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Authors

Louisa M Alcott: "Louisa May Alcott's overwhelming success dated from the appearance of the first part of Little Women: or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy (1868), a semi-autobiographical account of her childhood years along with her sisters in Concord, Massachusetts. Little Men (1871) treated similarly the characters and ways of her nephews who lived with her at Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts. Jo's Boys (1886) completed the "March Family Saga." Most of her later volumes, An Old-Fashioned Girl (1870), Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag (6 vols., 1871–1879), Eight Cousins and its sequel Rose in Bloom (1876), and others, followed in the line of Little Women, remaining popular with her large and loyal public... In her later life, Alcott became an advocate of women's suffrage, and was the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts." [Source]. Other Links: Works by Louisa May Alcott at Project Gutenberg. Womenwriters Net includes links, bibliography, & critical theory.

Yasmin Alibhai Brown: "A prolific writer, Yasmin's work spans many diverse topics but she is best known for her influential works on race, gender and identity. The publication of her autobiography 'No Place Like Home' in 1995 to critical acclaim, began a process of honing a writing style, from which she extrapolated from personal experience an analytical eye for systematic abuses of power." [Source]. Other Links: Her Independent articles on Selves and Others. And again on The Independent Online.

Lisa Appignanesi: Lisa Appignanesi has lived in London, Montreal, New York, Paris, and Poland. A university lecturer, she was a founding member of the Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative and the deputy director of London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. She is the author of Cabaret, The Dead of Winter, Freud's Women, Losing the Dead, Memory and Desire, and Sanctuary.

Jane Austen: The English author Jane Austen lived from 1775 to 1817. Her novels are highly prized not only for their light irony, humor, and depiction of contemporary English country life, but also for their underlying serious qualities. The Novels include Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, & Sense and Sensibility. Links: Jane Austen Information Page; The Jane Austen Society (UK); Jane Austen Society of Australia.

Lynne Reids Banks: "Lynne Reid Banks is a best-selling author for children and adults. Her classic children’s novel, The Indian in the Cupboard, has sold over ten million copies worldwide and was made into a highly successful feature film. She was born in London in 1929 and was an actress in the early 1950’s; later she became one of the first women TV news reporters in Britain. Lynne has now written forty books – her first, The L-Shaped Room, was published in 1960. She lives with her husband in Dorset, England." [Source: Personal Web Site]. Other Links: Lynne Reid Banks Teacher Resource File includes Biography, Lesson Plans, Criticism & Bibliography.

Joan Bauer: Joan Bauer is a YA and children's novelist. "In her eight novels, Joan Bauer explores difficult issues with humor and hope. Her books have won numerous awards, among them the Newbery Honor Medal, the LA Times Book Prize, the Christopher Award, and the Golden Kite Award of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators." [Source: Personal Web Site]. "Have you ever felt as though you were disconnected from the rest of the world, left dangling with more questions than answers in a particular situation? If so, you will immediately connect to the characters in the novels of Joan Bauer..." [The Books of Joan Bauer: Lesson Plans]. "People who work in humor aren't usually thought to have solemn public sides. The business of humor is to elicit mirth, preferably great gushing gales of it. But, as my friends and family will attest, I can be just as sullen and depressing as the next person." [Humor, Seriously]. Novels include Squashed, Thwonk, Sticks, Rules of the Road, Backwater, Hope Was Here, Stand Tall, & Best Foot Forward.

Julia Bell: "First novel Massive was published by Young Picador in 2002 and longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award. It has since been translated into seven languages and published in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Second novel Dirty Work is due out in January 2007." [Source: Personal Website].

