Loved this interview with Melina Marchetta on heroines: "Whichever way you turn, female characterisation is a minefield. Male characters tend to get away with so much more. I loved writing Jonah Griggs (from Jellicoe) but Jonah killed his father, bashes up Ben and stomps on his fingers, shoves Taylor up against the wall in rage, yet I rarely read a negative comment about him as a character. Evanjalin in FotRock, on the other hand, has been criticised many a time and called manipulative and a liar. I think we are so much tougher on our female characters." (via Sarah)
Another one that's already been everywhere, but which I'm sharing in case you somehow missed it. Maureen Johnson, brilliant human, launched the #coverflip earlier this week, asking readers to reimagine covers if the author's gender was flipped. The results are a must read and see. (See also: Amanda Hocking's reaction post.)