Writer Ross Barkan says young men's voices have vanished from literary fiction. Economist Joel Waldfogel offers a reality check from the world of publishing. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. A reader by the book wall at the 2025 Turin Book Fair. Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images. Help us plan for the future of Today, Explained by filling out a brief survey: voxmedia.com/survey. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What is the main argument about young men's voices in literary fiction?
British writer and critic Jude Cook announced last month that he's starting a small independent press that will publish mainly literary fiction and memoirs by young men.
Mr. Cook told The Guardian that literary fiction, this is highbrow stuff, has come to be dominated by women, quote, giving rise to a situation where stories by new male authors are often overlooked with a perception that the male voice is problematic. After that, we reached out to Jude Cook, who told us he'd rather not talk because, quote, the discourse has got slightly out of hand.
Today Explained loves nothing more than out of hand discourse. And so we're going to examine the claim that young white straight men are being shut out of high end fiction.
Most of the classic examples of prestige white male authors are now middle aged or senior citizens. Jonathan Franzen is 65 years old.
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Megan Rapinoe here. This week on A Touch More, we are live from New York for the Liberty's home opener with an extra special guest, Brianna Stewart. We talk about the Liberty's newest additions, the best lessons Stewie ever got from Sue, and what it was like to be at the Met Gala this year. And of course, we couldn't let her go without asking her about that 2024 foul call.
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This is Today Explained. My name is Joel Waldfogel, and I'm a professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. I also have a connection with the economics department here.
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