Women have made significant contributions to

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

since the earliest written texts. Women have been at the forefront of textual communication since early civilizations.

History

Among the first known female writers is

Enheduanna Enheduanna ( sux, , also transliterated as , , or variants) was the priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sīn) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur in the reign of her father, Sargon of Akkad. She was likely appointed by her father as the leader of th ...

; she is also the earliest known

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

ever recorded. She was the

High Priestess The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...

of the goddess

Inanna Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...

and the moon god

Nanna Nanna may refer to: *Grandmother Mythology * Sin (mythology), god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen * Nanna (Norse deity), goddess associated with the god Baldr in Norse mythology * Nana Buluku, Fon/Dahomey androgynous deity cre ...

(Sin). She lived in the

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

ian city-state of Ur over 4,200 years ago. Enheduanna's contributions to

Sumerian literature Sumerian literature constitutes the earliest known corpus of recorded literature, including the religious writings and other traditional stories maintained by the Sumerian civilization and largely preserved by the later Akkadian and Babylonian em ...

, definitively ascribed to her, include several personal devotions to Inanna and a collection of hymns known as the "Sumerian Temple Hymns". Further additional texts are ascribed to her. This makes her the first named author in world history. She was the first known woman to hold the title of EN, a role of great political importance that was often held by royal daughters. She was appointed to the role by her father, King

Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...

. Her mother was probably Queen

Tashlultum Tashlultum () was a wife of King Sargon of Akkad. Her name is known to archaeology only from a single shard of an alabaster vase or bowl with an inscription indicating it was dedicated to the temple by her steward.Franke, p. 831.

7th century B.C.E.

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

(;

Aeolic Greek In linguistics, Aeolic Greek (), also known as Aeolian (), Lesbian or Lesbic dialect, is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia; in Thessaly; in the Aegean island of Lesbos; and in the Greek colonies of Aeolis in Anatolia ...

''Psapphô''; c. 630 – c. 570 BCE) was an

archaic Greek Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history lasting from circa 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period. In the archaic period, Greeks settled across the M ...

poet from the island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

. Sappho is known for her

lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

, written to be sung while accompanied by a lyre. Most of Sappho's poetry is now lost, and what is extant has survived only in fragmentary form, except for one complete poem: the "

Ode to Aphrodite The Ode to Aphrodite (or Sappho fragment 1) is a lyric poem by the archaic Greek poet Sappho, who wrote in the late seventh and early sixth centuries BCE, in which the speaker calls on the help of Aphrodite in the pursuit of a beloved. The poem ...

". As well as lyric poetry, ancient commentators claimed that Sappho wrote elegiac and iambic poetry. Three epigrams attributed to Sappho are extant, but these are actually

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

imitations of Sappho's style. In 3rd Century, Tamil poetess named, the Avvaiyar who lived during the Sangam period is considered to be contemporary to poets Paranar, Kabilar and Thiruvalluvar. She is attributed as the author of 7 verses in Naṟṟiṇai, 15 in Kuṟuntokai, 4 in Akanaṉūṟu and 33 in Puṟanāṉūṟu. Legend states that she was a court poet of the rulers of the Tamil country. She travelled from one part of the country to another and from one village to another, sharing the gruel of the poor farmers and composing songs for their enjoyment. Most of her songs were about a small-time chieftain Vallal Athiyamaan Nedumaan Anji and his family. The chieftain had also used her as his ambassador to avert war with another neighbouring chieftain Thondaiman. The rest of her songs related to the various aspects of state governance.

11th century

The Tale of Genji was written in the early 11th century by the noblewoman

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of '' The Tale of Genji,'' widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between abou ...

and is considered by some to be the first novel.

12th century

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

, the daughter of the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

, wrote

Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...

around 1148. It was written in a form of artificial

Attic Greek Attic Greek is the Greek language, Greek dialect of the regions of ancient Greece, ancient region of Attica, including the ''polis'' of classical Athens, Athens. Often called classical Greek, it was the prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige diale ...

