May Anthologies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mays Literary Anthology (or just The Mays) is an anthology of new writing by students from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. Its editorial staff is headquartered in Cambridge, England. In 1993, when Peter Ho Davies, Adrian Woolfson, and Ron Dimant came up with the original concept for the Mays, the publication was split into two separate anthologies — one devoted to prose and the other to poetry. The Mays has since become a single publication.

Each year, the Mays receives hundreds of submissions from students in Oxford and Cambridge. In 2006 the Mays received a record 1,100 entries. The Editorial Committee (composed of students from both universities) review the submissions during Lent Term.

The Mays is broader in scope than most university literary projects: it is sold in bookstores and by delivery nationwide; it is distributed to every major literary agent; each year a guest editor — usually a prominent author — writes an introduction to the anthology. Previous guest editors include Stephen Fry (1994), Ted Hughes (1995), Andrew Motion (2002), Nick Cave (2002), Ali Smith (2003), Phillip Pullman (2004), and Robert Macfarlane (2005).

The Mays is also noted for launching the career of novelist Zadie Smith. Literary agencies first took notice of Smith after her story "Private Tutor" appeared in the 1997 collection. Smith guest edited the Mays in 2001. Her quip "maybe in a few years this lot will have me out of a job" has become a catch phrase for the publication.

The Mays is associated with Varsity Ltd, which publishes Varsity, the main Cambridge University student newspaper. The Varsity Trust helps meet the cost of publication, as do various Oxford and Cambridge colleges. The Mays also has an informal relationship with International Creative Management (ICM)^{[citation needed]}.