In brief: #readwomen2014 wants us to change our sexist reading habits

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In their yearly count, Vida: Women in Literary Arts have discovered what is already universally acknowledged: that although women read more than men, and books by female authors are published in roughly the same numbers, they are more easily overlooked.

Female authors and their books are continuously marginalised by top literary journals, both as reviewers and the reviewed.

Guardian writer, Joanna Walsh, was appalled by this. After drawing some bookmarks showing some of her favourite female writers, she started the Twitter hashtag #readwomen2014 to encourage everyone to read more books by female authors, which was followed by an outcry on Twitter.

Followers subsequently asked Walsh to Tweet the names of the female writers that she had included on the backs of the bookmarks, which resulted in both men and women adding their own favourite female authors to the list.

Walsh commented that it was ‘exciting to see some of the ways the hashtag has been used: as a personal incentive; a rallying cry; a celebration of recent achievements (2013 prizes for Alice Munro, Lydia Davis, Eleanor Catton and more) and of authors who should be better known. It has been used to discuss women’s writing, and to link up “read women” projects around the world.’

While she doesn’t recommend reading books exclusively by women, she does instruct us to ‘do a Vida count on your own bookshelf.’

Walsh says, ‘Just for a change, make sure the next book you read is by a woman. While female writers may encounter similar obstacles, their work is diverse as men’s: there is a book by a woman for every kind of reader.’

What was the last book you read by a woman author, Lipsters?
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