Books

10 Essential Books About Writing

An illustration shows a person with brown skin and brown hair with a pencil in their mouth, bookshelves with blue, purple, yellow, and pink book covers behind them, and a laptop in front of them.
by Nylah Burton
April 6, 2022 at 12:07pm
Must-read titles for writers include works by Elena Ferrante, Akwaeke Emezi, Meg Wolitzer, Yoko Ogawa, and more.
a photo of the author Faith Jones in a black jacket next to the cover of her novel, Sex Cult Nun.

“Sex Cult Nun”: Faith Jones Interrogates the Abusive Community Her Grandfather Created

by Nylah Burton
December 2, 2021 at 10:56am
“Sex Cult Nun” is a startling memoir of child abuse about the Children of God. Read more »
The light blue book cover of A Face for Picasso, sits on a hot pink background. On the cover, author Ariel Henley closes her eyes with her head turned to the upper left corner of the cover. Pink digital drawings float over the side of her face.

Facial Difference and PTSD: Ariel Henley on Growing up with Crouzon Syndrome

by Maggie May Ethridge
December 1, 2021 at 6:54pm
What Henley addresses with intelligent ferocity in her memoir is the emotional and psychological abuse that she endured throughout elementary and middle school growing up with Crouzon syndrome. Read more »
illustration byCheanie Kü of Grandma Deer, an indigenous spirit with long braids, transparent antlers, and a red hand print over their mouth. They are cloaked in purple and cupping a flame in their hands, with the moon and northern lights behind them.

Righteous Spirit: Indigenous Horror Authors Tap into Tribal Traditions

by Abaki Beck
November 22, 2021 at 10:43am
These writers are resisting the long impact of colonization and Christianity, which forced Indigenous communities to either hide or abandon their stories. Read more »
Three women sit next to each other, reading three different titles with coffee mugs in front of them. The background shows stacks of books surrounding them.

BitchReads: 9 Books Feminists Should Read in November

by Rosa Cartagena
November 11, 2021 at 4:00am
Dig into these smart, irresistible new titles. Read more »
Natelegé Whaley, author of ‘Bad Fat Black Girl’, looks into the camera in a long sleeved white shirt and black tropical print dress. She stands at the bottom of stairs to apartment buildings outside, next to an image of her book's cover.

Hot Girl Shit: Trap Feminism Is Sesali Bowen’s Vision for Black Women

by Natelegé Whaley
November 10, 2021 at 2:10pm
“There are a hundred different types of hood girls in the hood,” says author Sesali Bowen. “[Look closer, there’s] an array of stories about Black resilience and Black beauty and Black excellence and creativity.” Read more »
Book cover alongside archival photo of three white women football players

How Media Moved the Goalposts on Women's Football: An Excerpt from “Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League”

by Bitch HQ
November 3, 2021 at 2:30pm
Women’s football had to take what media coverage it could get. What it got wasn’t good. Read more »
A bright red book cover of "Femlandia" by Christina Dalcher, with a blue and white background.

Essentialist Thinking: "Femlandia" Provokes, but Doesn't Push Past the Gender Binary

by Nylah Burton
November 2, 2021 at 3:03pm
The insistent classification of Rooney’s work as Marxist has long felt like a stretch. Read more »
The book cover pictured shows a Latina with brown hair in her bed, surrounded by masks. She's looking up at a framed photo of another woman and the window, where there are dismembered hands reaching out to her.

Resurrecting Selena: "Dreaming of You" Is a Lyrical Journey Through Grief

by Vanessa Willoughby
October 27, 2021 at 9:01am
Some things aren’t meant to be revived. Read more »
Photograph of the book cover for Made Up by Daphné B., featuring the silhouette of a femme body in pink

Beauty Marked: “Made-Up” Explores the Addictive Power of Artifice

by Sophia Stewart
October 20, 2021 at 8:40am
“Sometimes, to feel at peace, all you need is for someone to tell you what to buy,” writes author Daphné B. Read more »
A Black woman wearing patterned dress on a pink couch, next to the portrait is the Carefree Black Girls book cover, it has a tan background and pink swirling lines

"Carefree Black Girls" Treats Black Women As Art

by Evette Dionne
October 19, 2021 at 11:28am
“The inspiration for the phrase and concept #CarefreeBlackGirl was the fact that, at that moment, I wasn’t feeling very carefree.” Read more »

Pages

Best of Bitch

Black Girls Hunger for Heroes, Too: A Black Feminist Conversation on Fantasy Fiction for Teens

by Zetta Elliott
December 17, 2013 at 3:19pm
What happens when two great black women fiction writers get together to talk about race in young adult literature? That's exactly what happens... Read more »

Rewriting the Future: Using Science Fiction to Re-Envision Justice

by Walidah Imarisha
Spring 2015 • Law & Order
Our justice movements desperately need science fiction. Read more »

Eat, Pray, Spend: Priv-Lit and the New, Enlightened American Dream

Elizabeth Gilbert, a white woman wearing a navy blue jumpsuit, leans forward and holds hand with and Oprah Winfrey, a Black woman wearing a gray cardigan and jeans
by Joshunda Sanders
Summer 2010 • Action
Even as reports on joblessness, economic recovery, and home foreclosures suggest that no one is immune to risk during this recession, the popularity of women’s wellness media has persisted and, indeed, grown stronger.  Read more »

Hot Under the Bonnet: The Cooptation of Amish Culture in Mass-Market Fiction

a blue and white illustration of a woman in Amish attire standing next to a fan and a chicken
by Audrey deCoursey
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
Dubbed “Amish romance novels,” “Amish fiction,” or the more waggish “bonnet rippers,” these novels just one entry point into the varying images of Amish communities in U.S. popular culture. Read more »