A new genre has taken the publishing industry by storm, one that seems to have escaped the overall fiction slump that is affecting most of the major houses. Chick Literature, called “Chick Lit” for short, is growing at an incredible rate.

Why are women buying the brightly colored novels by the millions? Women cite many reasons for loving chick lit: The books are fun. They are realistic. The characters are recognizable.

Pink Covers and Sassy Shoppers
Ginger Sublett from Greenbrier, Ark., has read a lot of chick lit in recent years and still loves the genre.

"I love chick lit almost as much as I love my husband," says Sublett, joking. "Seriously, I enjoy reading chick lit a lot. Why? Because it's fun. They're light reads, and most chick lit I've read has a good amount of humor in the stories."

Heather Truett, a student from Tallassee, Ala., was reluctant to like chick lit at first because it seemed too trendy, but before too long she was hooked.

"I avoided it, but eventually those pink covers and sassy shopping gals lured me in," says Truett. "Being in school, I have to read a lot, so I don't get much time for pleasure reading. When I do, I try to choose fun stories that allow me to relax and laugh as I am reading them."

Young and Modern
Margaret Marbury, a senior editor for Red Dress Ink, Harlequin's answer to chick lit, believes that chick lit differs from women's literature in several ways.

"Chick lit is a sub-genre of women's fiction that usually focuses on the heroine's journey, and the tone is usually younger and more modern than mainstream women's fiction," says Marbury. "Many chick lit stories would be classified as coming-of-age stories; others might be termed social satires, yet others are relationship stories. Most chick lit stories are told in the first person, while most women's fiction is told in the third person."

Marbury feels that chick lit is popular because women want to read about characters and situations to which they can relate.

"Chick lit is not only entertaining and current, but most of the titles deal with women's issues, great or small, without trivializing them," says Marbury. "Women in their 20s, 30s and 40s have unique and varied concerns. Every day they face weighty topics – ambiguous futures, even more ambiguous relationships, family politics and the myriad highs and lows of everyday life. They are independent and strong, and like all of us, occasionally confused and frustrated."

Red Dress Ink was created to address the reading appetites of a huge crop of readers who may enjoy traditional romances but wanted something sassier and more modern.

"Red Dress is women's fiction with attitude," says Marbury.

Marbury adds that chick lit readers tend to be very open to new authors and ideas. Even titles with older heroines are embraced.

The Stars of Chick Lit
Jane Green is one of the stars of chick lit, having sold more than a million books, including such titles as Jemima J (Broadway, 2001); Mr. Maybe (Broadway, 2002); and Babyville (Broadway, 2003). Green, however, has mixed feelings about her books being considered chick lit.

"I think there are pros and cons to being described as chick lit," says Green. "On the one hand I'm absolutely thrilled to have been a part of such a huge movement, and it's served me incredibly well, but on the other, I think there are many readers who are put off by what they perceive to be books about single women looking for Mr. Right. My more recent books have dealt with motherhood, infidelity within a marriage and relationships with in-laws, which most people wouldn't necessarily classify as traditional chick lit. And yet because I'm known primarily for chick lit, a lot of readers wouldn't think to pick them up."

Many in the publishing world believe that chick lit will grow and change along with its readers while still appealing to a younger audience. Green agrees. "I think Chick Lit will continue to evolve and change as both the writers and readers grow," says Green. "A lot of the women who started chick lit were young and single way back then and are now married with children so inevitably have different interests, and hopefully the readers will grow and change with us."

Lani Rich of Anchorage, Ala., is an avid chick lit fan but doesn't like it when people pigeonhole the genre.

"Many people mistakenly believe that all chick lit novels are Bridget Jones knockoffs, but that's not the case," says Rich. "There are literary-style stories, mystery stories, older heroines, young adult – everything. The only thing that defines chick lit as a genre is that the books are a woman's story of growth. Outside of that, the sky's the limit."

It’s All About the Story
So if chick lit can't be easily pigeonholed, what makes good chick lit as opposed to mediocre chick lit? The answer may lie in the characters themselves.

"It's all about story," says Rich. "There needs to be a protagonist readers can get behind, and she needs to face a challenge readers can cheer her through. No matter what the genre, if the story isn't something a reader can abandon the laundry for, it's no good."

Ginger Sublett agrees. "Good chick lit makes you wonder what happens to the characters even after you've reached the last page in the book," says Sublett. "They become more than just a character and become someone you feel like you really know."

For the women who love the genre, debates about what makes good chick lit as opposed to bad chick lit simply don’t matter. It only matters that the books keep coming – fresh, fun and relevant to our lives.

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