By Tami Richards | On October 17, 2025 | Updated October 21, 2025 | Comments (0)
Sanora Babb (April 21, 1907 – December 31, 2005) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for the rediscovered novel of the Dust Bowl days, Whose Names are Unknown. It was written in the 1930s but went unpublished until 2004.
While living in Southern California during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Babb learned of the plight of the Dust Bowl migrants. She began working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), taking detailed, copious notes about the lives of migrants.
Babb aimed to write a novel based on the notes, hoping that it would foster sympathy and understanding for the plight of migrant workers. Read More→
By Elodie Barnes | On October 12, 2025 | Updated October 13, 2025 | Comments (0)
Toni Cade Bambara (born Miltona Mirkin Cade, March 25, 1939 – December 9, 1995) was a writer, civil rights activist, teacher, and documentary film-maker.
Well known for her 1980 novel The Salt Eaters, she was also hugely influential in the Black liberation and feminist movements. Her writing was inspired by the Black communities in which she lived and worked. She was concerned with injustice and oppression in general and of Black people in particular. Read More→
By Alex J. Coyne | On October 5, 2025 | Comments (2)
Bessie Amelia Emery Head (July 6, 1937 – April 17, 1986) was a novelist, journalist, and poet born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She later left for Serowe, Botswana, and became an established literary figure across these two countries’ borders.
This overview of the life and work of Bessie Head is an introduction to this notable literary figure who was instrumental in gaining a more international voice for African peoples. Read More→
By Lama Obeid | On June 30, 2025 | Comments (0)
Despite the challenges and pressures that Palestinian women writers have historically faced from displacement, occupation, and societal pressures, prominent writers have emerged steady and strong, whether in Palestine or exiled in the diaspora. Poet Fadwa Tuqan (1917 – 2003) was one of these women.
Palestinian women writers, like other women writers across the globe, did not have it easy, especially those who lived through the Nakba. This was the 1948 catastrophe when more than 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from historical Palestine (modern day Israel) to Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
Added to this displacement were societal pressure and cultural norms that put women at a disadvantage compared to their male peers. Read More→
By Tami Richards | On April 15, 2025 | Comments (0)
Elaine Lobl Konigsburg, known as E.L. Konigsburg (February 10, 1930–April 19, 2013) was a prolific American writer and illustrator of books for children and middle grade readers.
In 1967, she published her first children’s book, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth. That same year, her second book, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, was also published. (Photo above right by Ron Kunzman)
E.L. Konigsburg’s first book won the 1968 Newbery Honor, and her second won the 1968 Newbery Medal. Though not written at the same time, both were published the same year due to an interesting turn of events. Read More→
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