Books

Unabashed Triumph: “You Should See Me in a Crown” Reimagines the Prom Queen

Leah Johnson, author of You Should See Me in a Crown. Leah is a Black woman with curly hair and a nosering. She wears a black mockneck tank top and smiles at the camera.
by Rachel Charlene Lewis
June 30, 2020 at 10:46am
This is a book that, at its core, offers hope.
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 »
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 »

Pages

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 »

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 »

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 »