. Anna described the political and military history of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of her father, thus providing a significant account on the Byzantium of the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

. Among other topics, the ''Alexiad'' documents the Byzantine Empire's interaction with the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

and highlights the conflicting perceptions of the East and West in the early 12th century. It does not mention the schism of 1054 – a topic which is very common in contemporary writing. Nevertheless it successfully documents firsthand the decline of Byzantine cultural influence in both eastern and western Europe, particularly in the West's increasing involvement in its geographic sphere.

15th century

Christine de Pizan Christine de Pizan or Pisan (), born Cristina da Pizzano (September 1364 – c. 1430), was an Italian poet and court writer for King Charles VI of France and several French dukes. Christine de Pizan served as a court writer in medieval France ...

was the best known late medieval French writer, rhetorician, and critic, who wrote ''

Book of the City of Ladies ''The Book of the City of Ladies'' or ''Le Livre de la Cité des Dames'' (finished by 1405), is perhaps Christine de Pizan's most famous literary work, and it is her second work of lengthy prose. Pizan uses the vernacular French language to comp ...

'' in 1405, a text about an allegorical city in which independent women lived free from the slander of men. In her work she included real women artists, such as

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

, who was considered one of the best Parisian illuminators, although none of her work has survived. Other humanist texts led to increased education for Italian women. The first known book in English by a woman was

Revelations of Divine Love ''Revelations of Divine Love'' is a medieval book of Christian mystical devotions. It was written between the 14th and 15th centuries by Julian of Norwich, about whom almost nothing is known. It is the earliest surviving example of a book in ...

Julian of Norwich Julian of Norwich (1343 – after 1416), also known as Juliana of Norwich, Dame Julian or Mother Julian, was an English mystic and anchoress of the Middle Ages. Her writings, now known as ''Revelations of Divine Love'', are the earlies ...

. It was written between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and survived in various manuscripts until it was first published in 1670. 16th century Gulbadan Banu, daughter of Mughal Emperor Babur, wrote the biography of her brother, Emperor Humayun.

18th century

Ann Radcliffe Ann Radcliffe (née Ward; 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English novelist and a pioneer of Gothic fiction. Her technique of explaining apparently supernatural elements in her novels has been credited with gaining respectability for G ...

authored several novels of gothic fiction including ''

The Mysteries of Udolpho ''The Mysteries of Udolpho'', by Ann Radcliffe, appeared in four volumes on 8 May 1794 from G. G. and J. Robinson of London. Her fourth and most popular novel, ''The Mysteries of Udolpho'' tells of Emily St. Aubert, who suffers misadventures th ...

'' published in 1794 and '' The Italian'' from 1797.

19th century

One of the best known 19th-century female writers was

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

, author of ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (age 19) a ...

'' (1811), ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' (1813), ''

Mansfield Park ''Mansfield Park'' is the third published novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton. A second edition was published in 1816 by John Murray, still within Austen's lifetime. The novel did not receive any public reviews unt ...

'' (1814) and ''

Emma Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...

'' (1816), who achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, ''

Northanger Abbey ''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the ...

'' and ''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for Social influence, influence. Persuasion can influence a person's Belief, beliefs, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, Intention, intentions, Motivation, motivations, or Behavior, behaviours. ...

'', both published posthumously in 1818, and began another, eventually titled ''

Sanditon ''Sanditon'' (1817) is an unfinished novel by the English writer Jane Austen. In January 1817, Austen began work on a new novel she called ''The Brothers'', later titled ''Sanditon'', and completed eleven chapters before stopping work in mid-M ...

'', but died before its completion. Writers from this period include:

A-K

Mercedes Laura Aguiar Mercedes Laura Aguiar (16 February 1872 – 1 January 1958) was an educator and feminist from the Dominican Republic. As a journalist and poet, she wrote works to promote equality of men and women and Dominican sovereignty, writing in opposition ...

