Books

The Best Queer YA Novels of 2019

Close up images from three books, including an image of a white nonbinary person leaning their head on a brown boy's shoulder; a Black girl in pajamas with natural hair; a pair of queer girls standing close to each other, one's hand on the other's neck.
by Rachel Charlene Lewis
December 10, 2019 at 12:13pm
It’s been a stunning year for queer young-adult novels.
a placard in British Columbia, Canada, warns Indigenous women and girls about hitchhiking along the Trail of Tears

Racism and Apathy along the “Highway of Tears”

by Abaki Beck
November 27, 2019 at 3:13pm
How long will families be forced to relive the trauma of their loved ones death or disappearance, with empty promises of justice? Read more »
illustration of mixed Indigenous space wayfarers on an orange planet

An Old New World: When One People’s Sci-Fi Is Another People’s Past

by Abaki Beck
November 27, 2019 at 9:56am
Colonization and marginalization are commonly used as plot points, but for Native Americans these are not fantastical, imagined scenarios. We live them. Read more »
a photo of a Black woman with short brown hair smiles at the camera

Feminista Jones Wants Black Women to Reclaim Their Space

by Joshunda Sanders
November 25, 2019 at 11:30am
Reclaiming Our Space is a reminder that Black feminists have been using Twitter and Facebook to build offline movements. Read more »
A photo of author Author Bassey Ikpi, a Black woman. She looks at the camera with a soft smile and has a colorful necklace and bright earrings.

Writing Toward Truth: Bassey Ikpi’s New Book Reckons with the Lies Mental Illness Weaves

by Yaasmeen Piper
November 25, 2019 at 10:30am
“…the lie that sustained itself for so long becomes true in its own way. It becomes a part of the story.” Read more »
A photo of books with the text, "f*ck that f*cking b*tch."

Very Online: When Authors Behave Badly on Twitter

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
November 22, 2019 at 3:24pm
Do authors have a responsibility to be more careful with how they wield social media? Read more »
Amanda Rosenberg, a British Chinese comedian, with shoulder-length blond hair and glasses wryly smiles at the camera

Blue Humor: “That’s Mental” Is a Hilarious Meditation on Life with—and Stigma against—Bipolar Disorder

by Evette Dionne
November 21, 2019 at 3:39pm
Comedian Amanda Rosenberg is doing something extremely important: disrupting the stigma that keeps so many people silent about their pain. Read more »
Author Nina MacLaughlin, a white woman with shoulder-length brown hair, smiles for the camera

Siren Songs: Nina MacLaughlin on Revisiting the Women of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”

by Jessica Jernigan
November 19, 2019 at 11:47am
In Wake, Siren, Ovid’s women emerge as unique individuals, fully formed and very often full of anger. Read more »
a group of witches dance together in a black and white photo

Binding Harm: Generations of Witches Intertwine Rituals and Activism

by Jessica Jernigan
November 18, 2019 at 12:20pm
To be a witch is to have and to exercise agency on behalf of all. Read more »
A woman in large glasses, Carmen Maria Machado, sits against a table while looking into the camera.

In the Muck: With “In the Dream House,” Carmen Machado Archives Queer Women’s Pain

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
November 13, 2019 at 3:50pm
“Our culture does not have an investment in helping queer folks understand what their experiences mean.” Read more »
Jami Attenberg, a white woman with shaggy brown hair is leaning against a door frame holding a drink in one hand, while she softly smiles

“All This Could Be Yours” Complicates the Narrative of Shitty Men and Forgiveness

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
November 12, 2019 at 1:47pm
By focusing on the women who Victor has harmed, Jami Attenberg offers a fleeting world where even messy, sometimes-bad women deserve justice on their own terms. Read more »

Pages

Best of Bitch

A Look at How Media Writes Women of Color

by Victoria Law
November 17, 2014 at 5:07pm
Nearly every Saturday morning, feminists of color hold Twitter discussions taking a deeper look at issues, such as gender violence. It’s the... 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 »

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 »

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 »