what I could write now. The missing element(s)? Life experience, perspective, wisdom. Maybe I'm just a super-late bloomer and everyone else can bring all that straight out of the gate. But somehow I doubt it. So, THANK YOU, Brooke, for opening the door for fiction writers with life experience!!
This. Lifting a glass to all late bloomers out there. I personally want to read novels that have some maturity baked in, some nuance, and often this comes with age and more experience.
I experienced this at Sewanee Writers Conference. So thrilled to get in, thought it would push my career. But not only did some (I mean only some) of the writers avoid me, I had a terrible experience with an agent who told me she wasn't accepting pitches. But the person who left her booth right before me was crowing that she'd asked for pages. This and a couple of other incidents were so disheartening. Now I'm excited to be publishing with SWP in June. I keep telling myself I'll be the Grandma Moses of writing!
Grandma Moses! Haha. Yes, great. And excited to be working with you, Terri.
Revealing and surprising, though I'm glad you took the time to gather the raw data. It's like Hollywood all over again for debut novelists. I wonder if the same is true of nonfiction authors for whom the appeal might increase with age.
Maybe something to take up in a future post, Kate. Undoubtedly age bias doesn't loom so large for nonfiction writers.
Encouraging, Brooke!
Great piece, Brooke. Linked to the issue of age for women authors, is also the issue of appearance you make inference to. I've been an author for over 20 years and there were times I was subjected to-- or made aware of-- conversations about my appearance primarily in nonfiction where some had "concerns" I was "too feminine" (read young, girly, wore makeup, dresses and skirts, had long hair) and thus would not be taken seriously. I could spend a lifetime telling you my thoughts and feelings about this and what women are subjected to that men are exempt from. Yet another reason to love SWP for allowing authors to be their authentic selves in their work and life!
I have to say- not surprised but not over 50? I think of all the talented and exceptional writers I know in their 50s, 60s, 70s and yes, 80s writing non-fiction as well as fiction. They bring such a gift of wisdom, depth, and spice of life to their work and how wrong that the prestigious publishers can't see that. Thank you, Brooke, for holding the hands of all of the amazing She Writes authors and for taking a chance on my story and the 73-year-old woman who finally found the voice to tell it. Because of you and SWP at 75, I feel brave enough to attempt fiction or fiction based on a true story. You and SWP have given so much to us.
❤️
When I was preparing to publish my first fiction novel, Searching for Pilar, I was 69. I learned from a panel discussion about the age discrimination. Since my book was timely, I wanted to get it into print as soon as possible. I went through the publication process with Greenleaf Book Group and was very pleased. Between my own efforts talking to book clubs and non profit organizations I sold around 5000 books. Lesson here is hybrids are a great alternative for older writers
Love to hear this, Patricia.
This is some excellent reportage, Brooke -- thanks so much for doing the internet legwork. I'm not surprised in the least -- it's good to be young in America. On a rare occasion, a septuagenarian like Harriet Doerr (Stones for Ibarra) can break through, but we're talking Halley's Comet-level frequency. Still, she made quite a splash, so perhaps the lesson to be learned is to be really young or really old with your first novel...!
hahaha. Perhaps!
You hit the nail on its head with one blow. Age doesn’t matter except to the marketing department. I was 79 when I published my first novel and it received a Kirkus star review and a best book designation. The advantages of an older writer include length and depth of life experience to draw on enriched by years of reflection. I could not have written my novels with such nuance in my 30s and 40s. My second novel received the Midwest Book Award. The final book in this trilogy just came out. Why quit now?
Hell yes! Why quit now? Why would you? :)
I see the same thing happening in the art world all the time.
Yes, I agree Lesley.
I tell aspiring authors this all the time. Not that they should give up on getting an agent & big 5 publisher but that it will be a hundred times harder for them to do so. Their manuscript has to be top-notch: perfect, compelling, and very marketable. Then the age of the author can be part of the promotional story. But once again, this is exceedingly rare.
Thank you for this revealing but not surprising deep dive, Brooke. One thing I noticed while querying agents with no success was that most older agents are closed to new queries because they have their established clientele and plenty of work. It’s the new, younger agents who are open to queries, and I reached out to many of them and heard back nothing. It makes sense to me that younger agents are looking for the books of younger writers. Finding an older agent in search of a debut author (with a memoir, no less) felt like a needle-in-the-haystack challenge. So within the industry, the value of youth might extend beyond authors to the agents and even the big five editors themselves. I’m happy to have found the right home for my debut book with SWP, where I don’t hesitate to share my age of nearly 58.
Helpful info, Marty!
My son is a music agent with WME, and I see the same approach there too. He’s young and he signs young artists. The older agents are busy with their established artists. If they ever sign anyone new, it’s a well-known artist transferring from another agency.
Thank you so much for sharing these data. Age discrimination (in one form or another) runs rampant throughout our society. I have had immense difficulty finding pedagogical work, because (at age 77) they apparently assume I'm incompetent and senile, with one foot in the grave and the other on life-support.
When I queried dozens of agents less than three years ago (age 74), I got two replies. The rest ignored the query outright (although I understand that's pretty much pro-forma these days).
It is refreshing to know that She Writes Press and SparkPress have the courage and intellectual integrity to "buck the trend." Keep it up!
Late to the party, but I'm proposing a panel at LitFest in Denver about alternate paths to publishing. It will be moderated by a former agent. If it's accepted, I'm going to share this information with her - so germane! Thank you.
Great, Terri. Fingers crossed!
Very enlightening. I wasn't sure how many "rejections" I had in me when I tried to go the traditional route. I'm still adjusting to calling myself "older." But with your research, I'm definitely over-the-hill for traditional publishing. At 62, I doubt I have the "it" factor they look for. I am grateful that She Writes Press looks beyond our birthdates and into our written words.
And we're glad to have you! ❤️
As someone who is no longer on the younger end of the age spectrum haha… this is a fascinating article. I see others commenting that they have employed ways to make their age somewhat vague and that really resonates with me. Ageism is definitely something I have experienced in the publishing industry!