Julie Bertagna: "Julie Bertagna’s first novel for young people was The Spark Gap, a tale of homeless teenagers in Glasgow. It was a powerful and acclaimed debut, which she followed with the remarkable Soundtrack set in a Scottish fishing community, which won a Scottish Arts Council Book Award. Julie has also written several popular titles for younger readers including Dolphin Boy (shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards and the NASEN Special Needs Award). Her writing often reflects her Scottish background, but her work has an international appeal and Exodus, her young adult novel set in a Glasgow of the future, has been one of the most eagerly-awaited books of 2002." [Source: Personal Website]. [Interview]

Jo Brand: "Never-trust-a-man-with-testicles." Comedienne Jo has written two irreverent books (both published by Simon & Schuster), “A Load of Old Balls” and “A Load of Old Ball Crunchers”, about leading men and women of history. Her first novel, "Sorting Out Billy" was published by Headline Books in 2004 and her second, "It's Different for Girls" has just hit the shelves. [Guardian Article: Kicking off the bovver boots]

Theresa Breslin: "Theresa Breslin is an award winning librarian and writer with a special interest in children's literature. Her books have been praised for their elements of strong setting and sense of place and she acknowledges that she draws on the dramatic landscape of Scotland, its history and its culture. Simon's Challenge, her first book, won the Young Book Trust Fidler Award for new writers and for Whispers in the Graveyard, her remarkable story about a dyslexic boy, she was awarded the Carnegie Medal. Remembrance, a tale of youth in World War One, was selected for the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults, and New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age. Her latest novel, Divided City, is a compelling and courageous book which tells the story of two boys who must find their own way forward in a world divided by difference." [Source: Personal Website]

Emily Bronte: "Emily Brontë published only one novel, Wuthering Heights (1847), a story of doomed love and revenge. But that single work places has its place among the masterpieces of English literature. Some of her best lyrics are also rated with the best in English poetry." [Source]. Other Links: The Gutenberg Project; Emily Bronte Poems.

Meg Cabot: "Meg has published almost forty novels for younger readers as well as adults, including The Princess Diaries series, The Mediator series, and the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series (on which the television series, Missing is based). She is also the author of the young adult books All-American Girl and its sequel, Ready or Not; two historical novels, Nicola and the Viscount, and Victoria and the Rogue; a stand-alone contemporary teen novel called Teen Idol, as well as her latest teen paranormal, Avalon High. Look also for Meg’s adult contemporary romances, She Went All the Way, Boy Meets Girl, The Boy Next Door, and Every Boy’s Got One, and her first chick-lit mystery, Size 12 is Not Fat." [Source: Personal Website]

Anne Cassidy: "My son never reads any of my books. Even though he’s a character in a lot of them. He prefers to read real life stuff about the Mafia." [Personal Website]

Annie Caulfield: "Annie is a comedy writer, dramatist for theatre, radio and TV, travel writer and more recently a producer of children’s books. Originally from Northern Ireland and now living in London, her funny, eccentric and hugely entertaining travel books around Jordan, Benin and Australia have picked up many plaudits. Her new book, Irish Blood, English Heart, Ulster Fry, sees her return to her Ulster roots. She has written award winning plays for theatre and radio and worked on TV's This Life, The Real McCoy and for Lenny Henry. In 2006, she moves into the children’s literature market with Katie Milk Solves Crimes And So On, about a schoolgirl and would be detective." [Source: Personal Website]

Debjani Chatterjee: "Delhi-born Debjani Chatterjee is one of Britain's best-known Asian writers. An award-winning poet, she has written, edited, translated 45 books for children & adults. She chairs the National Association of Writers in Education, is patron of Survivors' Poetry, Director of Sahitya Press, Reviews Editor of Writing in Education and Associate Editor of Pratibha India and Tadeeb." [Personal Website]. Books include Animal Antics, Nyamia and the Bag of Gold, The Most Beautiful Child, The Elephant-headed God, and Other Hindu Tales.

Mavis Cheek: "The art of being dumped. She loved. And lost. And lost again. But then she wrote it all down, and romantic loss, Mavis Cheek tells Sally Vincent, became literary gain." Saturday January 21, 2006, The Guardian

Julia Clarke: After six adult novels, Julia started writing for teenagers. Julia has had several teenage novels published, all of which have been praised for their distinctive narrative voice and emotional impact. Her latest novel Chasing Rainbows, tells the story of Rose, who's so engrossed in organising her mum's love life that she fails to notice what's going on in her own.

