Latest news with #JacobSavage
Sydney Morning Herald
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
What's driving the gender gap in our reading habits?
Won't somebody think of the young male novelist? Men, it is said, aren't writing novels any more. Or if they are, they aren't getting published. Or if they are getting published, their books aren't selling, getting noticed or winning prizes. One of the first to lament this apparent decline was American writer Jacob Savage. Armed with a battery of statistics, he claimed in Compact magazine that after 2014 'the doors shut' for male Millennials in the US: 'The literary pipeline for white men was effectively shut down … Diversity preferences may explain their absence from prize lists, but they can't account for why they've so completely failed to capture the zeitgeist.' He claims there's a lost generation of literary men who may not know how to say something genuinely interesting and new. Things got so dire in the mind of British novelist Jude Cook that he decided to set up an independent publishing house, Conduit Books, focussing on literary fiction and memoirs by men: 'overlooked narratives' on 'fatherhood, masculinity, working class male experiences, sex, relationships, and negotiating the 21st century as a man'. Conduit has already cut off open submissions, no doubt besieged with manuscripts. We will see its first titles next year. But is there really a decline and if so, what might have caused it? One reason is that we're still correcting for a very long period when men dominated literary culture. Indeed, that was why the Stella Prize and the Davitt Prize in Australia, the Women's Prize for Fiction in the UK and the Carol Shields Prize in Canada were set up, and I don't yet see any good evidence that they can shut up shop because their work is done. Maybe the perception of decline is because most agents and commissioning editors these days are women. Or maybe, as Savage says, male writers are floundering in their attempts to capture the zeitgeist. But perhaps the simplest explanation is that fewer men and more women are reading fiction. About 80 per cent of fiction sales are to women, who are also the most avid readers. Naturally, they want to read about issues that matter to them. Their reading ranges from literary to popular fiction, with the huge sales of female writers such as Colleen Hoover and the romantasy authors almost entirely driven by women. They are also keen to talk about books, in person and online, and recommend them to friends. No wonder publishers are looking out for more of the same. But why are fewer men reading? Are they discouraged because reading fiction seems to be a solitary pursuit that their peer group doesn't favour? Joseph Bernstein investigated the phenomenon for The New York Times and reckoned that to boost readership, 'it might be a matter of men approaching their reading lives a little more like women do – getting recommendations online from celebrities and influencers, browsing together, forming book clubs'.
The Age
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
What's driving the gender gap in our reading habits?
Won't somebody think of the young male novelist? Men, it is said, aren't writing novels any more. Or if they are, they aren't getting published. Or if they are getting published, their books aren't selling, getting noticed or winning prizes. One of the first to lament this apparent decline was American writer Jacob Savage. Armed with a battery of statistics, he claimed in Compact magazine that after 2014 'the doors shut' for male Millennials in the US: 'The literary pipeline for white men was effectively shut down … Diversity preferences may explain their absence from prize lists, but they can't account for why they've so completely failed to capture the zeitgeist.' He claims there's a lost generation of literary men who may not know how to say something genuinely interesting and new. Things got so dire in the mind of British novelist Jude Cook that he decided to set up an independent publishing house, Conduit Books, focussing on literary fiction and memoirs by men: 'overlooked narratives' on 'fatherhood, masculinity, working class male experiences, sex, relationships, and negotiating the 21st century as a man'. Conduit has already cut off open submissions, no doubt besieged with manuscripts. We will see its first titles next year. But is there really a decline and if so, what might have caused it? One reason is that we're still correcting for a very long period when men dominated literary culture. Indeed, that was why the Stella Prize and the Davitt Prize in Australia, the Women's Prize for Fiction in the UK and the Carol Shields Prize in Canada were set up, and I don't yet see any good evidence that they can shut up shop because their work is done. Maybe the perception of decline is because most agents and commissioning editors these days are women. Or maybe, as Savage says, male writers are floundering in their attempts to capture the zeitgeist. But perhaps the simplest explanation is that fewer men and more women are reading fiction. About 80 per cent of fiction sales are to women, who are also the most avid readers. Naturally, they want to read about issues that matter to them. Their reading ranges from literary to popular fiction, with the huge sales of female writers such as Colleen Hoover and the romantasy authors almost entirely driven by women. They are also keen to talk about books, in person and online, and recommend them to friends. No wonder publishers are looking out for more of the same. But why are fewer men reading? Are they discouraged because reading fiction seems to be a solitary pursuit that their peer group doesn't favour? Joseph Bernstein investigated the phenomenon for The New York Times and reckoned that to boost readership, 'it might be a matter of men approaching their reading lives a little more like women do – getting recommendations online from celebrities and influencers, browsing together, forming book clubs'.
