In the Media: 3rd August 2014

I’m introducing a new weekly feature to the blog, the premise of which is very simple: it’s a round-up of features written by, about or containing female writers that have appeared during the previous week and I think are insightful, interesting and/or thought-provoking. Linking to them is not necessarily a sign that I agree with everything that’s said but it’s definitely an indication that they’ve made me think. Also, just a note to make it clear that I’m using the term ‘media’ to include social media, so links to blog posts as well as traditional media are likely.

• The Bailey’s Women’s Prize for fiction published the results of their #thisbook campaign to find the twenty books by female writers which changed people’s lives (you can read about mine here). The results were:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
2. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
3. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter – J.K Rowling
5. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
6. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
7. Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
8. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
9. The Secret History – Donna Tartt
10. I Capture The Castle – Dodie Smith
11. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
12. Beloved – Toni Morrison
13. Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
14. We Need To Talk About Kevin – Lionel Shriver
15. The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
16. Middlemarch – George Eliot
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
18. The Golden Notebook – Doris Lessing
19. The Colour Purple – Alice Walker
20. The Women’s Room – Marilyn French

• Emily Midorikawa and Emily Claire Sweeny talked to Women Writers, Women Books about their blog Something Rhymed which looks at literary friendships between female writers. In the piece, they ask why these friendships haven’t been noted in the same way as male literary friendships.
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – who regular blog/Twitter followers will know I think is wonderful – is on the Guardian Books’ Podcast discussing Americanah this week. (Warning: there’s a discussion about the ending with a massive spoiler if you haven’t read the book yet.) She’s also in the American edition of Vogue discussing feminism.
• Joanna Kavenna is on the Institute of Art and Idea (IAI) website discussing the difference between reality and unreality in fiction and whether it matters.
• Sarah Ditum has written about revered male writers who fail to write satisfactory female characters.
• There’s a transcript of a fascinating conversation on The Literateur between Granta editor, Max Porter and novelists Eimear McBride (winner of the Bailey’s Prize amongst many more) and Lee Rourke about their influences and how they came to write their latest novels.
• Over on Biblibio’s blog is a thoughtful essay about women in literature and the lack of female novelists translated into English. It marks the beginning of Women In Translation Month (#WITMonth) which I’ll be joining in with.
• Finally, an excellent profile by Kira Cochrane of essayist, novelist and feminist, Roxanne Gay in yesterday’s Guardian, which includes a link to the list she curated of writers of colour on The Rumpus.

Is there anything I’ve missed that you think’s noteworthy? Let me know in the comments.