Helen Cross: Helen Cross was born and brought up in the village of Newbald in East Yorkshire. Her first novel My Summer of Love won a Betty Trask Award and was made into a feature film released October 2004 in the UK. Her short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies and her plays have been broadcast on the radio. She was awarded an Arts Council International Fellowship to work on her writing in Canada. Her second novel, The Secrets She Keeps, is published by Bloomsbury.

Marianne Curley: "Marianne has always had a love of history and especially loved to read historical fiction. When she first started writing she tried several genres, but found writing for young adults gave her the most satisfaction and freedom of creativity. Marianne has four published novels and is currently working on her fifth. They are: Old Magic, The Guardians of Time Trilogy - The Named, The Dark, The Key. Marianne's first novel, Old Magic was published in the UK, Australia, the USA and translated into eleven foreign languages. Her Guardians of Time Trilogy is currently being published in the UK, Australia, the USA, Spain, Germany and in the language of Catalan." [Source: Personal Website] [Fansite]

Catherine Czerkawska: Catherine Czerkawska was born in Yorkshire of Polish, Irish, English parentage. Her first solo book of poetry, A Book of Men, won a Scottish Arts Council New Writing Award and since then she has written more than eighty hours of radio drama, including two prize winning plays. Her plays for the stage include two successful productions for the Traverse: Wormwood and Quartz. Her television drama includes Shadow of the Stone. She is currently working on a new novel, as well as a non-fictional look at the Scottish Island of Gigha. [Personal Website]

Annie Dalton: Annie Dalton has worked as a waitress, a cleaner, a factory worker but is now a full-time writer. Her book The After Dark Princess won the Nottinghamshire Book Award. Night Maze was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal as was The Real Tilly Beany. Naming the Dark and Swan Sister were shortlisted for the Sheffield Children's Book Award.

Angela Y Davis: See Feature. Here is a website containing a biography of Angela Davis, African-American political activist, philosopher, and educator. Site also contains links to many other Angela Davis resources including articles, news items, photos etc. Some of the links don't work but there is plenty there. Her books include Women, Race and Class;
Abolition Democracy; Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday; Global Critical Race Feminism: An International Reader; Angela Davis: An Autobiography; & If They Come in the Morning.

Susan Davis: Three novels for Young Adults published: Delilah and the Dark Stuff, Mad, Bad and Totally Dangerous, The Henry Game. Numerous short stories, (for adults) have been published in magazines and anthologies. Customer Review of Delilah and the Dark Stuff, "Susan Davis has practically created her own genre: the humorous teenage thriller. Mixing comedy with horror is such a tricky balance, but she does it exceedingly well, walking a perfect tightrope between the two without deflating one or the other. There are genuinely creepy bits here, along with laugh-out-loud dialogue from her brilliantly drawn teenage protagonists."

Jill Dawson: "Jill Dawson is the author of four novels, the latest being Wild Boy, published by Sceptre. Her last novel, Fred & Edie was short-listed for the Whitbread Novel of the Year 2000 and was a finalist in the Orange Prize. The book was also long-listed for the IMPAC award and was translated into eight languages. Jill Dawson is also an award-winning poet and the editor of several anthologies, including The Virago Book of Wicked Verse, and, with Margo Daly, Wild Ways." [Source: Personal Website]

Simone De Beauvoir:

Narinder Dhami: Narinder is probably best known for turning the hit movie Bend It Like Beckham into a book. Narinder has written almost two hundred short stories and articles published in children's and teenage magazines such as Jackie, Catch and Playdays. For the last couple of years, she's focused on writing children's novels like Bindi Babes. It tells the story of three feisty, fun-loving Anglo-Asian sisters who rule the roost over their dad after their mum dies. But an interfering Auntie-ji from India invites herself over to England and starts to cramp their style. Narinder has written two more books in the series that feature Geena, Amber and Jazz called Bollywood Babes and Bhangra Babes. Her other books include Angel Face and Annie's Game. [Personal 'Flash' Website]

Andrea Dworkin:

