VIDA 2014 count shows low numbers for women

In the US, VIDA has released its annual figures on how many women and men were reviewed in, or wrote for, various high-profile literary publications. The 2014 count shows that many of the publications analysed continue to favour male authors and reviewers. Publications showing a low percentage of female contributors overall include the London Review of Books (22%), the New York Review of Books (26%), the New Republic (27%), the Times Literary Supplement (28%) and the Atlantic (39%). After last year’s count Harper deputy editor Christopher Beha made a public proclamation for improvement, and in 2014 the publication increased its female reviewers from 29% to 40%. The Paris Review’s representation of women declined from 51% in 2013 to 40% in 2014, and while the Boston Review published more book reviews and micro-reviews by women than men in 2014, women still represented just 44% of contributors overall. Statistics for Granta and the New York Times Book Review show that they are nearing parity. VIDA also released details from its incomplete projects the Women of Colour VIDA Count and the Larger Literary Landscape VIDA Count. In Australia, the Stella Prize, in conjunction with Books+Publishing, compiled a similar count for reviews in local publications in 2013, and is currently working on a count for 2014.

Category: International news