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Just a few days after the politically correct UK Guardian newspaper issued an all-male shortlist for it's First Book Award, one of Britain's oldest and most esteemed literary prizes has followed suit. They short-listed alpha males for the 2008 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize are:
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Booker Winner)
The Broken Word by Adam Foulds
The Secret Life of Words by Henry Hitchings
The Bloody White Baron by James Palmer
God's Own Country by Ross Raisin (currently short listed for Guardian First & Dylan Thomas Prizes this year)
Selling Your Father's Bones by Brian Schofield
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize rewards the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by a UK or Commonwealth writer aged 35 or under. It started in 1942. It has gravitas. In recent years it's short lists have been the epitome of gender balance, yet testosterone dominates in 2008. Out of 80 submissions, across many genres, not a single female of the species made the final six.
What makes this even more surprising is that last years winner, Sarah Hall , author of the excellent feminist near future eco-warrior tract, The Carhullan Army, was on the judging panel, as was the fiery poet and author Joolz Denby. They were joined by Henry Sutton, author and Books Editor of the Daily Mirror.
Add to the 80, the 170 books submitted for the Guardian and 113 for the Man Booker Awards and we have a total of 363 contenders. Allowing for some duplicates in the submissions, a lone woman, Linda Grant (in the Booker), made the final 17 short listed.
Where have all the women gone?
Are contemporary British women authors genuinely incapable at competing in the 'serious high-brow' awards? Condemned for ever to battle it out in a warm caring fuzzy sort of way in the emotionally safe field of ChickLit? Pumping out novels and poems that deal with relationship issues and human dramas without tackling bigger issues?
Are only the males of our species capable of integrating the complex subject matter that denotes the opening decade of the new millennium? Has there indeed been an evolutionary leap in consciousness that has left our literary sisters still stuck in the Me Now era of 80's and 90's? A new century of male literary dominance?
Strangely enough, the judges of Britain's oldest literary award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, established in 1919, saw fit to recognise two women writers for this years award. Rosalin Belben won the fiction prize for her novel, Our Horses in Egypt with Rosemary Hill the recipient of the biography prize for her first book, God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain. They joined the ranks of male literary giants such as DH Lawrence, EM Forster and Graham Greene- of course those guys belonged to a different pre-gender aware era. Not quite a case of the Ivory tower academics being out of touch, at least in the James-Tait Edinburgh Tower.
Last year's winner of the Booker, Anne Enright's, The Gathering, resonated at depth and tackled big issues, but it was essential a family drama. A.L Kennedy's, Day, winner of the 2008 Costa, was a well-realised emotionally charged drama about an ex-RAF airman dealing with his personal demons. This year's Orange Prize winner, Rose Tremian's, The Road Home, deals with the dramas and dilemmas of Lev, " the intimacy of his friendships, old and new; his joys and sufferings; his aspirations and his hopes of finding his way home, wherever home may be".
Oh dear god, we could really be in trouble here.
We Must - We Must -We Must All Affirm (you know the tune)
The Orange Prize, was criticised earlier this year by novelist A. S. Byatt for it's "sexism". She revealed that she forbids her publisher from submitting her work. Another novelist, Tim Lott, wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that the prize is "sexist and discriminatory, and it should be shunned - or, at the very least, mocked mercilessly".
Sorry folks. If the so-called politically correct prominent prizes such as the Guardian and the Llwellyn Rhys can't advance any women to the finals with such a huge field to choose from, then an affirmative action prize for women is obviously essential. According to the judges of the Guardian and Rhys Prize, the girls just can't mix-it at the top level so the continuation of a sheltered environment is essential - at least until the skill levels pick-up.
We probably need a dedicated high profile non-fiction literary award for the girls as well, just so they can practise for the main events. We could call it the Lime, Lemon or possibly even the Kumquat, in keeping with a zesty citrus theme.
Let the debate begin. A dawn breakfast duel with bare knuckles and knitting needles. Girls, bring the fresh-baked bread, we boys will supply the sausages for the sizzle.We will be giving a power point presentation of our design for a new glass ceiling. No dear, you can't operate the lap top. Growl.
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