The history of the world has been told by men, while the history of women is revealed through gaps and erasures. From the earliest times to the present day, society has suppressed, marginalized, and silenced our voices. In writing and publishing books, this has been no different. Not only the women who took up the pen, but also those who made public1 their writings and their voices—all have been (and still are) neglected by society.
Jarid Arraes, a prominent Brazilian writer, conducted essential research in her essay titled Can Men Still Win Literary Awards? (2025), she presented data on Brazilian literary awards and women’s place in the publishing market. Through her research, she shows us that we are still very far from achieving the long-awaited equality in the literary sphere. The reality we face is that the literary world, like many other social spheres, remains predominantly male.
According to the author’s research, more than 70% of the winners of Brazil’s major literary awards are men. This applies not only to writers but also to the judges of these competitions themselves. Despite this, the data shows that women publish more than men today. And this is nothing new.
a woman asks
on afternoons and in brief moments
of time
when a woman asks
what’s the point
[...]
and if the hands of
men
reach for all the things
that break or seal
agreements
and press buttons
that start
internal wars
for many, many
generations
[...]
and on that day the woman asks
another woman
the mirror
what’s the point
of all this
- Jarid Arraes
In the 19th century, for example, female authors who are widely known today—such as the Brontë sisters (Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell) or Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)—had to use male pseudonyms in order to be published and, above all, read2. In the realm of poetry, female poets also often had to publish under male pseudonyms, despite representing a large portion of the literary market at the time (and, consequently, its profits).
If the past and the present converge on the same issue, we are left with the question posed by Jarid Arraes: really, what’s the point? Unfortunately, there is no way to answer it. What we can do is hold onto the hope that, somehow, there is a way to make a difference. Hand in hand, voice to voice, writing to writing, we are making our way into this universe. It is through our hands, working together, that we can set in motion what seems to remain static.
Written by: Fernanda Valezini
- The term " publishing " comes from the Latin verb *publicare*, which means "to make public" or "to reveal."[↩]
- Read more in the article "The Secret Identities of the Brontë Sisters."[↩]