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| Kylie Fox, Amanda Wrangles, Tara Moss, Sapphira, Leigh Redhead & Angela Savage. |
I have commented on, and been revelling in, the debate that was launched by the blog Tara Moss wrote after SheKilda, titled: Are our Sisters in Crime (still) fighting against a male-dominated literary world?
(All blog/web links listed below).
For the record: I am a published crime/genre fiction writer and the publisher of the independent genre fiction publishing house Clan Destine Press.I am also a founding member of Sisters in Crime Australia and the programming chair of SheKilda Melbourne 2011 – the Australian Women Crime Writers' Convention.
SheKilda was held (Oct 7-9) to mark the 20th anniversary of Sisters in Crime Australia; and to celebrate the past and especially the very bright future of women's crime writing.
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| Phillipa Martin & Vikki Petraitis |
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| Malla Nunn & Pam Newton |
When our organisation was launched two decades ago – by fans of the genre – one of our aims was to redress the very imbalances – in reviews, awards and recognition – that Tara highlighted in her blog. Our 'mother’ organisation (in the USA) had been formed five years before, by authors, for the same reason.
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| Margie Orford & Louisa Larkin |
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| Tara Moss & Shamini Flint |
Tara’s blog generated many responses. Correction: Woodhead’s comment on her blog caused a flood of responses; which in turn created debate which spilled over to facebook, crossed over into the blogs of others, and made it into reports on other websites, including Hoopla and Crikey. It even scored a mention in Jason Steger’s column in The Age.
Most of the comments on Tara’s blog reflected, supported or agreed with her ‘these are the facts, why is this still so,’ theme. And, apart from one late-on the-scene guy who clearly didn't read the posts in between but who nonetheless accused the bully-girls of picking on Mr Woodhead’s opinion, the responses to the topic came from both women and men; in almost even numbers.
One blogger, NSW writer Elizabeth Lhuede, was going to add a comment to Tara’s blog but ran out of space, so wrote her own blog-reply to Tara. Her piece finished with:
“Whatever happens, it will happen because women readers, critics, reviewers and writers take each other’s work seriously, and treat each other with the respect owed to professionals; it will be because we continue to develop and question the basis of our own tastes and preferences, as well as actively seek out writing by women which we can champion and enjoy.
“If some male reviewers, critics, judges and readers also find something of value in such works, great. If they don't, who cares?”
I’d already given my two cents worth on Tara’s blog and was about to comment on Elizabeth’s – these last two paras of hers were my “Yay” prompt – but like her, I ran out of space.
Hence my blog about the blogs about the blog that started it all.
Because Elizabeth is SO right.
And that was the greatest revelation that came out of SheKilda.
SinC-Oz might have been started 20 years ago to actively campaign for a new balance, to tilt at some kind of equality, to shout : ‘hello, we’re here too’... but we haven’t just been sitting around waiting for the world to right itself.
Unlike the Australian Crime Writers Association that convenes once a year to award the Ned Kelly Awards, Sisters in Crime is constantly active. For twenty years we’ve been actively nurturing, mentoring, awarding, recognising and celebrating what women crime writers do.
We hold from up to 10 public events every year, open to everyone: writers, readers, watchers of crime, SinC members, our Brothers-in-Law, and the general public – both women and men.
We’ve been holding the Scarlet Stiletto Awards – a short story comp with 11 categories and nearly $5000 in prize money – for 18 years; and the Davitt Awards for published crime fiction (adult and YA) and true crime – since 2001.
Yes, they are just for women; that’s the point. We don’t pretend otherwise. Get over it.
Yes, they are just for women; that’s the point. We don’t pretend otherwise. Get over it.
SheKilda Melbourne 2011 was the world’s second-ever women’s crime convention. The first was SheKilda 2001!
Rowena Cory Daniells, Kylie Fox
Sandy Curtis, Amanda Wrangles, Lindy Cameron, Vikki Petraitis
Like everything Sisters in Crime does the convention was open to all – readers, fans, fledgling writers, published authors, women and men.
Like everything Sisters in Crime does the convention was open to all – readers, fans, fledgling writers, published authors, women and men.
Of the 66 panellists (which also included cops, forensic specialists, reviewers and journalists) 56 were currently-working and published (or screened) Australian women crime writers; and three international women crime writers.
From the opening moments of the cocktail party on the Friday night to the close of proceedings on Sunday arvo, SheKilda was one huge buzz of enthusiasm and excitement; infused by an incredible, but not surprising, spirit of sharing and sheer joy.
It occurred to me then – and has been reinforced by the responses (aka: debate, hoo-ha, stoush) to Tara’s original blog – that women everywhere and Sisters in Crime in particular may not have levelled the playing field of reviews/awards/recognition yet, but we have – quite accidentally –found the best way to do deal with the world as it is: we celebrate what we do; because we do it damn well.
Lindy Cameron
You can read Tara’s original blog here
Elizabeth Lhuede’s reply here:
Kate Forster’s take:
And Tara’s after-blog on the topic here:
