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.
The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang

Esmé Wang Finds Meaning in “The Collected Schizophrenias"

by Laura Dorwart
May 2, 2019 at 7:00am
There are no easy solutions to the problems Esmé Weijun Wang poses, but she has provided us with the truth of her own story. Read more »
Against Our Will by Vivien Green Fryd

Vivien Green Fryd Charts the Feminist Artists Who’ve Painted #MeToo for Decades

by Dahlia Balcazar
April 23, 2019 at 10:59am
Against Our Will challenges us to witness without looking away, exploring sexual violence as a discrete subject of American art with unflinching analysis. Read more »
Portraits of three prominent Black women in publishing: Kima Jones, Jamia Wilson, and Lisa Lucas

First of Many: Jamia Wilson, Lisa Lucas, and Kima Jones on the Future of What We Read

April 23, 2019 at 9:00am
These pioneers are transforming the future of literary culture for readers and writers of color. Read more »
Illustration from Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob shows Z and Mira asking "Why?"

Family Matters: “Good Talk” Offers a Panacea for the Worst of Times

by Dara Mathis
April 18, 2019 at 11:30am
For a country obsessed with the national “conversation about race,” Mira Jacob’s graphic memoir, Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations, offers an illustration of all the ways it can go right—and wrong. Read more »
Dark book cover picturing man with tiki torch giving a Hitler salute

Here, Now, Everywhere: Deborah E. Lipstadt’s New Book Charts the Resurgence of Antisemitism

by Talia Lavin
April 10, 2019 at 12:24pm
Lipstadt’s uncompromising perspective is guaranteed to leave readers uneasy, no matter where they lie on the political spectrum. Read more »
a photo of Megan K. Stack, a white woman with short brown hair who is folding her arms

Home Remedies: Megan K. Stack Confronts the Global Impact of Class, Privilege, and “Women’s Work”

by Virginia Sole-Smith
April 9, 2019 at 12:28pm
Domestic labor isn’t just a “mom” issue—it affects the entire world. Read more »
a yellow book cover with a Mexican woman pictured in the past

BitchReads: 15 Nonfiction Books Feminists Should Read This Spring

by Evette Dionne
April 9, 2019 at 9:03am
This list should encourage readers to pick up books that they would’ve never picked up before. Read more »
a photo of Fatimah Asghar, a brownskin woman with short, black hair

“Sanctuary of the Psychic Life”: Why Poetry Matters in the Trump Era

by Britt Ashley
April 8, 2019 at 10:00am
All poetry is inherently political. Read more »
a photo of white woman, Erica Feldmann, with short brown hair and red lipstick smiling

Practical Magic: “HausMagick” Will Help You Cast a Spell on Your Home

by Caroline Reilly
April 2, 2019 at 4:44pm
Erica Feldmann’s first book, Hausmagick, is a compilation of spells, personal vignettes, and other ways to “transform your home with witchcraft.” Read more »
a photo of Claudia Rankine, an older darkskinned woman with a gray, short afro, wearing a pink shirt and multicolored scarf

6 Rad Poets to Read This National Poetry Month

by Jess Kibler
April 1, 2019 at 9:00am
You should savor the work of these great contemporary poets this month and every month hereafter. Read more »

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Best of Bitch

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »