RALEIGH, N.C., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- 50 years-old may be a good age for a mid-life crisis but it is also the perfect age to publish a novel designed to become a best-seller, according to a study of best-selling novels and their authors over the past half-century.

The average age of writers in the year that their novels topped the hardback fiction section of the New York Times Bestseller List during the half-century from 1955-2004 was 50.5 years -- according to a study conducted by Lulu ( http://www.lulu.com/ ), a website for writers and independent publishers.

Over 350 authors saw their novels reach #1 during the 50 years studied; and Lulu researchers were able to establish the age at publication of almost all of them.

"Authors of every age use Lulu," says Bob Young, CEO of Lulu, the world's fastest-growing provider of print-on-demand books. "But we wanted to discover the optimum age to write a best-seller; especially since we suspected that it was higher than many people assume. Unlike scientists or musicians, writers tend to mature with age."

Francoise Sagan was the youngest author to top the list -- only 20 when Bonjour Tristesse reached #1 in 1955; and just 19 when it first appeared in French. JK Rowling was the youngest solo author to hit #1 in the latter 25 years (1980-2004) -- only 34 when Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets hit #1 in 1999.

Agatha Christie was the oldest author to top the list. She would have been 86 when her novel, Sleeping Murder reached #1 in 1976, had she not died earlier that year.

Authors nearest to the mean age of 50.5 at the time their book topped the list were Judith Krantz, 50 years 5 months when Scruples reached #1 in 1978, and Joe Klein, who was 50 years 7 months when Primary Colors made #1 in 1996.

"A man past 50 should never write a novel," felt William Thackeray, best- known as the author of Vanity Fair, the classic novel of English high society, published Vanity Fair in 1847, the year Thackeray turned 36.

Fuller details of this research are at http://www.lulu.com/static/pr/5_12_05.php ABOUT LULU.COM

Founded by Bob Young, former co-founder of Red Hat, Lulu.com provides independent publishers with free access to on-demand publishing tools for books, e-books, music, images and calendars. Contact: pr@lulu.com .

CONTACT: Stephen Fraser of Lulu.com, +1-919-459-5858, ext. 235, or
pr@lulu.com

Web site: http://www.lulu.com/
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