Kamila Shamsie: let’s have a year of publishing only women – a provocation

It is clear that there is a gender bias in publishing houses and the world of books. Well, enough. Why not try something radical? Make 2018 the Year of Publishing Women, in which no new titles should be by menSeveral years ago, Martin Amis chaired a literary festival panel on “The Crisis of American Fiction” with Richard Ford, Jay McInerney and Junot Díaz. I was in the audience, and halfway through the discussion leaned over to the person sitting next to me and said: “Clearly the crisis of American fiction is that there are no women in it.” It’s not just that there weren’t any women on the stage. In the entire discussion, which lasted nearly an hour, there was no mention of Toni Morrison, Marilynne Robinson, Annie Proulx, Anne Tyler, Donna Tartt, Jhumpa Lahiri or any other contemporary female writer. A single reference to Eudora Welty was the only acknowledgment that women in the US have ever had anything to do with the world of letters. Díaz, near the end of the hour, made the point that the conversation had centred on white American males, but it was too little, too late.I think of this panel when reading yet another article or survey about the gender imbalance that exists in publishing houses, in terms of reviews, top positions in publishing houses, literary prizes etc. The issue can’t of course be broken down into a story of fair-minded women versus bigoted men. Like any effective system of power – and patriarchy is, over time and space, the world’s most effective... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book People and Save the Children to publish 7-year-old Tom Burlison

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[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-28 01:00:26 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conduit women in publishing event sells out—organisers forced to find bigger venue

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A M Heath launches Conduit collective for women in publishing

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Shamsie: Women’s Prize forced others to shift on gender

The creation of the Women’s Prize for Fiction made it “embarrassing” for other prizes to have all-male shortlists, Golden Booker judge Kamila Shamsie has said, at  a discussion event at the Frankfurt Book Fair. It also triggered a “shift” in the representation of women’s voices, she argued. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vertebrate Publishing’s New Climb: Bringing Adventuring Women Into the Picture

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