Monday, February 6, 2017

Nonexistent women are the best

Diversity and convergence at work in British science fiction:
The official deadline for submissions for this antho has passed, but only 23% of stories submitted have been by women. Because multiple submissions were allowed, when you look at the number of individual contributors this percentage goes down to 21%.

I feel that although we spread the word in all the usual places, this ratio is slightly lower than I would have expected. As I have started reading, it's clear some of the stories some of the men have sent are not really within genre. So, is this about awareness, the available pool in 2016, or the willingness to be cheeky and chance it with a story you know isn't really what we're looking for? I'd rather not assume...

We are only taking stories that have already been published, I only want SF, and I only want the best, but also I don't want to risk missing the best SF because people have been unsure about sending it to me. I don't care if it's space opera, near future dystopia, or alternate history. Although we had a really long submissions window and left it open until end Jan to catch late 2016 stories, I am going to leave that window open just a couple of weeks more for women writers.
They totally want to publish the best science fiction. So long as it is written by women.

13 comments:

pdwalker said...

Clearly, this is a subtle way of asking Castalia House to take over the British SF market as well.

Just add that to your todo list.

Anonymous said...

Donna Bond
As I have started reading, it's clear some of the stories some of the men have sent are not really within genre. So, is this about awareness, the available pool in 2016, or the willingness to be cheeky and chance it with a story you know isn't really what we're looking for?
...
I don't care if it's space opera, near future dystopia, or alternate history.


when Vampire/Werewolf romance is included in skiffy, you don't really have any standards to worry about.


what the hell are the men supposed to be sending her that isn't really "within genre"? police procedurals and detective stories?

stated another way, if Donna had been doing her job in 2016 and reading a bunch of SciFi of British ( wimminz ) origin, she'd have some thoughts on who to attempt contact with that hadn't submitted anything to her, right?

Kentucky Headhunter said...

Why only stories that have already been published?

Rob said...

I almost, (almost...) gave a bunch of loser guys this advice that probably would've labeled me as a psychopath...

"You've got two choices in life:

"Either you're the weak guy who's never set foot in a gym in your life and have never touched a barbell or so much as touched a punching bag in your pathetic life, wearing an "I'm With Her" T-Shirt and gives the attractive girl who would rather be banged by a sandpaper dildo before she lets you see her in a one-piece bathing suit a shoulder to cry on after Hillary loses the election.

"Or your the alt-right barbarian wearing the red "MAGA" hat with pride, who lifts weights, and hits a punching bag in between sets and spars regularly, improving himself and others around him, has his shit together in life, and who walks up to that other guy, cuts that loser's throat, and bangs that cute girl on top of his still-warm corpse, while she's up to her ankles in that loser's blood, and you walk away with that guy's cut t-shirt as a trophy because you've got shit to do!!



Instead I just told them, "If what you've been doing isn't working, it's time to try something else."

Daniel said...

We only want to provide the most excellent customer experience. As long as we can treat our customers like dirt.

Anonymous said...

Undocumented Pharmacist said...
Why only stories that have already been published?



because, if you read the story, it's for an anthology titled 'Best of British Science Fiction: 2016'

iow, it's supposed to be the best British ( prejudice against foreigners, i'm guessing Donna voted for Brexit ) specifically of the previous year.

if you're not British, you don't qualify.

if you're not Science Fiction, you don't qualify.

if you weren't published in 2016, you don't qualify.

in addition, Donna is busy trying to tell men ( or women who identify as men ) that they are likely not to qualify if she can find a way to shoehorn a substandard female author in there.

because this is how we make Science Fiction Great in Britain.

maybe she can find a 2016 illegal female immigrant from Africa who published something in Ooga-Booga? it may not be Skiffy, but who could understand it to tell the difference?

Ron said...

@Rob

I think the walking a way with the bloody cut tshirt as a trophy was a tad over the top.

Bob Loblaw said...

when Vampire/Werewolf romance is included in skiffy, you don't really have any standards to worry about.

I think that's what she's trying to exclude.

Dark Herald said...

They totally want to publish the best science fiction. So long as it is written by women.

Has Damian Walter "transitioned" yet?

VFM #407 said...

Has Damian Walter "transitioned" yet?

Even if he did, that means he'd actually have to finish writing something...and get it published. Maybe for the 2056 anthology...

Matamoros said...

I don't buy books written by women. I also try not to buy books with female lead gogirrrlll characters.

I'll bet a lot of people have caught onto this, as even Walmart book section is not updated often any more. Most are women authors. I've taken to buying books either from Amazon in print or in book form to get away from all this bad SciFi and Action/Adventure.

Bob Loblaw said...

I don't buy books written by women. I also try not to buy books with female lead gogirrrlll characters.

There are a lot of women writers who create male characters that think like women, particularly when it comes to relationships. When I find a character like that I always look up the author. Invariably "Alex" is short for "Alexis" and the "J. P." in "J. P. Smith" is short for something like "Joan Patricia"

It's almost like four hundred pound lesbians don't have much experience with men.

Aeoli Pera said...

Nonexistent women are the best

3DPD, #WaifuLyfe

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