Books

10 Essential Books About Writing

Must-read titles for writers include works by Elena Ferrante, Akwaeke Emezi, Meg Wolitzer, Yoko Ogawa, and more.

Creating a Lush World of Trans Woman Literature: An Interview with Writer and Fierce Trans Femme, Kai Cheng Thom

So on the one hand, famous trans writers are elevated into this intensely fetishized status, and then on the other, they’re taken down and exiled for not being good enough. Read more »

Street of Miracles: In Kai Cheng Thom's New Novel, Trans Femmes of Color Save Each Other

Thom maps the Street of Miracle’s inter-community contours, where there’s sisterhood, protection, and deep love—and also jealousy, internalized oppression, political differences, different amounts of privilege, and lovers quarrels. Read more »

Reading Chimamanda Adichie Today: On Racism and transphobia in feminism

I had to wonder how Adichie’s recent responses to trans folks failed her own feminist politics in her new book, Dear Ijeawele. Read more »

Seven Women’s History Month Books for Youngsters, Young Adults, and Grown-Ups

Here are seven picks to kick-start a youngster’s interest in women’s history, STEM, and sports—or to keep the fire burning for a grown-up! Read more »

Morgan Parker’s New Collection Is a Complex Tribute to Black Women

Morgan Parker’s book is an exciting contribution to the rich legacy of Black feminist art, literature, poetry, and music. Read more »

Popaganda: Who Writes Our History?

History isn’t static—it’s the stories we tell ourselves about the past. And that story changes depending on who’s doing the telling.   Read more »

The Self as Specimen: On "All the Lives I Want" and Feminine Feelings

Alana Massey’s debut collection holds a mirror to our celebrity obsessions and our hesitations toward women making art about themselves.   Read more »

Pressure Makes Perfect: Donna Freitas Examines the Friction Between Public Identity and Personal Authenticity with Mixed Results

Frietas hits all the hot topics of the day—selfies, sexting, bullying, love-hate relationships with smartphones—but seems to be writing for an audience of technology estranged adults. Read more »

Pain Woman Takes Your Keys : Sonya Huber's New Essay Collection is a Multifaceted Look at Life with Chronic Pain

Huber uses pain as a lens through which she examines disability, gender bias, motherhood, and the very basic condition of living in a body. Read more »

Pages

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

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 »

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

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 »

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

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

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 »