The Masculinized Pen Name

I suppose enough readers, editors, internet enthusiasts have seen my picture. I am, of course, very female. Surprise! Well, perhaps not now. When I first started my career women were not well tended or treated as writers and poets. And while the thought of being a poetess was appealing, I heard appalling unfairness, very sexist things--and was made to believe if I was a woman I would never be published by the "right" journals.

I am happy to say that the industry is changing. But, it is doing so slowly. There is still inequity and (mostly) men prey on unsuspecting writers and students. Just check out my Facebook Groups. I attack and defend there!

My pen name is Kim Malinowski. But, Hi, I'm Kimberly. If you ever read my encyclopedia articles, I'm Kimberly L. Malinowski. Mind blowing I know.

So, is it safe to be a spec writer named Kimberly Malinowski? I'm uncertain. There are grand shifts. So, maybe. But, Kim is both a male and female name. So, maybe I'm playing both scenes. My name is my name is my name. I hope that the younger writers I talk to choose their names for different reasons or are comfortable with their own.