''Mslexia'' is a British magazine for

women writers Women have made significant contributions to literature since the earliest written texts. Women have been at the forefront of textual communication since early civilizations. History Among the first known female writers is Enheduanna; she is also ...

, founded and edited by Debbie Taylor. ''Mslexia'' contains articles and resources on writers, writing, and publishing. Writers who have contributed articles include Patricia Duncker,

Sara Maitland Sara Maitland (born 27 February 1950) is a British writer of religious fantasy. A novelist, she is also known for her short stories. Her work has a magic realist tendency. Life and career Sarah (later "Sara") Louise Maitland was born in London ...

Trezza Azzopardi Trezza Azzopardi (born 1961) is a Welsh writer, who has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won several other literary prizes. Early life Azzopardi was born in Cardiff to a Maltese father and a Welsh mother. She studied creative writing ...

Amanda Craig Amanda Craig (born 1959) is a British novelist, critic and journalist. She was a recipient of the Catherine Pakenham Award. Early life Born in South Africa, Craig grew up in Italy before moving to London. Her parents were British journalist, ...

and

Linda Leatherbarrow Linda Leatherbarrow is a prize-winning Scottish writer and illustrator. She is best known for her short story collection, ''Essential Kit'', and her illustrations for John Hegley's comic poems in ''Visions of the Bone Idol''. Her short stories hav ...

. It was first published in March 1999 and is produced four times a year. ''Mslexia'' has about 11,000 subscribers.::Welcome to Mslexia::

Name

The name is an amalgam of ''Ms'', for 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, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
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.''

Content

Each quarter, 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 McDermid Valarie "Val" McDermid, (born 4 June 1955) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in a grim sub-genre that McDermid and others have identified as Tartan Noir. Biography ...

Kirsty Gunn Kirsty Gunn (born 1960, New Zealand) is a novelist and writer of short stories. Her stories include "Rain", which led to the 2001 film of the same name, directed by Christine Jeffs and also the 2001 ballet by the Rosas Company, set to "Music ...

Deborah Moggach Deborah Moggach (née Hough; born 28 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. She has written nineteen novels, including '' The Ex-Wives'', ''Tulip Fever'' (made into the film of the same name), ''These Foolish Things'' (made into ...

, and Helen Simpson. There are also opportunities for readers to contribute to the rest of the magazine, such as the autobiographical and

Flash fiction Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as " twitterature"); ...

sections which also have set themes. ''Mslexia'' runs 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

U. A. Fanthorpe Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, Commander of the British Empire, CBE, Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (22 July 1929 – 28 April 2009) was an English poet, who published as U. A. Fanthorpe. Her poetry comments mainly on social issues. Life and work ...

and R. V. Bailey (2007),

Wendy Cope Wendy Cope (born 21 July 1945) is a contemporary English poet. She read history at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She now lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire, with her husband, the poet Lachlan Mackinnon. Biography Cope was born in Erith in Kent (n ...

(2006) and

Jo Shapcott Jo Shapcott FRSL (born 24 March 1953, London) 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 Awa ...

(2005). The back section of the magazine contains book reviews and listings including national and regional events, competitions, writing courses and publications seeking submissions.

Controversy

In September 2020, the magazine asked author

to step down as a competition judge after she signed an open letter to ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' criticising online abuse of

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...

. Rowling's comments on gender and sex had become the focus of a divisive debate on social media. In a statement to

The Bookseller ''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddest ...

the magazine's board said:

if a ''Mslexia'' judge expresses views that threaten to undermine ''Mslexias climate of welcome and inclusivity, we will always ask her to step down from that role.

References

{{Reflist

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 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom Feminism in the United Kingdom Feminist magazines Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1999 Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom Women's magazines published in the United Kingdom