Deborah Ellis: "Anti-war activist, feminist, Canadian-born Ellis spent time in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan and Russia in 1999. During her stay, she met a mother and sister of a girl from Kabul. They talked togther and the mother told Deborah Ellis that their girl had to cut her hair, put on boys clothes to sell stuff off a tray. The Breadwinner was based on this story. After her trip, Ellis has written 4 books about an Afghan girl living in Afghanistan. They are, The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey, Shauzia, and Mud City. Deborah has also written a number of other books including, Looking For X, A Company of Fools, The Girl From Turtle Mountain and The Heaven Shop." [Source: Personal Website]

Nawal El-Saadawi: "Nawal El Saadawi is a novelist, a psychiatrist and a writer who is well known both in the Arab countries and in many other parts of the world. Her novels and her books on the situation of women in Egyptian and Arab society have had a deep effect on successive generations of young women over the last three decades." [Source: Personal Website]. Her books include Memoirs of a Woman Doctor; Love in the Kingdom of Oil; Woman at Point Zero; Walking Through Fire: A Life of Nawal El Saadawi; The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World. Other Links: Interview - A Conversation with Dr. Nawal el Saadawi; Nawal El Saadawi - a creative and dissident life.

Susan Faludi:
Catherine Fisher:
Nancy Friday:
Jamila Gavin:
Maggie Gee:
Paula Giddings:
Sandra Glover:
Olivia Goldsmith:
Bonnie Greer:
Germaine Greer:
Sonya Hartnett:
Karen Hesse:

Kathryn Heyman: "First novel. The Breaking, published in 1997, was shortlisted for that year's Scottish Writer of the Year Award, and longlisted for the Orange Prize the following year. Keep Your Hands on the Wheel followed in 1999, receiving a Southern Arts Writer's Bursary. She was awarded a Wingate Scholarship in 2000. In 2003 The Accomplice, her third novel, won an Arts Council of England Writer's Award and in 2004 was shortlisted for the West Australian Premier's Prize." [Source: Personal Website]

Patricia Hill Collins:
Bell Hooks:
Cathy Hopkins:
Diana Whynne Jones:
Sherryl Jordan:
Koble Kruger:
Ursula Le Guin:
Doris Lessing:
Gail Carson Levine:
Sue Limb:
Kate Long:
Audrey Lorde:
Carolyn Mackler:

Melina Marchetta: Melina Marchetta lives in Sydney where she works as a teacher. Her first novel is Looking for Alibrandi, published 1993. Looking for Alibrandi was released as a major Australian film in 2000. Melina's second novel, Saving Francesca was published in 2003.

Sophie Masson:

Geraldine McCaughrean: Her adult novels include Fires’ Astonishment (1990) and The Ideal Wife (1997), but she is best-known for her children’s books. She writes for children of all ages, from first readers, picture books, and younger children’s books, to children’s novels, which include A Little Lower than the Angels (1987), Gold Dust (1993) and Not the End of the World (2004), each of which have won the Whitbread Children’s Book Award, making her the only writer to have won this award three times. Geraldine McCaughrean has also written several collections of stories, including bible stories and fairy tales. She specialises in the retelling of classic tales such as The Canterbury Tales (1984), The Odyssey (1993), Moby Dick (1996) and El Cid (1989) and of myths and legends from around the world. These books include The Orchard Book of Greek Myths (1992) and The Orchard Book of Roman Myths (1999). [Source]. [Personal Website]

Hilary McKay:
Margaret Mead:
Jaclyn Moriarty:

Toni Morrison: For quotations, biographies, writings, interviews with and by Toni Morrison, articles about, related organisations, study and teaching guides, about Toni Morrison, and bibliography, this site is a good start.

Linda Newbery:
Christine Nöstlinger:

Tyne O'Connell: "Tyne's first 5 books were published by Headline UK, including Sex Lies & Litigation, Latest Accessory and What's a girl to do?, Making the A-List, and That Girl Boy Thing. In 2004, Tyne made her American debut with The Sex Was Great But… (RDI Publishing), a Pygmalion story based in Hollywood. 2004 also saw her branch out into teen fiction with www.calypsochronicles.com a series of teen books about the adventures of a group of girls in an English girl’s boarding school. Pulling Princes was published to rave reviews. In 2005, three more O’Connell titles hit American bookstores, including two more books in her teen series and another contemporary women’s fiction title, Sex With The Ex (RDI USA). Stealing Princes is due for release in the UK in December. Dueling Princes hit American bookstores in December 2005." [Source: Personal Website].

