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Fictionista, Foodie, Feline-lover

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

We've Come a Long Way Baby (Not)

Most of the time I really don't think about gender in publishing. I learned a long time ago that the best place to meet unattached male writers in LA was at a WGA union meeting where men outnumber women by a huge margin, but as far as publishing, I read mostly mysteries and urban fiction, two genres where women rule. Or so I thought. She Writes, a website resource for women writers has put together a post that shows a shocking disparity in critical acclaim for female vs. male writers.

Here are just a few of the stats they culled from 2009:

Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2009
71 Men
29 Women

Publishers Weekly Top 10 Books of 2009

10 Men
0 Women

Washington Post Best Books of 2009

Nonfiction
69 Men
17 Women

Fiction
57 Men
27 Women

Slate- Best Reads of 2009

15 Men
7 Women

As a woman writer, I find this just a little depressing.

2 comments:

  1. My phone and Blogger are not meshing at all, and my comment was lost to the Internet Ether. I believe what I said was that I'm surprised that this is so lopsided. Especially, if you pick up a Mystery Scene Magazine, the fairer sex seems to have greater representation in terms of being published.

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  2. I know...that was my impression too.My local chapter of MWA is very heavily weighted in favor of the Sisters in Crime.

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