Mastoureh Ardalan Mah Sharaf Khanom Mastoureh Ardalan or Mastura Ardalan (1805, Sanandaj − 1848, Sulaymaniyah) was a Kurdish poet, historian, and writer. Biography Ardalan was born in Sanandaj eastern Kurdistan/Iranian Kurdistan and died in Sulaymaniyah souther ...

Angélique Arnaud Angélique Arnaud (1797, Gannat – 1884) was a French novelist and feminist writer. Arnaud travelled to Paris from the provinces, and involved herself in feminist circles around Henri de Saint-Simon. As well as her novels, she wrote articles and ...

Caroline de Barrau Caroline de Barrau (1828–88) was a wealthy French educationalist, feminist, author and philanthropist. She became interested in the education of girls, created a school in Paris where her daughter was taught, and encouraged her daughter and other ...

* Ada Buisson * Anna Ciundziewicka *

Umihana Čuvidina Umihana Čuvidina ( – ) was a Bosnian poet of Ottoman times. She is the earliest Bosnian female author whose work survives to this day. Čuvidina sang her poems and contributed greatly to the traditional genre of Bosniak folk music, sevdalin ...

* Countess Dash * Nicole Garay * María Josefa García Granados *

Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda y Arteaga (March 23, 1814 – February 1, 1873) was a 19th-century Cuban-born Spanish writer. Born in Puerto Príncipe, now Camagüey, she lived in Cuba until she was 22. Her family moved to Spain in 1836, where s ...

, * Zafer Hanım *

Julie Hausmann Julie Katharina Hausmann ( – )Entry ifuneral register of Haljall(Estonian: Haljala kogudus) was a Baltic Germans, Baltic German poet, known for the hymn "So nimm denn meine Hände" ("Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me"), with a melody by Friedrich ...

Bohuslava Kecková Bohuslava Kecková (18 March 1854 – 17 October 1911) was a Bohemian physician, the first woman to earn a medical degree in what is now the Czech Republic. After completing her education at the Girl's High School of Prague, she received special p ...

Lydia Koidula Lydia Emilie Florentine Jannsen, ( – ), known by her pen name Lydia Koidula, was an Estonian poet. Her sobriquet means 'Lydia of the Dawn' in Estonian. It was given to her by the writer Carl Robert Jakobson. She is also frequently referred to ...

* Hanna K. Korany *

Maria Konopnicka Maria Konopnicka (; ; 23 May 1842 – 8 October 1910) was a Polish poet, novelist, children's writer, translator, journalist, critic, and activist for women's rights and for Polish independence. She used pseudonyms, including ''Jan Sawa''. She ...

Eliška Krásnohorská Eliška Krásnohorská (18 November 1847, in Prague – 26 November 1926, in Prague) was a Czech people, Czech feminist author. She was introduced to literature and feminism by Karolína Světlá. She wrote works of lyric poetry and literary critic ...

L-R

* Jeanne Lapauze * Hermance Lesguillon * Jeanne Marni *

Dada Masiti Mana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin ( ar, مانا ستي حبيب جمال الدين) ( 1810s – 15 July 1919), commonly known as Dada Masiti ("Grandmother Masiti"), was a Somali poet, mystic and Islamic scholar. She composed her poetry in the Bravane ...

* Emilie Maresse-Paul * Marion A. McBride * Athénaïs Michelet *

Maryam al-Nahhas Maryam al-Nahhas (1859–1888) was an Arab activist and writer. Brought up in Beirut, Maryam al-Nahhas married Nasim Nawfal when she was about sixteen years old, and the couple moved to settle in Alexandria. She wrote a biographical dictionary ...

Eugénie Niboyet Eugénie Mouchon-Niboyet (September 10, 1796 – January 6, 1883) was a French author, journalist and early feminist. She is best known for founding '' La Voix des Femmes'' (''The Women's Voice''), the first feminist daily newspaper in France. Sh ...

