In an industry that almost fetishizes young writers, it is great to be able to stop and acknowledge that freshness can come from writers of any age. That’s what Poets & Writers Magazine does in its annual series, ‘5 Over 50.”
The November/December 2021 issue carries the 6th edition of this series and features 5 main writers, but adds 5 more as a bonus.
“…we reaffirm our stance on the notion that youth is a bellwether of literary excellence: It is time to reset the clock. Better yet, let’s just throw the clock away. It is well past time to stop using ‘new and emerging’ as a synonym for ‘young,’ to stop considering age as some kind of helpful gauge of new literary talent. Instead, we should marvel at the countless different routes writers take on their way to publication…” says the introduction to the list, in part.
It’s never too late to write your first book.
Here are the 10 writers listed in the issue, along with their debut titles:
- Jeffery J. Higa, 55, Honolulu
Short Story Collection | Calabash Stories - Ursula Pike, 53, Austin, Texas
Memoir | An Indian Among Los Indígenas - Megan Culhane Galbraith, 54, Troy, New York
Hybrid Memoir | The Guild of the Infant Saviour - Michael Kleber-Diggs, 53, St Paul
Poetry Collection | Worldly Things - Vinod Busjeet, 71, Washington DC (Pictured)
Novel | Silent Winds, Dry Seas - Julie Carrick Dalton, 50
Novel | Waiting for the Night Song - Nancy Johnson, 50, Chicago
Novel | The Kindest Lie - W.S. Winslow, 60, Trenton, Maine
Novel | The Northern Reach - Tasha Keeble, 53, Oakland
Memoir | Call Me Freedom: A Black Woman Breaks from Empire - Carol Harvey Steski, 51, Toronto
Poetry Collection | Rump + Flank
Author: Team VoW
Valley of Writers provides resources, tools, ideas and training for new writers. We work with a writers and contributors based around the world. Our primary focus is to equip new writers with skills to help them reach new audiences and achieve their goals.
