I recently had the pleasure of speaking on a panel about Up Lit at the Society of Young Publishers’ annual conference. With me on the panel were Lisa Highton from Two Roads, publisher of The Keeper of Lost Things and Martha Ashby, editorial director of Harper Fiction, but specifically in this case, editor of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It was a fascinating session, so here is what was said about this relatively new genre of ‘Up Lit’.

What is Up Lit?

Highton commented that the term Up Lit was first coined about 18 months ago in a Guardian article talking about books with kindness at their centre. Ashby added that these books aren’t saccharine however – they deal with some big life issues; mental illness, loss, grief. But this is where it differs from other stories tackling similar themes; these books have a strong sense of community…