Quote:
Originally Posted by hildea
Do you really think that's why "tough guy action thrillers" don't win awards? Those who hand out literary awards don't seem likely to care overmuch about gender issues -- at least you're much more likely to win a major award if you're a man writing about men ( https://nicolagriffith.com/2015/05/2...to-win-awards/).
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The main reason thrillers don't win literary awards is they are in the wrong genre: literary awards are for litfic, just as Hugos are for SF&F.
And again: my point was and remains "what is the book *primarily* about".
Classifications will always be fuzzy or we'd have four million classifications. And a book can be about many things. But if it's any good it needs a central focus.
Bridget Jones is about Bridget and her life as a single urban female in her time and place. It is not about her relationship. Her relationship issues are part of the package but getting her HEA is not what the narrative is about.
On the other hand, a Romance like say, SPLASH, is all about bringing the mismatched couple together. The fun is in watching the mating dance.
One is romance and the other is women's literature.
All a matter of perspective and everybody can choose to believe as they please but the generally accepted rule of thumb is that a book is what it's about. If it's about a puzzle it's a mystery, if it's about the relationship (singular, btw) it's romance.
And if it's about the wordsmithing or nothing in particular it's litfic.