Božena Němcová Božena Němcová () (4 February 1820 in Vienna – 21 January 1862 in Prague) was a Czech writer of the final phase of the ''Czech National Revival'' movement. Her image is featured on the 500 CZK denomination of the Česká koruna. Biograph ...

Nodira Mohlaroyim ( uz, Mohlaroyim, Моҳларойим; 1792–1842), most commonly known by her pen name Nodira, was an Uzbeks, Uzbek poet and stateswoman. She functioned as regent of the Khanate of Kokand during the minority of her son from 1822. ...

Virginia Elena Ortea Virginia Elena Ortea (17 June 1866 – 1 January 1903), who wrote under the pen name Elena Kennedy, was a journalist and writer, credited as the first Dominican Republic female journalist (to have her own byline) and one of the first women noveli ...

Elise Otté Elise Charlotte Otté (30 September 1818 – 20 December 1903) was an Anglo-Danish linguist, scholar and historian. She completed a number of translations into English from different languages. She assisted her step-father in translating the Nors ...

Eliza Orzeszkowa Eliza Orzeszkowa (6 June 184118 May 1910) was a Polish novelist and a leading writerEliza Orzeszkowa< ...

* Pavlina Pajk * Eliška Pešková * Gabriela Preissová *

Maria Rodziewiczówna Maria Rodziewiczówna (2 February 1863 – 16 November 1944, near Żelazna, Skierniewice County, Żelazna) was a Polish writer, among the most famous of the Interwar period, interwar years. Her works often addressed patriotism, rural life, and p ...

* Mary D. Rosengarten *

Lady Mary Wroth Lady Mary Wroth (née Sidney; 18 October 1587 – 1651/3) was an English noblewoman and a poet of the English Renaissance. A member of a distinguished literary family, Lady Wroth was among the first female English writers to have achieved an en ...

S-Z

* Rosa Schapire *

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

Staka Skenderova Staka Skenderova (1831 – 26 May 1891) was a Bosnian teacher, social worker, writer and folklorist. She is credited with establishing Sarajevo's first school for girls on 19 October 1858. The following year, she became the first published woman ...

Milica Stojadinović-Srpkinja Milica Stojadinovic-Srpkinja ( sr-cyr, Милица Стојадиновић Српкиња, ) (1828–1878) was a Serbian poet, sometimes called "the greatest female Serbian poet of the 19th century". Career As her fame spread beyond the confin ...

Lilli Suburg Lilli Suburg ( in Rõusa Manor – 8 February 1923 in Valga) was an Estonian journalist, writer and feminist. In 1882, she established a private primary school for Estonian girls in Pärnu, in 1885 she moved it to Viljandi where the number of pu ...

Bertha von Suttner Bertha Sophie Felicitas Freifrau von Suttner (; ; 9 June 184321 June 1914) was an Austrian-Bohemian pacifist and novelist. In 1905, she became the second female Nobel laureate (after Marie Curie in 1903), the first woman to be awarded the Nobel ...

Karolina Světlá Karolina Světlá (born Johana Rottová) (24 February 1830 in Prague – 7 September 1899 in Prague) was a Czech female author of the 19th century. She was associated with the literary May School. She married Professor Petr Mužák (1821–1892) ...

* Elizabeth Hart Thwaites * Josefa Toledo de Aguerri *

Fatma Aliye Topuz Fatma Aliye Topuz (9 October 1862 – 13 July 1936), often known simply as Fatma Aliye or Fatma Aliye Hanım, was a Turkish novelist, columnist, essayist, women's rights activist and humanitarian. Although there was an earlier published nove ...

Flora Tristan Flore Célestine Thérèse Henriette Tristán y Moscoso better known as Flora Tristan (7 April 1803 – 14 November 1844) was a French-Peruvian socialist writer and activist. She made important contributions to early feminist theory, and argued ...

Lesya Ukrainka Lesya Ukrainka ( uk, Леся Українка ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, uk, Лариса Петрівна Косач; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active ...

