The 2019 VIDA Count Is Released

The VIDA Count for 2019 has dropped, shedding much-needed annual light on gender representation in major literary publications and reviews. "The politics of the world of arts and letters have always mirrored the inequalities, injustices and precariousness of the world at large," reminds poet and novelist Marcia Douglas in her foreward to the project. VIDA's main count features 15 publications, three of which have over 50% women-identifying and nonbinary contributors; of the larger literary landscape's 24 publications, over half can make that claim. More from Douglas on VIDA's evolving approach:

Since the conception of this project, VIDA has consistently sought to expand its reach, reevaluating its approach and sharpening course; and, such as the times are, there will likely be further course corrections still. The latest concern with shaping a more intersectional publishing community, one which pushes beyond gender to engage multiple measures of accountability, is a natural evolution of VIDA’s earlier efforts, and is in exigent dialogue with current conversations around race and social justice. Gloria Anzaldúa—another fierce woman writer who we should not forget—said, “Activism is engaging in healing work;” she also said, “May we do work that matters. Vale la pena, it’s worth the pain.” Anzaldúa’s words hold a world of wisdom for us as we navigate our journeys as writers, as activists, as shapers of the world of arts and letters. I write with gratitude to VIDA and all of the organization’s administrators and volunteers for the enormous work of calling our names—collecting, documenting, recording and disseminating this, and all preceding counts.

Check out all the stats here.