Minerva Magazine Launches

Exciting news, everyone. Minerva, the online magazine I have been collaborating on, launched this week!

Minerva is a new online magazine for obsessive geeks that gives women a voice in a male-centric community. Founded by a group of graduate students at Emerson College, Minerva is staffed by self-proclaimed geeks who own Harry Potter scarves, regularly attend Shakespeare performances, and cosplay as characters from The Legend of Korra.

There’s a gap when it comes to coverage of geeky things. Other sites might acknowledge that female geeks do exist (shock!), but the sad fact remains that we have to scour the internet to find material featuring them. Every news outlet in the country will cover The Avengers, but Emily Caroll? Not so much. When girl geeks express their dissatisfaction, they’re often met with scorn for overreacting. Minerva serves as the antidote. We promote female-driven projects that highlight women’s experiences in geekdom.

Highlights from the magazine’s launch include:

• The Case for Complex Female Characters – “Strong” does not equal characterization. Women in fiction should be funny, flawed, emotional, and yes, even strong. You know– like real people.
• Bardolatry – In this podcast, three Shakespeare geeks discuss his cross-dressing leading ladies and how they find empowerment.
• A Geek Love Story – A personal essay that delivers the message that every geek needs to remember: don’t change who you are; find someone whose obsessions complement your own.
• Ban the Ball Gown – Why do so many YA book covers feature girls in fancy dresses? A plea for publishers to stop (Written by yours truly!).

Minerva Magazine can be found online at www.minervamag.com. We’re also on Facebook and Twitter.

Please check it out, find my pieces (there are three live right now), and comment & share!