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 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 »
a book cover that features two white women putting their lips together, almost kissing but not quite

Beyond Coming Out: 6 Lesbian Novels That Bring the Romance, and Sex

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
November 8, 2019 at 10:40am
We deserve books that actively center our pleasure, too. Read more »
Author Anna Borges, a white woman with dark hair, gives a soft smile

How-To Guides Might Be the Future of Self-Care

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
November 1, 2019 at 8:26am
“Self-care is so overwhelming.” Read more »
a pattern made from colorful book covers by Filipino authors

8 Books to Read in Honor of Filipino American Heritage Month

by Jessica de Jesus
October 31, 2019 at 12:20pm
From fantasy to nonfiction, a graphic novel and queer romance, here are eight recently published and upcoming books by Filipino authors. Read more »
The cover of Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele Henry, which shows two girls holding hands and walking into the distance.

7 Scary Books Feminists Should Read This Halloween and Beyond

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 30, 2019 at 4:36pm
Horror’s roots live with women. Read more »
Caitlin Doughty, a pale, white woman, with long, black hair, holds death tools in her hand

Morbid Awakenings: Caitlin Doughty Is Helping Kids—and Adults—Ask Questions about Death

by Caroline Reilly
October 29, 2019 at 9:00am
In the United States, death is hard to talk about; it’s arguably even harder to ask other people questions about. Read more »
Lindy West, a white plus-size woman with shoulder-length blond hair and a black shirt, screams into a bullhorn

Good As Hex: Lindy West’s “The Witches Are Coming” Brews up Anger and Optimism

by Andi Zeisler
October 25, 2019 at 9:36am
Though Lindy West’s sarcasm is as extravagant as ever, it can’t be mistaken for cynicism. Read more »
Harriet A. Washington, a Black woman with long, black hair, stands in portrait

(Mis)measuring Intelligence: Environmental Racism Is Assaulting the Minds of People of Color

by Bani Amor
October 23, 2019 at 3:02pm
Harriet A. Washington argues that intelligence is malleable rather than fixed or inherited, and that it’s possible to solve the problem of poisons and pathogens attacking the nervous systems of people of color. Read more »
Author Morgan Parker, who is a Black woman, wears a black blazer, white shirt, and an orange scarf. She leans on her hand and looks at the camera.

A Depressed Black Teen Takes Center Stage in Morgan Parker’s YA Debut

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 21, 2019 at 4:45pm
“It’s unfair to make a book that is only the dark because we know that that’s just not how life happens.” Read more »

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Demanding the Impossible: Walidah Imarisha Talks About Science Fiction and Social Change

by Kristian Williams
April 13, 2015 at 2:23pm
Before she was a poet, journalist, documentary filmmaker, anti-prison activist, and college instructor, Walidah Imarisha was fascinated... 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 »

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 »

Mock & Awe: Janet Mock on Truth-Telling, Community Building, and Writing the Story She Had Been Waiting for Her Whole Life

Janet Mock, a transgender Hawaiian woman with curly, brown hair, smiles
by Tina Vasquez
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
“Redefining Realness” is written with astounding honesty and heart. Read more »