Leanne O'Sullivan:
Joyce Carol Oates:
Irene Gut Opduke:
Dorothy Parker:

Helena Pielichaty: "Helena writes books which strike a wonderful balance between humour and sensitivity. She is never afraid to address difficult issues such as homelessness - Vicious Circle - , mental illness - Jade's Story - and bullying - Getting Rid of Karenna. Helena draws her characters with such applomb that these books should be a must read for all younger adults. Also take a look at Helena's hilarious Never Ever." [Source]. [Personal Website]

Marge Piercy:

Caroline Plaisted: Caroline Plaisted worked in publishing for fourteen years, latterly as editorial manager for BBC Books, before writing her own books. She has had more than forty books published including 10 Things to Do Before You're 16, E-Love, Reality Bites Back!, Living With a Re-Invented Mum and No Way Am I Living Her!

Emily Prager:
Bali Rai:
Celia Rees:

Adrienne Rich: "Rich is best known as a key figure in feminist poetry. Her dream of a better language and a better world, however, aligns her with the visionary poetess of Shelley and Whitman, and with American transcendentalists such as Emerson. The documentary nature of her work - her poetry of witness and protest - is in keeping with the work of poets ... who wrote about social and domestic injustice. Rich's exploration of the points where private lives and public acts intersect, as well as the confessional mode her poems sometimes employ suggests the work of Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plash, and Anne Sexton. Her frank discussion and celebration of lesbian sexuality have contributed to a more open discussion of homosexuality today ... Finally, her insistence in the 1980s that feminism move beyond the white midlle class and be more sensitive to the needs of women of color and of varying economic classes aligns her with a number of poets ..." [Source: Biography & Poems]. Other Links: Rich's Life and Career; A rich life
Adrienne Rich on poetry, politics, and personal revelation; Biog on Poets.org;

Claire Robertson:
Rosie Rushton:
Clare Sambrook:
Mary Shelley:
Anita Shreve:
Barbara Dawson Smith:
Sonya Sones:
Jean Sprackland:
Amy Tan:
Ruth Thomas:
Theresa Tomlinson:
Polly Toynbee:
Megan Whalen Turner:
Cathi Unsworth:
Marina Warner:
Tricia Wastvedt:
Fay Weldon:
Marion Wells:

Cherry Whytock: Cherry has always been connected with the visual arts and writing is a new direction which she finds tremendously exciting, though it is in her blood as her mother wrote children’s books before the Second World War. Books include Angel: Deli Dramas and Dreamy Doormen; Angel: Loving, Loathing and Luscious Lunches; Fizzy Pink; Fabberoony Fizzy Pink; Angel: Secrets, Suspicions and Sun-Kissed Beaches; Angel: Haggis Horrors and Heavenly Bodies; My Cup Runneth Over: The Life of Angelica Cookson Potts; My Saucy Stuffed Ravioli: The Life of Angelica Cookson Potts; and so on.

Sybella Wilkes:
Jacqueline Wilson:
Laura Wilson:
Sarah Woods:
Naomi Wolf:

Adeline Yen Mah: First book Falling Leaves published in 1997 was selected in the New York Times best-sellers’ list, and sold over 1,000,000 copies world-wide and translated into eighteen languages. Thought to bring bad luck because her mother died giving birth to her, Adeline Yen Mah was discriminated against by her family all her life. Falling Leaves is both the moving story of how she survived that rejection and an enthralling saga of a Chinese family, from the time of the foreign concessions to the rise of Communist China and the commercial boom of Hong Kong. Her second book, Chinese Cinderella, published in 1999, sold over 500,000 copies world-wide. Her third book is Watching the Tree, published in 2001, and her fourth book is A Thousand Pieces of Gold, published in 2002. [Personal Website]

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