The Guardian books podcast is up (many thanks to Cheryl for pointing it out). They include mention of the recent fuss over women's status/visibility in UK sf. I'm identified not as a novelist, or even as English, but as a "sharp-eyed blogger in Seattle." (No doubt this would surprise my optometrist.) That's how women sf writers get disappeared.
My friend Gwyneth Jones gets put in the hot seat and does her best to offer perspective. But it's a difficult position (I know; I've been there: everyone's in a hurry, all they want is a provocative soundbite). I think irony (cf Gwyneth's statement regarding women taking over the genre 'for a whole decade' in the 70s) is risky in this kind of situation and I'm not convinced her commentary was entirely successful. I feel for us all on this one.
Listen to it here. (The sf segment starts at 27:00.)
Onwards and upwards...
