Publishers kept saying “great idea, but short story collections are a hard sell.” Then Beth Weinhouse built a pitch showing how much more older readers spend on books, and a press said yes.
Most fiction treats older characters as the wise grandmother or the crotchety sidekick. Beth Weinhouse, co-editor of the short story anthology 20 Over 60, explains why that stereotype was a problem, and what two editors did about it. If you read, write, or want to pitch a book of your own, her story is worth your time. Hit play and let’s dive in.
The Confetti Club segment is a new addition to Writers With Wrinkles, for celebrating authors and their brand-new books.
In this episode:
- Why 20 Over 60 exists, and how a 20-year-old joke about 20 Under 30 started it all
- What sets short story collections by writers 60 and over apart
- How the editors found 20 authors among hundreds of submissions
- What it takes to pitch an anthology to agents and presses (and the ageism they suspect)
- How to “think like a publisher” when your book idea gets turned down
- The story that got away over a missing contract, and why one editor’s own story ended up in the book
- What to do when an agent ghosts you (“No is a complete sentence”)
- A light-touch editing philosophy, plus a Reader’s Digest detour
Books and authors mentioned:
- 20 Over 60, edited by Beth Weinhouse and David Galef (Regal House Publishing), available anywhere books are sold
- 20 Over 40 (the editors’ first anthology, University Press of Mississippi)
Find Beth and David:
About Beth Weinhouse: Beth is a freelance journalist who specializes in health, writing for magazines and websites including Reader’s Digest. She started her career at mainstream women’s magazines such as Ladies’ Home Journal. With co-editor David Galef, an English professor, she edited 20 Over 40 and now 20 Over 60.
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