Salomé Ureña Salomé Ureña Díaz de Henríquez (October 21, 1850 - March 6, 1897) was a Dominican poet and teacher, being one of the central figures of 19th-century lyrical poetry and advocator for women’s education in the Dominican Republic, influenced by ...

Jahonotin Uvaysiy Jahonotin Uvaysiy (1780–1845) was a Sufi poet from Margilon in the Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan. She was an Otin, Otin-Oys, an Uzbek religious woman held in great esteem. She produced over 15,000 hemistiches of verse and it is still popular in ...

Dolores Veintimilla Dolores Veintimilla de Galindo (1829 in Quito – May 23, 1857 in Cuenca, Ecuador, Cuenca) was an Ecuadorian poet. Her most well-known poem is "Quejas" (Complaints). Veintemilla left few works, which were published posthumously in a collection ...

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...

Warda al-Yaziji Warda al-Yaziji (1838–1924) was a Lebanese Christian poet who rose to prominence in the early twentieth century, and is considered a pioneer for opening up the field of writing to women. Personal life Born in Lebanon in 1924, Warda was raised ...

Rosalind Amelia Young Rosalind Amelia Young (13 August 1853 – 1 February 1924) was a historian from Pitcairn Islands. Early life Young was born in 1853 on Pitcairn Island to Simon Young and Mary Buffett Christian. She was also the great-granddaughter of John Ad ...

Gabriela Zapolska Maria Gabriela Stefania Korwin-Piotrowska (1857–1921), known as Gabriela Zapolska, was a Polish novelist, playwright, naturalist writer, feuilletonist, theatre critic and stage actress. Zapolska wrote 41 plays, 23 novels, 177 short stories, 25 ...

Narcyza Żmichowska Narcyza Żmichowska (Warsaw, 4 March 1819 – 24 December 1876, Warsaw), also known under her popular pen name Gabryella, was a Polish novelist and poet. She is considered a precursor of feminism in Poland. Life Żmichowska became governess for ...

The followed is a list of interdisciplinary female writers of the 19th century: *

Kate Greenaway Catherine Greenaway (17 March 18466 November 1901) was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School of ...

: writer, and illustrator, author (writer and designer) of two

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

illustrations; ''Marigold Garden'' (1875) and ''

Under the Window ''Under the Window: Pictures & Rhymes for Children'' (London, 1879) was Kate Greenaway's first children's picture book, composed of her own verses and illustrations. Selling over 100,000 copies, the toy book was a commercial success, helped launch ...

'' (1879). * Kate Bunce: was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. *

Elizabeth Siddal Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall (25 July 1829 – 11 February 1862), better known as Elizabeth Siddal, was an English artist, poet, and artists' model. Significant collections of her artworks can be found at Wightwick Manor and the Ashmolean. Siddal ...

: English artist, poet, and artists' model. * Delphine Arnould de Cool-Fortin: French painter and writer on Limoges porcelain. *

Dora d'Istria Dora d'Istria, pen-name of duchess Helena Koltsova-Massalskaya, born Elena Ghica (Gjika) (22 January 1828, Bucharest – 17 November 1888, Florence), was a Romanian Romantic writer and feminist, most notable for having emblematized the Albani ...

: painter, poet and writer. *

Milena Mrazović Milena Theresia Preindlsberger von Preindlsperg (; 28 December 1863 – 20 January 1927) was an Austro-Hungarian journalist, writer, and piano, composer. Mrazović is credited for introducing Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she lived for 40 years, to ...

: journalist, writer, and piano composer. * Aşıq Pəri: poet and folk singer. * Josipina Turnograjska: writers, poets, and composer. * Zoila Ugarte de Landívar: writer, journalist, sculptor, suffragist, and feminist.

20th century

In the 20th century women produced many books of all genres. Among fiction books can be named such titles as ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' and ''

The House of the Spirits ''The House of the Spirits'' ( es, La casa de los espíritus, 1982) is the debut novel of Isabel Allende. The novel was rejected by several Spanish-language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982. It became an instant best-sel ...

