Room (formerly Room of One's Own) is a Canadian quarterly literary journal founded to showcase the work of established and emerging Canadian women writers and visual artists. Launched in Vancouver in 1975 by the West Coast Feminist Literary Magazine Publishing Society, the journal has always been operated by an all-volunteer editorial collective. Former collective members include author Gayla Reid, CBC broadcaster Eleanor Wachtel, University of British Columbia Press editor Jean Wilson, and Geist senior editor Mary Schendlinger.
The journal's original title (1975-2006) Room of One's Own came from Virginia Woolf's essay A Room of One's Own. In 2007, the collective relaunched the magazine as Room, reflecting a more outward-facing, conversational editorial mandate; however, the original name and its inspiration is reflected in a quote from the Woolf essay that always appears on the back cover of the magazine.
Since 1975, the journal has published an estimated 3,000 women, serving as an important launching pad for emerging writers. Currently, Room publishes short fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, art, feature interviews, and regular features that promote dialogue between readers, writers and the collective, including "Roommate" (a profile of a Room reader), "Room Recommends" (short recommendations of books, films and music), and "The Back Room" (back page opinion pieces on feminist topics of interest).
The journal offers annual literature and poetry awards and is a regular participant in literary and arts festivals in Greater Vancouver.
Famous quotes containing the word room:
“I stood in the empty hall
And watched them come and go
From one room to another,
Old men, old women slow,
Familiar; girls, boys;
I saw my downcast mother....”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)