Should Authors Have a Persona?
In last Monday’s post I mentioned the creation of the steampunk subgenre, largely credited to William Gibson and Bruce Sterling’s The Difference Engine.
It’s a subgenre that loans itself to cosplay and the creation of personas, one of the most well-known being author Gail Carriger’s public image associated with tea, vintage clothes, and etiquette, consistent with her Parasol Protectorate series. In short, Gail—like her books 🙂 —is very stylish.
Which got me thinking, though, about whether it was important for an author to have a persona, either consistent with her/his genre or independent of it? So I thought I would ask what fellow readers and writers out there think. Is it important? Not important? Adds to the fun but is not essential? Or distracts from the serious business of writing and reading?
Colour me curious, I guess… But humour me, let me know your powerful thoughts on the topic! And more—share your favourite author persona! 😉
I don’t know if authors should have a persona, but some manage to develop them. Can we imagine Terry Pratchett without his black hat, Neil Gaiman in any colour other than black, Barbara Cartland not trailing miles of fuchsia chiffon?
Interestingly, I consider Jules Verne and HG Wells to be the literary parents of steampunk. As for the persona question, I really appreciate smart, sassy female authors who don’t try to tame themselves for public consumption. I’m thinking of Tamora Pierce, in particular … but I got the chance to meet Nora Jemisin this weekend, and she fits the bill, too.
Hi Morag & Kristen, I’m thinking, from your comments, that maybe what I should be talking about is ‘personality’. 🙂