Only wilful blindness can hide the need to publish more women

As a publisher used to the more enlightened scene in Korea, I’m shocked at the gender bias in the UK books world – and I’m doing something about it

When I founded Tilted Axis Press in 2015, I made a few broad commitments: to focus on translations from Asian languages, to operate without unpaid interns, to get a tattoo of our logo. These were choices that made some people wince or shake their heads at my naive idealism, but they made sense to me.

One decision was a little different – that at least 50% of our list be by women. While my day job translating Korean literature has been woman-centric so far, this was always more by luck than judgment. In South Korea, possibly uniquely, women almost always outnumber men on the top prize shortlists, and the idea of a Korean Baileys prize would be seen as outmoded. I’d never been aware of the gender biases in publishing.

Related: Lionel Shriver rubbishes plans for dedicated Year of Publishing Women

Related: Translated fiction by women must stop being a minority in a minority

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