Sublime

In 2019 the Emilia Report (named after England’s first published female poet, Emilia Bassano) analysed coverage of male and female writers and found that women were twice as likely to have their ages referenced – or, in the case of Sally Rooney, her appearance, ‘like a startled deer with sensuous lips’, according to one Swiss critic.

the ‘Drabble’, or a ‘microfiction’ of 100 words. Many writers have tried their hands at Drabbles, including Neil Gaiman, who, he says, ‘failed miserably’ and couldn’t get his below 102 words. Eventually he gave up, and made the first two words the title of his story, ‘Nicholas Was’. It is a gleefully sinister Christmas tale.