#Readwomen2014: the next chapter

The last 12 months have introduced me to much great writing, and turned a new leaf for many readers. But where do we go from here?

In January 2014 I wrote a piece for The Guardian headlined, “Will #Readwomen2014 change our sexist reading habits?”. I didn’t choose the headline (the editors do that) and, when I saw it on the page, the scope of this ambition seemed suddenly terrifying.

I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. I’d made a few New Year’s cards for friends, with drawings of writers whose work I’d read recently, and I asked people on Twitter to contribute to a list of women authors on the back of the cards. I started with 250 names, and within days had well over 1,000, plus requests for the cards, and press coverage worldwide. But #Readwomen2014 didn’t happen because I drew some cards. It happened because, this January, gender in writing was suddenly something that everyone wanted to talk about.

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