Boomer Lit is a genre characterized by content of interest to a specific audience, Baby Boomers. This generation, born between 1948 and 1964, began to enter a "second adulthood" when the youngest Baby Boomers turned fifty in 2014. This coincided with the rise of Boomer Lit as a new genre.
Around that time, starting in 2013, one Boomer Lit author, Claude Nougat founded a Boomer Lit group on Goodreads to debate the issue and contributed with several articles (on Publishing Perspectives and elsewhere) noting, inter alia, that "Boomer lit and YA have much in common, they both address a major transiBoomer Lit is a genre characterized by content of interest to a specific audience, Baby Boomers. This generation, born between 1948 and 1964, began to enter a "second adulthood" when the youngest Baby Boomers turned fifty in 2014. This coincided with the rise of Boomer Lit as a new genre.
Around that time, starting in 2013, one Boomer Lit author, Claude Nougat founded a Boomer Lit group on Goodreads to debate the issue and contributed with several articles (on Publishing Perspectives and elsewhere) noting, inter alia, that "Boomer lit and YA have much in common, they both address a major transition in life: YA the first, and Boomer lit the second. They are both also age-centric as opposed to theme related, as such they can be deemed "umbrella" genres, covering a wide range from romance to thrillers and even science fiction."
The Boomer Lit Friday Blog also noted: "The YA novel was born as a genre dealing with the first transition to adulthood. But now with even the youngest boomer turning 50, their interests have changed, it is time for writers to come up with books that address what matters to them most as they enter into their 'Second Adulthood'."
The UK Telegraph, in an article covering "The rise of Boomer Lit" wrote that "as with any new category in literature, there is still some debate as to what can be classified as Boomer lit. Some say that anything featuring an older character can qualify, while others say that this alone does not necessarily qualify a piece of work. While Boomer lit has the potential to entice people from all generations, the same way YA literature does, those who write Boomer lit tend to be aware that many of those from the boomer generation are looking for something new to read."
What makes for a "classic" Boomer lit novel are characters the boomer generation can identify with, and all kinds of issues that are characteristic of "second adulthood", such as losing a lifetime partner or searching for a new self after retirement....more
Boomer Lit, boomer novels, short stories, memoirs and more are here: a new genre. Let's talk abo…more
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Boomer Lit, boomer novels, short stories, memoirs and more are here: a new genre. Let's talk about it!
When boomers reached their teens in the 1960s/1970s, the YA novel was born as a genre dealing with the first transition to adulthood. Now that the youngest boomer is turning 50 and the oldest 68, their interests have changed. It is time for writers to come up with books that address what matters to them most as they enter into their "Second Adulthood".
Boomer Lit and YA Lit have much in common: they both address a major transition in life, YA Lit the first, Boomer Lit the second. Both are age-centric as opposed to theme-related. As such, they are "umbrella" genres covering a wide range from romance to thrillers and even science fiction.
In the case of Boomer Lit, the central theme is not aging. It is about making a success of your Second Adulthood! Authors Moggach and Begley are classic exponents of the genre.
Since this is a new genre. There is a lot to discuss:
(1) As a reader, what kind of boomer book would you like to read? Books with themes of interest to boomers are constantly published. A thread here will follow all new releases.
(2) What about boomer movies? The market is large (some 78 millions in the US alone) and movies aimed at boomers have been huge box office hits, e.g. RED or The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Let's spread the word about good boomer movies. Remember, they are based on good boomer reads!
(3)If you have written a boomer book, please tell us about it, upload it on our bookshelf.
Join our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/BoomerLit
Follow us on Twitter at @boomerlit. .
Read our Boomer Lit Blog: http://boomerlitfriday.blogspot.it/
If you're under 50, don't be turned off: most YA novels are read by people who are no longer "young adults", likewise young adults are welcome to read boomer books!
