We are delighted to announce the contributors whose work we have chosen for our Menopause anthology. We are still considering a title for the book as a whole, ( is THE Menopause Anthology too obvious??) and still in discussion with a couple of authors, but the current roll call stands like this.
Thank you everyone who submitted and congratulations to our contributors.
The Menopause Anthology will be published on Menopause Day, 18th October 2023. When, we have decided, all menopausal women should celebrate their last period, since we never actually know when it happened. Memorial or celebration, you choose, but we will be having cake. Put the date in your diary!
Thinking about International Women’s Day, sometimes you wonder how any of us manage to live to grow up, the world can be so hard on women; and sometimes you want to celebrate everything we can be. Being of a cheerful disposition, we’ve gone for celebration.
We thought today was an excellent time to launch our submission call for an anthology of women’s writing. We are giving you a spectacularly long run in on this one, because we want it to be truly amazing, and because we are planning some writing workshops which will be run by editors Cherry Potts and Catherine Pestano (as soon as the funding is in place, we’ll let you know!). These will definitely be available online, for maximum reach, and may also be in person, depending on where we can find suitable writer-friendly venues and what the position is with Covid.
Our October 2023 Anthology is aimed firmly at older women, lesbians and women from the global majority. Our theme is menopause, and the book will be published on Menopuase day 2023 (October the 1st), we want your stories, flash and poems that go waaay beyond the empty nest and feelings of sexual redundancy. Tell us something we don’t know, go wild and magnificent…tell us about surgically induced menopause, unexpected benefits, the freedom of not bleeding… whatever genre you want (within our guidelines), but surprise us.
A quick name check of all our brilliant women writers, poets, short story authors and novelists.
Gosh, there are a lot of you aren’t there!
Alex Reece Abbott Alex Smith Alison Lock Alison Moore Alison Willis Angela Trevithick Anita Sethi Anna Fodorova A.J. Akoto Abigail Beckel Adrienne Silcock Alannah Egan Alice Tarbuck Alwyn Marriage Angela France Anne Elizabeth Bevan Anne Macaulay Arike Oke Annabel Banks Alexandra Penland Arna Radovich Aisling Keogh Alison Gerhard Anne Elizabeth Bevan Ash Lim
Bernie Howley Bridie Toft Bobbie Darbyshire Belinda Huang Barbara Renel
C T Kingston Cassandra Passarelli Caroline Hardman Carolyn Eden Cath Bore Catherine Sharpe Cherry Potts Cindy George Clare Owen Clare Sandling Cathy Bryant Clare Shaw
Corie Feiner Cath Holland Cathy Lennon C.A. Limina Catherine Jones Catriona Yule
Dizz Tate Diana Powell
Eileen Carney Hulme Elinor Brooks Elizabeth Parker Ellery Akers Emma Lee Ellen O’Neill Ellie Stewart Emily Cleaver Emily Pedder Emma Timpany Evleen Towey Elizabeth Hopkinson Elisabeth Simon Elizabeth Stott Elaine Hughes
Fiona Salter Frances Gapper
Ghillian Potts Gabrielle Choo Geraldine Green
Helen Morris Helen Slavin
Ilora Choudhury
Jane Aldous Jennifer A. McGowan Jill Sharp Joan Leotta Judi Sutherland Jackie Taylor Jacqueline Downs Jessica Lott Joan Taylor-Rowan J. A. Hopper, Julia Kent, Jennifer Rickard, Jenny Ramsay, Joanne L. M. Williams, Jayne Buxton Jess Kilby Jasmin Kirkbride Jane Roberts
Karen Bovenmyer Karina Lutz Kate Foley Kate Wise Katie Evans Katy Lee Kelly Davis Katerina Watson Katy Darby Kirsty Fox Karen Ankers Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier
Laila Sumpton Laura Page Lindsay Reid Laura Martz Laura Williams Lee Nash Lily Peters Louise Swingler Lucy Grace Lucy Smith Laura Besley Lucy Ribchester
Mandy Macdonald Maria Kyle Mi L Holliday Michelle Shine Marlee Cox
Megan E. Freeman Michelle Penn Melaina Barnes Maja Bodenstein Máire Malone Miriam Sorrentino Marika Josef Marka Rifat
Natalie Gasper Ness Owen Nina Murray
Pat Tompkins Paula Read Pauline Walker Peng Shepherd Penny Pepper Pippa Gladhill Polly Hall Patty Tomsky Patricia McCaw Patience Mackarness
Sarah Deckro Sarah Lawson Sherry Morris Sarah Tait Sarah James Swati Khurana Sara Elgerot Susan Cartwright-Smith Steph Thompson Sue Birchenough Sarah-Clare Conlon Shamini Sriskandarajah Su Yin Yap
We/She is our latest Liars’ League collaboration and the second of our #WomenVote100 tributes – although there isn’t a suffragette in sight. Instead we play around with traditional ideas about women, and turn a few (actually, a lot of) myths on their heads.
