This piece was published on the Melville House website on March 15, but it remains timely, asking several key questions.

Key excerpts:

“Women still do most of the reading (57%) and even more of the book-buying per household (a little less than 70%). Publishing is an industry that predominantly employs women, though perhaps not on the top tier. Is the issue that men don’t read many books by women? And what do we do to make more women of color a part of the conversation in the literary world?

“The Guardian article suggests that women are more likely to gain readers and win prizes when they write about men:

There is a way for female writers to be taken more seriously. Taylor points out that of the last 10 books to win the Booker prize, eight had male protagonists, one a female protagonist, and one both male and female protagonists. If a woman adopts a male perspective, it seems their story is still more likely to be respected, and read as universal.”

http://www.mhpbooks.com/is-writing-by-women-central-yet/

Reach’s article makes frequent reference to an article published two days earlier by The Guardian.

“Has Virago Changed the Publishing World’s Attitudes Toward Women?”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/14/virago-changed-publishers-attitudes-women