41 Over 40: Novelists Debuting Over Age 40 (PHOTOS)

I tried to resist writing this -- especially after my plea against categorizing authors. Plus, so many of us hide our age in this world of never-get-old, unearthing this information, even in our Google-ized world, was difficult.

But, recently, along with the plethora of lists of writers under 40, I was faced with the declaration that, as headlined in a Guardian UK article about writers, "Let's Face It, After 40 You're Past It."

Then I read Sam Tanenhaus opine in the New York Times that there was "an essential truth about fiction writers: They often compose their best and most lasting work when they are young. 'There's something very misleading about the literary culture that looks at writers in their 30s and calls them 'budding' or 'promising,' when in fact they're peaking.'"

Thus, in the interest not of division, but of keeping up the flagging spirits of those who don't want to be pushed out on the ice floe until after publishing all those words jangling in their head, I present 41 Over 40:

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Paul Harding

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His debut novel "Tinkers" won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, published when he was 42.

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His debut novel "Tinkers" won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, published when he was 42.

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NoraHuffposter said on 11 Saturday 2010 pm30 6:11 pm: I am dismayed that even the world of literature has succumbed to today's Guinness-type of record keeping. It was only a few weeks ago that some publishing company was building hype for signing a 5-year to a multi-book deal or some similar absurdity. Writing (fiction or non-fiction), to me, has been the one thing in which I appreciated insights and a facility with language. A beautiful, well-crafted story a bonus. I blame publishing companies, in part, for promoting some writers into celebrity status for their youth alone. I don't care for whiz kids, teens, 20 or 30-something exalted only because of age. I really wish this list didn't need to be compiled at all. As people live longer, they are condemned to a much narrower period when success and creative are to be expected. How sad and bizarre.

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Comments

[Barbara Hannah Grufferma]

01:30 PM on 09/30/2010

While not a novelist (but I'll never say never), my first book (non-fiction) was published this year, when I was 53, and I'm just getting geared up to start my second. After many years as a senior executive in magazine publishing, and then in the world of international conferences focusing on infrastructure development . . . I decided to write the quintessential resource book for women over 50 (which I wrote for myself and gladly shared with other women!) -- "The Best of Everything After 50: The Experts' Guide to Style, Sex, Health, Money and More." It's been a wonderful journey so far, and I hope that many many other writers get the same opportunity to publish their works -- non-fiction or fiction -- regardless of age, as I have.

[Juliette Frette]

02:43 PM on 09/13/2010

Thank you for this article! It's important to remember that our potential never dies

[eewilder]

03:08 PM on 09/26/2010

"our potential never dies" - that needs to be repeated - I will quote you in my messages to seniors - needs to be heard.

[Susan Sorian]

01:44 PM on 09/13/2010

Experience over youth... Sure, when we were younger, we may have been more vibrant, perhaps even more "creative" in many ways. But, it is the experience of age - the trial & error, joy of victory and agony of defeat experiences that give a person a wealth from which to draw - in life and in writing. If fullness of life and creativity end before 40, I am in big trouble! And, as a Christian, my life in Christ is ever morphing me to become the woman God intended. This, I pray, would equip me to be able to write in such a way that has the reader's enjoyment and growth in mind over my own need for self-expression.

[Sue Langland]

01:01 PM on 09/13/2010

Although not her first novel, I just read the highly acclaimed "A Visit From the Goonsquad" by Jennifer Egan, written in her late 40's, and coincidently, it deals with, in part, time passing, aging, and the way we "see" our younger selves. A truly thoughtful novel that well earns its praise.

[Voltairine]

12:31 PM on 09/13/2010

Life experience counts for something, and a mature writer has more to bring to the storytelling. My taste is pretty much 19th to early 20th century, perhaps because people weren't trapped in adolescence as long as post-baby boom. I can barely get through most contemporary novels I pick up, particulary ones penned by young writers.

[LindaJK]

06:56 AM on 09/13/2010

This is an excellent article--thank you. I am 58 but inside (like a lot of us) I feel 18. Okay, 38. In sheer gratitude, I'm going to read as many of the books mentioned here as I possibly can...and also take another look at that bottom-drawer manuscript, abandoned but not forgotten. Ageism is real, especially in the arts, tough to resist, tougher to defy.

[JDM73]

05:09 AM on 09/13/2010

Jack Cady was nearly 50 when his first novel was published. Never a major novelist, but he was one hell of a writer.

