Julie Crisp posts on the topic of sexism in sff publishing

[Mark_Lawrence]

SEXISM IN GENRE PUBLISHING: A PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE « Tor Books

Seems a well argued case replete with facts and statistics. A much needed injection of sanity into the debate.

She also says:

I grew up reading all the female genre writers of the time, Ann Maccaffrey, Ann Rice, Ursula K Le Guin, Katharine Kerr, Tamora Pierce, Andre Norton - it was writers like this that inspired me to do what I'm doing. So when I get accused of not appreciating their art, of actively ignoring female writers' creativity - well it gets my goat a little. I appreciate GOOD books, I want to publish GOOD books. And yes, there are a LOT of female editors, publishers, marketeers, publicists and sales people working in genre who all have a genuine love for it. To claim otherwise is, well, a little insulting.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Interesting arguments and a well thought out post. What is doesn't, perhaps, address is what it is that makes only one fifth of sci fi submissions (which backs up the chrons poll I put up awhile ago) are from females. When do we get turned off from writing sci fi? As kids, because we think it's all science, or as adults when we realise our preoccupations - well, mine anyway, can't speak for others - of people, relationships, sex (in sci fi, horror!), aren't supported by the genre? Bujold is the exception - I'd like fifty Bujolds to read, but I don't think it's what the genre seeks.
So, is it that we don't want what female writers produce in sci fi, or we put female writers off producing scifi? I know I am starting to wonder whether the gap between what I, as a woman, want to produce and sci fi is too broad. If so another aspiring writer bows out before my skills are honed enough to know if I am good or crap at sci fi.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Gillian Redfearn of Gollancz just posted some of their stats on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/GillianRedfearn/statuses/355281430361808898

Basically, in terms of sales, in SFF women writers sell 20-25% to the market.

So male writers outsell 3:1.

 

[Montero]

Um - not necessarily. She is saying that 25% of bestsellers in sf are by women, but that doesn't say what proportion of the writers are women. So if say only 25% of the sf writers were women, and 25% of bestsellers are by women, they'd be selling at the same rate as men. (Don't know what proportion of the writers are women, but for sf, submission to Tor was 22% women.)

 

[kromanjon]

I think most people write what they like to read and that most sci fi gets promoted with a male audience in mind. From her numbers this would mean that YA and urban fantasy gets pushed more towards the female reader and therefore spawns more female writers.

This is all speculation of course, but it does fit my own preconceptions. It remains as much of a problem though and the question is how we change this.

In short, I think we should focus on getting more female reades of sci fi and hope that this in turn creates more writers as well.

Of course it could also be that female writers need a name to look up to, someone to brake through and clear the way so to speak. If we could get one female sci fi author with the same gravitas as say Gibson, Haldeman or Card, perhaps this would bring out other writers who just feel intimidated by the male-centric genre.

To end on something positive I recently read The Living by Anna Starobinets and apart from a somewhat slow third act she could be an author to keep an eye on. Perhaps it's just a matter of time before things change, but a little push couldn't hurt. Right?

 

[Brian G Turner]

Um - not necessarily. She is saying that 25% of bestsellers in sf are by women, but that doesn't say what proportion of the writers are women. So if say only 25% of the sf writers were women, and 25% of bestsellers are by women, they'd be selling at the same rate as men. (Don't know what proportion of the writers are women, but for sf, submission to Tor was 22% women.)

In one of the other Tweets just after, she says that of the 2,000 titles being monitored, 40% are written by women.