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Yesterday author Maureen Johnson Tweeted about how many times she’s been told by men that they wish her books had “non-girly” covers so they could read them without fear of embarrassment. Her books don’t get “girly” covers because of their content, she explains, but because of her gender: “If you are a female author, you are much more likely to get the package that suggests the book is of a lower perceived quality. Because it’s ‘girly,’ which is somehow inherently different and easier on the palate. A man and a woman can write books about the same subject matter, at the same level of quality, and that woman is simple more likely to get the soft-sell cover with the warm glow and the feeling of smooth jazz blowing off of it. This idea that there are ‘girl books’ and ‘boy books’… gives credit to absolutely no one, especially not the boys who will happily read stories by women, about women. As a lover of books and someone who supports readers and writers of both sexes, I would love a world in which books are freed from some of these constraints.”
Thus Coverflip was born. The challenge, proposed by Johnson, asks for people to take a well-known book and reimagine what the cover might look like if the author was of a different gender. A few of our favorites—including A Game of Thrones by “Georgette R. Martin” and Stardust by “Nellie Gaiman”—are behind the cut.
(via: The Huffington Post)
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Published: May 8, 2013 03:33 pm