Jessa Crispin
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Jessa Crispin (born c. 1978 in
Lincoln, Kansas Lincoln Center, more commonly known as Lincoln, is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Kansas, Lincoln County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,171. History ...
) is a critic, author, feminist, and the editor-in-chief of ''Bookslut'', a
litblog A litblog (alternate: lit-blog or literary blog) is a blog that focuses primarily on the topic of literature. There is a community of litblogs in the blogosphere whose authors cover a variety of literary topics. An author of a litblog is called a ...
and webzine founded in 2002. She has published three books, most recently ''Why I Am Not A Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto'' (2017).


Early life

Crispin is from
Lincoln, Kansas Lincoln Center, more commonly known as Lincoln, is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Kansas, Lincoln County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,171. History ...
; she has described both her hometown and upbringing in her family as very conservative. She attended
Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Art ...
in Kansas for two years before leaving without a degree.


Literary career

Crispin began her literary career as publishing outsider who started her blog ''Bookslut'' on the side while working at
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. She eventually came to support herself by writing and editing the site full-time. ''Bookslut'' ran for 14 years, with the last issue announced in May 2016. ''Bookslut'' received mentions in many national and international newspapers, including ''
The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'' and ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. In 2005 Crispin kept a diary about her work on books for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. Crispin had a regular column in the online cultural journal ''The Smart Set'', published by
Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...
. She was a book critic for NPR and contributor to
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
's ''
Need to Know The term "need to know", when used by government and other organizations (particularly those related to the military or espionage), describes the restriction of data which is considered very sensitive. Under need-to-know restrictions, even if one ...
''. She has written for the ''New York Times'', the ''Washington Post'', ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' and ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
,'' among other publications. She wrote the afterword to Melville House Books' reissue of
Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...
's ''