Writers who look like James Patterson are having a tough go of it, the 75-year-old author has claimed.
Speaking to the Sunday Times this weekend, the crime novelist said that “white older male writers” aren’t getting hired for “writing gigs in film, theatre, TV or publishing” right now — claiming the phenomenon is “just another form of racism.”
“What’s that all about? Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. It’s even harder for older writers. You don’t meet many 52-year-old white males,” he insisted.
Patterson has sold more than 450 million books across 20 or so titles during his nearly 30-year career — most notably, the neo-noir book series following Detective Alex Cross, later played by actor Morgan Freeman in 1997’s “Kiss the Girls” and its 2001 sequel, “Along Came a Spider.”
Book sales, film adaptations and his many other business ventures have earned him an estimated $677 million (£558 million), the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
Meanwhile, the prolific writer’s first autobiography, “James Patterson by James Patterson: The Stories of My Life,” hit bookstores just last week.
“This book is about — I don’t know — the values we had, the importance of love. The importance of family. Things like that,” he shrugged.
Patterson, who grew up in Newburgh, north of New York City, said he was “driven” to succeed in life, thanks to his Irish Catholic upbringing. “I really believed that my parents wouldn’t love me as much if I wasn’t successful,” he confessed.
“I don’t think I am the same person now,” the “Alex Cross” series creator added. “I do believe that I’m lovable. I think I’m a decent person.”
Speaking of lovable: Patterson will produce the upcoming film “Run Rose Run,” based on the book he wrote with literary newcomer — and now star of the cinematic adaptation — Dolly Parton. The thriller inspired by Nashville’s music industry debuted at the No. 1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list in March. The country music queen and Reese Witherspoon are signed on to produce.