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Death and Life of the Straight White Man's Novel
A Los Angeles father, once an aspiring screenwriter and now a professional ticket-scalper, spends his spare hours calculating the extent to which younger straight white male novelists have been frozen out of the literary world. He pens a jeremiad against both publishers and critics who, he avers, no longer value great writing and a cadre of writers who are no longer interested in telling the truth about society. It sounds like the premise for, well, a literary novel. Saul Bellow's Moses Herzog, who wrote defiant letters to personages living and dead, meets the 21st century. Watch the advance money, sales and recognition roll in. Or not. It is the contention of a polemic published in March in the online magazine Compact by the writer Jacob Savage — dad, ticket-scalper, former screenwriter — that today, such a novel would not receive acclaim commensurate with its quality, a claim he backed up by showing a dearth of such authors from lists of prominent literary honors. Moreover, Savage argued that what he saw as these novelists' self-censorship, whether provoked by timidity or rational self-interest, meant that such a novel would not even be written. 'Unwilling to portray themselves as victims (cringe, politically wrong), or as aggressors (toxic masculinity), unable to assume the authentic voices of others (appropriation), younger white men are no longer capable of describing the world around them,' Savage, who is 41, wrote. What they do write, he added, avoids 'grappling directly with the complicated nature of their own experience in contemporary America.' Savage's essay has attracted both derision and amens in newspapers and journals, on social media and Substacks, over drinks and in group chats. 'I think the nerve I hit is fairly obvious,' Savage said in an interview, adding, 'being able to put numbers behind it was cathartic to some people and triggering to others.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Indianapolis Star
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana football adds fourth commitment of week in 2026 3-star linebacker
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football landed a verbal commitment from three-star linebacker Jacob Savage on Friday afternoon. It capped off a wild recruiting week for the Hoosiers that saw them add four commitments to their 2026 signing class, including a pledge from one of Indiana's top in-state prospects Kasmir Hicks earlier in the day. The coaching staff also added a pair of commitments on the defensive line (Kent State's Stephen Daley and Maryland's Kellan Wyatt) out of the transfer portal. Indiana 's class now ranks No. 42 in 247Sports team rankings with five commitments for the current recruiting cycle. Coach Curt Cignetti's first full recruiting class ranked No. 39 in the country last year. Savage is a 6-foot-1, 219-pound linebacker out of Ryle High School in Kentucky. He's the No. 54 ranked linebacker in the 2026 class and No. 663 overall prospect with 16 scholarship offers, including from Louisville, Michigan State, Minnesota and Purdue. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. He put up big numbers at Ryle last season as a two-way starter. He had 1,400 total yards (1,085 rushing yards) with 26 touchdowns, as well as 141 tackles with 17 for a loss and three sacks. Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
USA Today
25-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Indiana beats out MSU, others for 3-star LB Jacob Savage of Union, Ky.
Indiana beats out MSU, others for 3-star LB Jacob Savage of Union, Ky. Jacob Savage picked Indiana over Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota, Louisville, Northwestern and Georgia Tech A Spartans football prospect in the 2026 class has elected to continue his career at another Big Ten school instead of Michigan State. Three-star linebacker Jacob Savage of Union, Ky. announced his commitment to Indiana on Friday afternoon. Savage picked the Hoosiers over the following other finalists: Michigan State, Purdue, Louisville, Northwestern, Minnesota and Georgia Tech. Savage is a three-star prospect on 247Sports, and holds a rating of 87. He ranks as the No. 59 linebacker in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He is also listed as the No. 5 player from Kentucky and No. 663 overall prospect in the class. Savage was originally scheduled to take an official visit to Michigan State in late May, but it's unclear at this time if that will still occur. We will need to monitor if Savage wants to visit Michigan State in May as that will be an indicator if the Spartans are still in play to flip him away from Indiana. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