'', among others. The following is a list of female writers of the 20th century: *

Kathy Acker Kathy Acker (April 18, 1947 isputed– November 30, 1997) was an American experimental novelist, playwright, essayist, and postmodernist writer, known for her idiosyncratic and transgressive writing that dealt with themes such as childhood trau ...

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

: Chilean writer. *

Gloria E. Anzaldúa Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa (September 26, 1942 – May 15, 2004) was an American scholar of Chicana feminism, cultural theory, and queer theory. She loosely based her best-known book, ''Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza'', on her life ...

Matilde Asensi Matilde Asensi Carratalá (born 1962) is a Spanish journalist and writer, specialised mainly in historical novels. Biography Asensi was born at Alicante. She studied journalism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and she later worked fo ...

Lucia Berlin Lucia Brown Berlin (November 12, 1936 – November 12, 2004) was an American short story writer. She had a small, devoted following, but did not reach a mass audience during her lifetime. She rose to sudden literary fame in 2015, eleven years aft ...

Octavia E. Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowshi ...

* Rosario Castellanos Figueroa *

Amparo Dávila Amparo Dávila (February 28, 1928 – April 18, 2020) was a Mexican writer best known for her short stories touching on the fantastic and the uncanny. She won the Xavier Villaurrutia Award, Xavier Villarrutia Award in 1977 for her short story ...

* Guadalupe Dueñas * María Dueñas *

Diamela Eltit Diamela Eltit in Santiago de Chile) is a Chilean writer and university professor. She is a recipient of the National Prize for Literature. Life Diamela Eltit graduated from college from Universidad Católica de Chile and pursued graduate stu ...

* Espido Freire *

Gloria Fuertes Gloria Fuertes García (28 July, 1917 – 27 November, 1998) was a Spanish poet and author of children's literature. She was part of the Spanish literary movement known as '' postismo (post-ism)'' that began after the Spanish Civil War. Active ...

Almudena Grandes María de la Almudena Grandes Hernández (7 May 1960 – 27 November 2021) was a Spanish writer. Author of 13 novels and three short-story collections, her work has been translated into twenty languages and frequently adapted to film. She won t ...

Joy Harjo Joy Harjo ( ; born May 9, 1951) is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetr ...

Clara Janés Clara Janés Nadal, born in Barcelona (6 November 1940), is a Spanish writer of several literary genres. She is recognised as a poet and is distinguished as a translator of different central European and eastern languages. Since 2015, she has o ...

* Carmen Laforet *

Elvira Lindo Elvira Lindo (born 23 January 1962 in Cádiz, Spain) is a Spanish journalist and writer. At the age of 12 Lindo moved to Madrid, where she studied journalism at Complutense University of Madrid. She did not get her degree, as she began to work ...

Clarice Lispector Clarice Lispector (born Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector ( uk, Хая Пінкасівна Ліспектор); December 10, 1920December 9, 1977) was a Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short story writer. Her innovative, idiosyncratic works exp ...

* Latasha Long *

Leslie Marmon Silko Leslie Marmon Silko (born Leslie Marmon; born March 5, 1948) is an American writer. A Laguna Pueblo Indian woman, she is one of the key figures in the First Wave of what literary critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance ...

Carmen Martín Gaite Carmen Martín Gaite (8 December 1925 – 23 July 2000) was a Spanish author. She wrote many novels, short stories, screenplays, and essays, across many genres. Gaite was awarded the Premio Nadal in 1957 for '' Entre visillos'', the Prince ...

Ana María Matute Ana María Matute Ausejo (26 July 1925 – 25 June 2014) was an internationally acclaimed Spanish writer and member of the Real Academia Española. In 1959, she received the Premio Nadal for ''Primera memoria''. The third woman to receive the Ce ...

