Chick Lit Writers Embrace Their “Literary” Peers

Nanny Diaries co-authors Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin (center and far right) were among the chick lit luminaries who went to Housing Works last night to toast Sarah Mlynowski (left) and her co-author, Farrin Jacobs, on the publication of See Jane Write: A Girl’s Guide to Writing Chick Lit. I also spotted Harlequin executive editor Magaret O’Neill Marbury (Jacobs’ former boss back when she was editing Mlynowski’s novels for Red Dress Ink) in the crowd, and asked her what she thought about this whole chick lit/not chick lit furor. “I was never offended by the term,” Marbury said. “I’ve chosen not to let it become a dividing line.” Mlynowski was equally inclusive: “All these writers in both collections are fantastic writers,” she said during the evening’s Q&A session, “and I’m glad to see they’re all getting read.” Jacobs, meanwhile, seemed to have had her fill of the debate: “I think the not chick lit writers and chick lit writers should face each other in a dance-off,” she quipped as she signed her book for fans.