Are women disadvantaged in contemporary Scottish literature?

The Quine Report, published 10th April 2025, examines gender equality across the Scottish literary sector in numbers, and in interviews with decision-makers who shape Scottish literary culture.

The findings include that:

• From 1919-2024, 12 Scottish literary prizes were
  won by men nearly twice as often as women
• Scotland-based publishers published male authors 50% more than female authors in the years 2017-2019
• Across two national dailies, 82% of reviews were written by male critics, and 18% of reviews by female critics in the years 2017-2019
• Across three festivals, more male authors than female authors were programmed between 2017 and 2019
• The more repeated visibility authors received through festivals, prizes, reviewing and publication, the more Black authors and authors of colour were excluded
• Some interviewees reported sexual harrassment, intimidation and discrimination in their literary workplaces
• The work of women in the literary sector often happens in the background or is otherwise devalued through gender stereotyping
• Sexism exists throughout the Scottish literature sector

Read the Report

You can read the Executive Summary of the report online here, and download the Executive Summary as a .pdf or .doc.

You can download the full Quine Report as a pdf for screen or print, or as a screenreader-friendly .doc. You can download the report’s Appendix as a separate .doc.

The Quine Report is also available as a twice-weekly free newsletter, with a limited run of 10 weeks, starting 15th April 2025.

About the Report

This report was produced by Dr Christina Neuwirth, a researcher,
writer and bookseller based in Edinburgh.

The report was researched as part of Dr Neuwirth’s PhD thesis across several institutions, including the University of Stirling, the University of Glasgow, and Scottish Book Trust, from 2017-2023. The work was funded by a Creative Economies Studentship from the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

This report has been produced independently and shared freely, and summarises the main findings of this research.

Contact

If you have questions about the report, please contact hello@quinereport.com