Sammy Stein, the best-selling author and acclaimed music journalist who has featured me in two of her books (In Their Own Words: Interviews with Women in Jazz and Gender Disparity in UK Jazz – A Discussion) recently published a new one, called Candid: Conversations on Women in the Music Industry.

This book is the result of many months of work and interviews with more than 40 women (and a few men) with different roles in the music industry. Their roles, backgrounds and journeys are quite diverse, but they share a few experiences to an uncanny degree. Some are positive, some are shockingly negative, but through the good and bad, the resilience of women and the support that they offer to each other shine through.

Sammy Stein is a phenomenal writer who has done very good work about the role and circumstances of women in music. She takes care to highlight what traditional media overlooks, and her books are valuable contributions to the discussion of gender disparity and the construction of a better, more equitable industry for us all. While I’m not part of ‘Candid’, I recommend it as an essential read.

If you get this or any of her books, and think the information in them would be beneficial for more people, don’t forget to leave positive reviews on Amazon (or the bookstore that applies, if you get it somewhere else). That’s the best way to support the work of independent writers.

To learn more about Sammy or talk with her, you can visit her website: https://www.sammy-stein.com