Naming and Organizing Chick Lit

1. Naming and OrganizingChick Lit Kellie Meehlhause LI 804 Ann O’Neill

2. No, not These!!!

3. What is Chick Lit? • Contemporary women’s fiction • Chick Lit explores the personal, professional, and romantic lives of young, single, working women. • “Coming-Of-Age” story • Usually written by women for women.

4. CHICK LIT CRITERIA • Main Character: female, 20-30s, an “every woman” • Supporting Characters: gay best friend, evil boss, cheating boyfriend, caring female posse, Mr. Right • Setting: Contemporary, urban (NYC, London, L.A.) • Humorous, satirical tone • Embedded in pop culture NOTE: These qualities may not be present in all genre literature, but they are stereotypical nonetheless.

5. Judging the Book by Its Cover • Bright, pastel colors • Curly, script-like fonts • “Feminine” images (i.e., shoes, make-up, purses, female body)

6. Sounds Simple Enough? • Organizing a Chick Lit Collection • Traditional Author-Title Index • Plotline/Subgenre • Location

7. Traditional Author-Title Index • Alphabetized by author’s last name • Most common method in libraries • Usually mixed together with “general fiction” • Can be further organized by title OR series

8. Plotline/Subgenre • Much like romance novels, chick lit has divided into sub-genres to deal with different female experiences . . . Mommy Lit Hen Lit Teen Chick Lit Guy/Lad Lit

9. Plotline/Subgenre • Or commonly used plotlines. Bigger Girl Lit Single City Girl Lit Wedding Lit Working Girl Lit

10. Here’s where it gets complicated:Chick Lit as a Subgenre • In some cases, Chick Lit may be used as a subgenre for another literary genre. Classics Mystery Fantasy/Sci-Fi Historical Fiction

11. Location, location, Location • Organizing Chick Lit by its location (either where it was published or its setting) • Different regions have different writing styles and themes British Chick Lit American Chick Lit International Chick Lit

12. How will you Organize YourChick Lit Collection?