WOMEN AUTHORS USING MALE PEN NAMES TO GET SOLD: A TALE OF SEXISM AND PREJUDICE IN PUBLISHING

THE BIAS

What do you do to be taken seriously? How do you tackle conscious bias or even more difficult- the subconscious bias? Today, when the virtual world is enmeshed with the real-the social media platforms decide, largely, your presence or relevance with likes, comments, retweets, views, upvotes and what not! To be heard in microcosm is as vital as to be heard in the macrocosm. The freedom of speech and expression is dear to us and so is healthy validation.

Before settling with the dictum of ' not very likeable', one looks for ways to get past rejections. Not more than 200 years ago and very present even today(Catherine Nicols' essay for Jezebel in 2015), to get published and be on the sacred reading list, a few women authors deviated from the conventional wisdom of- patience, faith, playing by the rules or standing one's own ground.

George Lewes, the partner of Mary Anne Evans, who went by George Eliot ( the Victorian novelist who immortalised her place in the list of prominent British novelists), even clarified that " the object of anonymity was to get the book judged on its own merits, and not prejudged as the work of a woman, or of a particular woman." Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte famously published some of their work as Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Even the popular Harry Potter author is known as J.K. Rowling rather than by her first name Joanne to ward off obvious sexism and prejudice. A 2011 study of The New York Review of Books found that the publication reviewed 71 female authors that year, as opposed to 293 male authors.

Dishonest on the surface, daring on the inside, eager to be read, liked and fear to be sidelined engendered the plan of using male pen names. Not only sexism but racism in the book publishing world is very prominent- with one survey revealing that only about 5% of publishing staff and agents are Black in 2020.

RECLAIM HER NAME

"Giving the credit women deserve", Women's Prize For Fiction sponsor Baileys in the initiative Reclaim Her Name campaign, announced to republish 25 titles as free ebooks(the titles, of which many have been out of print, are free to download in ebook form, from Bailey's website) to celebrate 25 years of Women's Prize for Fiction along with the print editions to be donated to selected libraries around the UK.

Kate Mosse, founder-director of the Women's Prize for Fiction, told “Baileys has been a sponsor of the Women’s Prize for Fiction for many years now and together we have been dedicated to honouring, celebrating and championing women's writing. Together, we’re incredibly excited by the Reclaim Her Name campaign – it’s a lovely way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Prize, by doing what we always strive to do – empowering women, igniting conversations and ensuring that they get the recognition they deserve”.

THE COLLECTION

More than 3,000 pseudonymous writers were explored by a team of researchers commissioned by Baileys for inclusion in the collection. Additionally, all novels of the " Reclaim Her Name" collection will feature a new modern cover designed by a selection of female illustrators from all over the world.

Selecting 25 books to republish, the collection flaunts one of the most prominent authors Mary Ann Evans, who went by alias George Eliot and wrote Middlemarch-voted the best British novel of all time- along with 6 other books. For the first time in 150 years, the successful 19th century novelist who never revealed her literary identity will have her work republished under a real name. Another author, Ann Petry, who went by the name Arnold Petri, was the first Black woman to sell more than 1 million copies of a book of her 1946 novel The Street. Also included is her short story Marie of the Cabin Club.