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.
Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed in Wild

Traveling Lite: Why Women’s Travel Memoirs Get Sold Short

by Rachel Friedman
July 11, 2018 at 2:03pm
Men’s stories are seen as universal, women’s as particular.  Read more »
Suicide Club: A Novel about Living by Rachel Heng

BitchReads: 11 Books Feminists Should Read In July

by Evette Dionne
July 2, 2018 at 2:59pm
Always carry a book with you. Read more »
A photo of Francesca Lia Block, a thin, white author with shoulder-length Black hair

Creative Friction: For Francesca Lia Block, Writing is Healing

by Dahlia Balcazar
June 19, 2018 at 11:48am
Francesca Lia Block’s new book weaves memoir with lessons on the craft of writing to create a unique and visceral guide to creativity.  Read more »
Abby Norman Panteha Abareshi illustration

Abby Norman on Endometriosis, Healthcare, and the Legacy of Female “Hysteria”

by Evette Dionne
June 8, 2018 at 12:23pm
We want there to be these tidy endings, but that isn’t the reality of living with a chronic illness. Read more »
The Mortal Ones illustration by Panteha Abareshi

The Mortal Ones: How Young Women Navigate Serious Illnesses

by Evette Dionne
June 7, 2018 at 9:48am
What comes to mind when we think about people with serious illnesses? Read more »
Panteha Abareshi illustration

Trauma Club: The Chronic Popularity of Illness Lit

by Alana Kumbier
June 6, 2018 at 3:02pm
Cure, remission, and rehabilitation provide the happy ending and death the sad one. Read more »
Influx of Illness header img

Influx of Illness: Will Chronic-Illness Patients Get Their #MeToo Movement?

by Caroline Reilly
June 6, 2018 at 2:13pm
Much like sexual-violence survivors, chronic-illness patients also have whisper networks. Read more »
Joy Nash as Plum Kettle in AMC’s Dietland

Radical Bodies: “Dietland” Author Sarai Walker On Her Taboo-Busting Book’s Journey To TV

by Andi Zeisler
June 6, 2018 at 12:26pm
Dietland’s willingness to engage with difficult, complex subjects—not least of which is women’s anger—feels deeply resonant right now.  Read more »
Panteha Abareshi illustration

A Displaced Body: “Sick” and the Elusive Search for Wellness

by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
June 5, 2018 at 11:16am
I continue to be poor. I continue to be sick. The system keeps me that way. Read more »
Squeezed: Why Our Families Can't Afford America by Alissa Quart

BitchReads: 15 Books Feminists Should Read In June

by Evette Dionne
June 1, 2018 at 1:27pm
We’re six months into 2018, and the great books just keep coming. Read more »

Pages

Best of Bitch

Know & Tell: The Literary Renaissance of Trans Women Writers

by Katherine Cross
Winter 2015 • (Re)Vision
For so long, the people who wrote about us were not us. Finally, that is beginning to change. 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 »

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 »