Mslexia
Encyclopedia
Mslexia is a British magazine for women writers, founded by Debbie Taylor
and edited by Daneet Steffens. Mslexia contains articles on writing and writers and encourages independent publishers and bookshops and innovations in writing. Many well-respected writers have contributed articles, including Patricia Duncker
, Sara Maitland
, Trezza Azzopardi
, Amanda Craig
and Linda Leatherbarrow
. It was first published in March 1999 and is produced four times a year. Mslexia has about 11,000 subscribers.
According to the official Mslexia website: Mslexia means women’s writing (ms = woman lexia = words). Its association with dyslexia
is intentional. Dyslexia is a difficulty, more prevalent in men, with reading and spelling. Mslexia is a difficulty, more prevalent in women, with getting into print. Mslexia is the complex set of conditions and expectations that prevents women, who as girls so outshine boys in verbal skills, from becoming successful authors. The magazine Mslexia aims to define, explore and help overcome the condition of mslexia and provide a platform and playground for women writers. Its intention is to provide information, guidance and inspiration for published and unpublished authors, and improve the quality and standing of women’s literature.
in London (UK), Arnolfini Books in Bristol (UK), Mercurysubs in Auckland (NZ), as well as a few shops in Europe. A full list of stockists is available on their website. You can also buy single issues directly from Mslexia and on their website.
, Kirsty Gunn, Deborah Moggach
, and Helen Simpson
. There are also opportunities for readers to contribute to the rest of the magazine, such as the autobiographical and Flash fiction
sections which also have set themes. Mslexia also run an annual Women's Poetry Competition with a 1st prize of £1000, the winners of which are published in the magazine. Past judges have included UA Fanthorpe & RV Bailey (2007), Wendy Cope
(2006) and Jo Shapcott
(2005).
The back section of the magazine contains book reviews and thorough listings including national and regional events, competitions, writing courses and publications seeking submissions.
Debbie Taylor
Debbie Taylor was an American singer. Her recording career between 1968 and 1975 saw her produce some of the most impassioned vocal performances ever committed to vinyl...
and edited by Daneet Steffens. Mslexia contains articles on writing and writers and encourages independent publishers and bookshops and innovations in writing. Many well-respected writers have contributed articles, including Patricia Duncker
Patricia Duncker
Patricia Duncker is a British novelist and academic.-Academic career:Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Duncker attended Bedales school in England and, after a period spent working in Germany, read English at Newnham College, Cambridge...
, Sara Maitland
Sara Maitland
Sara Maitland is a British writer and feminist. An accomplished novelist, she is also known for her short stories. Her work has a magic realist tendency.-Biography:...
, Trezza Azzopardi
Trezza Azzopardi
Trezza Azzopardi is a British writer.She was born in Cardiff to a Maltese father and a Welsh mother. She studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia, and currently works as a lecturer there...
, Amanda Craig
Amanda Craig
Amanda Craig is a British novelist. Craig studied at Bedales School and Cambridge and works as a journalist. She is married with two children and lives in London....
and Linda Leatherbarrow
Linda Leatherbarrow
Linda Leatherbarrow is a British short story writer and illustrator. Her stories have been published in her collection, Essential Kit and many magazines including Ambit, Cosmopolitan, Mslexia and Writing Women, and in several anthologies...
. It was first published in March 1999 and is produced four times a year. Mslexia has about 11,000 subscribers.
Mslexia: meaning
Its name is an amalgam of Ms, meaning woman, and lexia, meaning words.According to the official Mslexia website: Mslexia means women’s writing (ms = woman lexia = words). Its association with dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
is intentional. Dyslexia is a difficulty, more prevalent in men, with reading and spelling. Mslexia is a difficulty, more prevalent in women, with getting into print. Mslexia is the complex set of conditions and expectations that prevents women, who as girls so outshine boys in verbal skills, from becoming successful authors. The magazine Mslexia aims to define, explore and help overcome the condition of mslexia and provide a platform and playground for women writers. Its intention is to provide information, guidance and inspiration for published and unpublished authors, and improve the quality and standing of women’s literature.
Availability
It is available by subscription or from Borders bookshops around the UK, larger branches of Waterstones and some independent bookshops such as FoylesFoyles
W & G Foyle Ltd. is a bookshop at 113–119 Charing Cross Road, London, England. Foyles was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest bookshop in terms of shelf area and number of titles on display...
in London (UK), Arnolfini Books in Bristol (UK), Mercurysubs in Auckland (NZ), as well as a few shops in Europe. A full list of stockists is available on their website. You can also buy single issues directly from Mslexia and on their website.
Content
Each month, a guest editor picks the best prose and poetry new writing on a theme specified in a previous issue. Past guest editors have included Val McDermidVal McDermid
Val McDermid is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of suspense novels starring her most famous creation, Dr. Tony Hill.-Biography:...
, Kirsty Gunn, Deborah Moggach
Deborah Moggach
Deborah Moggach is an English writer. She has written sixteen novels to date, including The Ex-Wives, Tulip Fever, and, most recently, These Foolish Things. She has adapted many of her novels as TV dramas and has also written several film scripts, including the BAFTA-nominated screenplay for Pride...
, and Helen Simpson
Helen Simpson
Helen Simpson may refer to:* Helen de Guerry Simpson , Australian novelist* Helen Simpson , British short story writer...
. There are also opportunities for readers to contribute to the rest of the magazine, such as the autobiographical and Flash fiction
Flash fiction
Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category...
sections which also have set themes. Mslexia also run an annual Women's Poetry Competition with a 1st prize of £1000, the winners of which are published in the magazine. Past judges have included UA Fanthorpe & RV Bailey (2007), Wendy Cope
Wendy Cope
Wendy Cope, OBE is an award-winning contemporary English poet. She read history at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She now lives in Ely with the poet Lachlan Mackinnon.-Biography:...
(2006) and Jo Shapcott
Jo Shapcott
Jo Shapcott FRSL, is an English poet, editor and lecturer who has won the National Poetry Competition, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Costa Book of the Year Award, a Forward Poetry Prize and the Cholmondeley Award.-Career:...
(2005).
The back section of the magazine contains book reviews and thorough listings including national and regional events, competitions, writing courses and publications seeking submissions.
External links
- http://www.mslexia.co.uk/
- http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2002/03/mslexia
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/books/
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/tees/content/articles/2005/03/30/maureen_almond_feature.shtml