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Around the Web: Women Writers and Independent Bookstore Day

Hello again CDP readers! From my desk, it appears we're finally breaking out of the clutches of winter, so I hope you've all got some pleasant plans for the weekend. If reading is on your to do list, here's a few of the things we found around the web this week.

The Pay Gap Exists in Publishing Too

A pink piggy bank sits amid scattered coins

Remember how all the Bronte sisters wrote using male pseudonyms? I’d like to think the days of women needing to use male names to be taken seriously and to sell their work are past us, but recent research suggests women writers are still earning less than their male counterparts. The study, published on PLOS One, looked at more than two million books published between 2002 and 2012 in North America and found that traditionally published books by women writers are priced a whopping 45 percent less than books by men.

This pay gap rises from three levels of discrimination: 1. Women being published less than men in certain genres like crime and horror; 2. Genres traditionally geared toward women (think romance) being less valued by the industry; and 3. Gender differences in book prices within the same genre.

This is pretty upsetting news given how many talented female authors are out there. Here’s hoping change comes swiftly.

On Rereading

Laura Sackton has a beautiful piece up on Book Riot about rereading childhood favourites and finding they’ve lost their magic. When the books that influenced your reader identity don’t hold up to your memories, it can be rather disappointing, but Sackton has a different take that I think’s worth taking a look at if you’ve recently reread or plan to reread old favourites.

Literary Influences in Court

Colourized engraving of Jane Austen wearing a blue dress and holding a book while looking off to the left

Authors are quoted in court rather frequently, it turns out. Most of the time, lawyers and judges will reference literature that deals with the law, but sometimes they turn to works that explore the complications of relationships. Mathew Birkhold, an assistant professor at Ohio State University recently explored references to Jane Austen and her works in American legal decisions. He shared his findings with Electric Literature, and I must say it’s entertaining to see how legal professionals use (or perhaps misuse) Austen’s words. Definitely check it out if you’re a fan.

A Writing Resource

If you’re looking for some helpful tips and information on writing and publishing, check out Anne R. Allen’s blog. Anne Allen and Ruth Harris, who write the blog are both publishing veterans and have lots of insights into the industry. I came upon this resource when a colleague shared a link to this genre word count guideline and was impressed with all the other cool info they’ve made available.

Independent Bookstore Day

A hand triumphantly holds up a book above "Independent Bookstore Day Saturday April 28, 2018"

It’s tomorrow! In case you’ve never heard of it, Independent Bookstore Day is a celebration of indie bookstores across the country that takes place on the last Saturday of April. Different stores participate in different ways, some offering fun activities, free snacks, music, or contests. However your local indie bookstore celebrates, you can be sure that tomorrow will be a good day to go visit and peruse the shelves (although, to be honest, there probably isn’t a bad day for that).

Independent bookstores are special because of the relationship between their booksellers and patrons. Indie booksellers usually have great book recommendations and love listening to customers who’ve found a new favourite read. So go out and celebrate your favourite indie bookstores tomorrow and make sure they know how much you love them!

And if you can’t find our books at your local indie yet, go ahead and mention us to them. We love working with independent book stores and would be delighted to connect with them.

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