The buzz is that Jane Friedman, the optimistic CEO (and mob boss?) of HarperCollins, is out on her ear. You can read the New York Observer story here (complete with scary photo).
The scoop from Galley Cat is that she is being replaced by Brian Murray who is 41. Also dude who is heading up Random House (Markus Dohle) is 39. So, the next time someone gives you the business about being 40 and a first time novelist, I think you should say that 40 is the new...shut up.
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When Andre Dubus III was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1999, he was 40. All the news stories referred to him as a "young author." As someone who's 33, I remind myself of this quite often.
When I hit 40, I decided to start counting backwards. I'll be 38 at the end of this year. I've already completed several short stories and a novella. I will not, however, be descending below 33 (shudder) and at that point will likely begin to ascend again, in tandem with my white hot publishing success. Yessir, I am quite confident I will have my first novel ready to be published and qualify as a "young writer" any year now. And thanks to the magic of photoshop, my publicity pix will back this up. I'm hoping my friends and relatives are as cooperative. And my adult children...
Don't shudder at my 33. I already got hair growing out of my ears.
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