[Ricky Neross]

12:41 AM on 09/13/2010

Has no one read Clive Cussler. He is in his 70's and is as prolific as ever. No one can spin a tale like
Captain Clussler of NUMA.

[Chris Bauer]

10:34 PM on 09/12/2010

My debut paranormal mystery SCARS ON THE FACE OF GOD: THE DEVIL'S BIBLE was released by small press Drollerie Press in 2008 when I was 57. I've got plenty more to say, folks, so please don't try to discourage me by saying it won't be interesting because it wasn't written when I was thirty. --- Chris Bauer, who writes as C. G. Bauer.

[AvidReader19]

07:54 PM on 09/12/2010

Thank you so much for not succumbing to the hype that is causing an ever-increasing disposable society. If you're a woman, you have a double whammy, "don't ever age...after 30 it is pretty much over so you might as well go hide in a cave till you die and don't forget your paper bag for your head". The way I see it, if you're still breathing, you have more to give and you have more to learn. Thank you again. You've really inspired me to show that manuscript, holding up the sides of a file folder in my drawer, to the world.

[naschkatze]

11:58 PM on 09/12/2010

I am a 67 year old woman, and I am still learning every day. There just comes a point when all that other stuff just doesn't matter to you and you focus on the kind of life you want to lead. It's very liberating actually.

[eewilder]

03:16 PM on 09/26/2010

I'm not sure when it happened but it took me awhile to realize the liberation. I was finally free to focus on my dreams and launched my debut novel on my 72nd birthday this summer.

[erikamarksauthor]

07:43 PM on 09/12/2010

Thank you for this posting. Speaking as someone whose debut novel was purchased just weeks after my fortieth birthday, this list is a wonderful and important reminder that writing is like anything in life--it takes what it takes. Some of us marry at 21, others wait until we're in our fifties. I think it is a great injustice to the writing (and reading) community to foster this notion--as the media has done repeatedly--that for a novel to be truly inspired or fresh it must come someone under the age of 40. What a shame, to discourage great stories and great storytellers who are working tirelessly on their craft, and with every bit of passion and energy and devotion as younger writers.

In this world of staying-young-at-any-cost, I had always believed writing was the one career that might be spared the measure of age. Stories are ageless, so should their storytellers be.

[CathyMBuchanan]

07:25 PM on 09/12/2010

Okay, I was writing some pretty hot stuff before I turned 40--mostly responses to RFPs for IBM banking equipment. At 46, I published my debut novel, The Day the Falls Stood Still--a New York times bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Recommends Selection, an IndieNext pick, a Best Book of 2009 accoring to Barnes & Noble and dozens of bloggers. I know, tough choice, but would you rather read my pre-40 or post-40 work?

Cathy Marie Buchanan

[Voltairine]

12:27 PM on 09/13/2010

Post-40!! Your book was a selection for my reading group a few months back - we enjoyed it and I am looking forward to your next novel!

[LMPE]

07:15 PM on 09/12/2010

Before "Roots", Alex Haley had transcribed Malcolm X's autobiography. It was what prompted him to research his own family history.

[pinkeyelemonade]

03:32 PM on 09/12/2010

Bukowski was amazing. I actually have yet to read any of his prose, but his poetry, of which I've read quite a bit [my favorite collection so far being 'Slouching Towards Nirvana'] was definitely something else. I add him personally to the Beat generation, though he may have emerged sometime after it...one girl I know hated his writing, and I couldn't understand that. Simple, deep, reflective, and often just simply amusing in a way we don't see enough.

I'd have to say the poem "Fingernails" is by far one of his best. If you've read it, you'd know how hard it is to pen down your reaction to something as passively creepy yet grin-inducing as that one.

[Walker80]

03:27 PM on 09/12/2010

Re: "Dana Hand" and DEEP CREEK...I took college courses from both co-authors.
Nice people, a terrific novel, and yes, they are starting a retirement career as fiction writers at 70 and 53. Their first effort just earned 3 1/2 stars from "Bookmarks Magazine," right up there with Oscar Hijuelos, Ann Beattie and David Mitchell. Not bad for a first novel. Gives us all serious incentive to keep typing!

[BrynHills]

04:41 PM on 09/13/2010

I thought DEEP CREEK was a great read--lots of action, lots of feeling, didn't insult my intelligence, and remarkably historically accurate.