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.
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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.
ReplyDeleteI 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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