Hello and welcome to the third issue of thirdspace. We are happy to still be here, navigating the ups and downs of feminist publishing, and bringing you some new and exciting work in feminist scholarship.

We hope you like the new look-and-feel of the site - designed over the summer, it has easier access and navigation. Be sure to take a look at chora, it's got expanded sections for publishing, conferences, and other resources, as well as our new 'features' section.

This issue we have two fine responses to our call for papers on the theme of "thirdspace" and hybridity. Tanya Olson's piece on Bram Stoker's Dracula takes us into the world of late nineteenth century literature and explores the characters and themes in the context of Stoker's life and politics - specifically, the Irish land claims and the trials of Oscar Wilde. The result is an intriguing look at how Stoker creates a cast of hybrid characters who sit on the borders of the many binaries at work in the text, and how his novel might be a reflection on the politics of his time.

Susan Pell examines the essentialist notions employed to define and police developing bisexual women's territory. She asks how and why some are defined as members of sexually-identified groups, some are not, and what is lost in boundary-making. It appears what has been thought of as a 'thirdspace' for the disruption of sexuality does not, in this case, escape essentialism.

Our other papers lean more toward an examination of women's voices: how those voices are heard, and what happens when they are silenced. Danielle Russell explores the stance of women in comedy, and in particular the assumption that self-deprecatory (self-mocking) humour is the domain of female comics. Once used as a self-preservation tactic in a hostile and competitive arena, self-deprecatory humour has developed in the hands of some female comics into a tool to question society's norms, especially those of gender.

Shelley Russell's paper looks at the multidimensional nature of eating disorders by examining the process of healing for women in group therapy. Centring her methods on what women with eating disorders perceive as important to recovery, Russell uncovers the damage of a misogynist society on women's bodies, and establishes the importance of women developing a sense of self and consolidating their sense of self in relation to others.

The essay by Kathleen O'Grady covers the recent debate on the purpose of menstruation - and leads us to question the motives behind some of those voices, in an issue that some might say was 'essentially' female.

This issue introduces our 'features' section, part of chora but included in the journal's contents. [Editor's note: this is now our Resources section.] This section allows the editors to produce work outside the journal publishing timeline, highlighting various issues in feminist scholarship, as well as tips and guides for emerging feminist scholars. Here we have the first of a two-part feature on feminist publishers and independent bookstores. We hope you will join us in supporting these women-run and owned businesses which are in danger of disappearing with the ever-increasing notion that "bigger is better."

There are also some books in this section that bridge the gap between traditional academic texts and pleasure reading. These are important books that might not ordinarily find their way into an academic forum, but that have a lot to teach us about women and feminism. Perhaps we can call them 'thirdspace' books. Finally, in our reviews section we have a book review of Karen J. Warren's Ecofeminist Philosophy by Jason Mallory.

Our next issue will be the efforts of a new staff of editors, and an expanded mandate for publishing the work of emerging scholars in non-Western contexts and in languages other than English. I know you'll join us in the anticipation of new voices and even brighter intellectual horizons.