May Anthologies

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. In 1992, 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. In 2003 the Mays became a single publication.^[1]

Each year, the Mays receives hundreds of submissions from students at Oxford and Cambridge.^{[citation needed]} 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; and each year a guest editor — usually a prominent author, poet, or artist — writes an introduction to the anthology.^[2] Previous guest editors include Michael Dibdin and Seamus Heaney (1993), Stephen Fry (1994), Ted Hughes (1995), Penelope Fitzgerald (1996), Zadie Smith (2001), Andrew Motion and Nick Cave (2002), Ali Smith (2003), Phillip Pullman (2004), Robert Macfarlane (2005), Jeanette Winterson (2006), Colm Toibin (2007) and Patti Smith (2009).^{[citation needed]}

The Mays is often noted for launching the career of novelist Zadie Smith^[3]. Her work appears in two of the short story editions (1996 and 1997). Literary agencies first took notice of Smith after seeing her story "Mrs. Begum’s Son and the Private Tutor" 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 Publications Ltd, which publishes Varsity.^{[citation needed]} The cost of publication is funded in part by donations from various Oxford and Cambridge colleges.

Student editors

• Ian Critchley and Adrian Woolfson (1992)
• Ruth Scurr, Hannah Townsend, Lisa Sargood, Charles Fernyhough (1993)
• Nick Laird (1996)
• Tom Hill and Benjamin Hewitt (2001)
• Tom Hill, Benjamin Hewitt, Rachel Aspden and Tim Martin (2002)
• Mark Richards and James Purdon (2004)
• Jonathan Beckman and Arthur House (2005)
• Juliet Lapidos and Imogen Walford (2006)
• Catherine Duric, Iain Mobbs and Ryan Roark (2007)
• Erica Mena and Deborah Smith (2008)
• Peter Morelli and Decca Muldowney (2009)
• Lizzie Alice Robinson and Elliot Ross (2010)
• Catriona Gray and Philip Maughan (2011)

References

1. ^ "The Mays XIX". http://themaysxix.tumblr.com/about. 
2. ^ "The Mays XIX". http://themaysxix.tumblr.com/about. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
3. ^ http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1560999,00.html "Learning Curve," The Guardian, 3 September 2005

External links

• THE MAYS: a literary anthology
• Past guest-editors: THE MAYS: Guest Editors