It’s free and there will be readings and refreshments, and, obviously, signed books to buy.
Ilora Choudhury, Fiona Salter, Elizabeth Stott, Rosalind Stopps
Other authors are attending, so there will be lots of people to sign a copy of the book for you.
Expect dragons, opera singers, mothers… and Elvis
The launch coincides with the 39th anniversary of the death of Elvis. What has that to do with a book of stories by women, you ask… come along and find out! RSVP
Cherry Potts & Katy Darby Arachne Press authors and editors, talk about growing up reading SF & Fantasy, particularly by women, at Manor House Library for Hither Green Festival
For the completists amongst you, here is the list Cherry forgot to bring with her of lots of Sf/Fantasy books she loves, feel free to comment to add your own high points. There are loads more these were the ones that sprang readily to mind!
Growing up with SF/F – YA books and first reads…
Diana Wynne Jones The Spell Coat series
Susan Cooper The Dark is Rising
Sylvia Engdahl Heritage of a star
Jan Mark: Useful Idiots/ Riding Tycho/ The Ennead
Andre Norton Forerunner Foray, Plague Ship, Moon of Three Rings, The Beastmaster,Mark of the Cat, Witchworld series, Octagon Magic, Steel Magic etc
Tanith Lee The Dragon Hoard, Kill the Dead, Companions on the Road, Drinking Sapphire Wine
Ursula le Guin Earthsea series, Lathe of Heaven, Rocannon’s World, Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed (actually pretty much anything by Ursula)
Helen Simpson Ingo series
Joy Chant Red Moon, Black Mountain
Pamela Sargeant Women of Wonder anthologies
Writers discovered in the 70s and 80’s
Margaret AtwoodHandmaid’s Tale
Joanna Russ We Who are About to
Jaygee Carr Leviathan’s Deep, Navigator Syndrome
Joan D Vinge Snow Queen, Catspaw,
Jane Yolen Cards of Grief, Briar Rose, short stories,
Vonda McIntyre Fireflood and other stories, Dreamsnake
Elizabeth A Lynn The Woman who Loved the Moon
C J Cherryh Faded Sun, Brothers of Earth, Heavy Time, the Morgaine series
Marian Zimmer Bradley Sword & Sorceress anthologies
Anne McCaffery The ship who sang, Pern series, Decision at Doona
Megan Lindholm Wolf Brother, Harpy’s Flight
Suzy McKee Charnas Walk to the Ends of the World, Motherlines
Nicola Griffith Bending the Landscape (as editor), Hild, Ammonite, Slow RIver
R A MacAvoy Tea with the Black Dragon
Kate Wilhelm The Infinity Box, Where late the sweet birds sing,
Classics:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman Herland, The Yellow Wallpaper
James Tiptree, Jr Houston, Houston do you read? (short story) Her Smoke Went Up for Ever
Naomi Mitchison Memoirs of a Space Woman
Vera Chapman Three Damosels
Zenna HendersonThe Anything Box
More recent:
Naomi Novik Temeraire series
Emily St John Mandel: Station Eleven
Aimee Bender The Colour Master (short stories) Kate Atkinson Not the End of the World, Life After Life
Women writers of SF/Fantasy published by Arachne Press
Anthologies: (stories with SF/F flavour by women, there is SF/F by men, and stories with nothing to do with either SF or fantasy in most of them!) Weird Lies (Alex Smith, Angela Trevithick, C T Kingston,Ellen O ‘Neill, Maria Kyle, Peng Shepherd, Rebecca J Payne) winner of Saboteur2014 best anthology award Lovers’ Lies (Mi L Holliday, Michelle Shine) We/She (J A Hopper, Joanne L M Williams, Jennifer Rickard, Elizabeth Hopkinson, Ilora Choudhury, Katy Darby) Five by Five(Katy Darby, Helen Morris) Solstice Shorts (Helen Morris, Imogen Robertson, Cindy George, Jayne Pickering) Shortest Day, Longest Night (Polly Hall, Katy Darby,Pippa Gladhill, Karen Bovenmyer, Cherry Potts, Frances Gapper) Dusk(Pippa Gladhill, Penny Pepper, Fiona Salter, Helen Slavin,Katy Lee) Liberty Tales (Katy Darby, Cherry Potts, Sarah Evans) Stations (Cherry Potts, Caroline Hardman)
