\"Hip-hop of the publishing industry\" sparks debate

May 20, 2003 - 4:20pm — Karl

This morning\'s Publishers Lunch pointed to an AP story about a popular new fiction genre being called \"Street Life\" or \"Ghetto Lit\". Authors like Shannon Holmes and Teri Woods are gaining a huge following with their unflinching tales of inner-city life. Views differ:

The prose can be as crude as the subject matter, but booksellers say they appeal to at least tens of thousands of young people who, like Perez, might not otherwise be reading.

...and on the other hand:

\"It\'s drugs and thugs,\" Villarosa says. \"It\'s the hip-hop of the publishing industry. I have mixed feelings about it. I\'m concerned about the subject matter and the glorification of it.\"