Rosa Montero Rosa Montero Gayo (; born 3 January 1951) is a Spanish journalist and author of contemporary fiction. Early life and education The daughter of a bullfighter and a housewife, Montero was born in Cuatro Caminos, a district of Madrid. The contra ...

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

Silvina Ocampo Silvina Ocampo (28 July 1903 – 14 December 1993) was an Argentine short story writer, poet, and artist. Ocampo's friend and collaborator Jorge Luis Borges called Ocampo "one of the greatest poets in the Spanish language, whether on this side o ...

Alejandra Pizarnik Flora Alejandra Pizarnik (29 April 1936 – 25 September 1972) was an Argentine poet. Her idiosyncratic and thematically introspective poetry has been considered "one of the most unusual bodies of work in Latin American literature", and has been ...

* Soledad Puértolas *

Claudia Rankine Claudia Rankine (; born September 4, 1963) is an American poet, essayist, playwright and the editor of several anthologies. She is the author of five volumes of poetry, two plays and various essays. Her book of poetry, '' Citizen: An American L ...

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...

: Author of ''

'' series. *

Maruja Torres Maria Dolores Torres Manzanera, known as Maruja Torres (Barcelona, 16 March 1943), is a Spanish writer and journalist. She is a recipient of the Premio Planeta de Novela and the Premio Nadal. Biography Her parents were from Murcia, and she was bo ...

Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English writer. Her first book, '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', was a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against convention. Other novels explore gender pola ...

Women awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature

The followed women have won the Nobel Prize in Literature: *

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

Grazia Deledda Grazia Maria Cosima Damiana Deledda (; 27 September 1871 – 15 August 1936), also known in Sardinian language as Gràssia or Gràtzia Deledda (), was an Italian writer who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926 "for her idealistically ...

Sigrid Undset Sigrid Undset () (20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Norwegian-Danish novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928. Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, ...

Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, Pulitze ...

Gabriela Mistral Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and humanist. In 1945 she became the first Latin American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Lite ...

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German-Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of he ...

Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writin ...

Wisława Szymborska Maria Wisława Anna SzymborskaVioletta Szostagazeta.pl, 9 February 2012. ostęp 2012-02-11 (; 2 July 1923 – 1 February 2012) was a Polish poet, essayist, translator, and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Prowent (n ...

Elfriede Jelinek Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors writing in German today and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voi ...

Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing (; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British-Zimbabwean novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remain ...

Herta Müller Herta Müller (; born 17 August 1953) is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Nițchidorf (german: Nitzkydorf, link=no), Timiș County in Romania, her native language is G ...

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro (; ; born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Munro's work has been described as revolutionizing the architecture of short stories, especially in its tendency to move f ...

Svetlana Alexievich Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suff ...

Olga Tokarczuk Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk (; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland; in 2019, she was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize ...

Louise Glück Louise Elisabeth Glück ( ; born April 22, 1943) is an American poet and essayist. She won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, whose judges praised "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal". He ...

Annie Ernaux Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux (; born 1 September 1940) is a French writer, professor of literature and Nobel laureate. Her literary work, mostly autobiographical, maintains close links with sociology. Ernaux was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize ...

Additional reading

"Some Women Writers," ''St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat,'' March 16, 1884, image 6
Summary and review of book, ''English Poetesses: A Series of Critical Biographies'' by Eric S. Robertson
Edith Sessions Tuffer, "Women Who Scribble," ''The Wichita (Kansas) Daily Eagle,'' September 25, 1890, image 6
A woman describes "their work and their troubles." The same article appeared in many other newspapers.
"Characteristics of Woman Writers," ''New York Sun,'' quoted in ''The Argus,'' Rock Island, Illinois, 14 April 1893, image 6

"Chroniclings," ''Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle,'' 24 March 1896, image 6
argues against custom by some women writers of adopting a man's name
Frederic J. Haskin, "The Modern Woman: XXVI — Women Writers," ''Evening Star,'' Washington, D.C., 25 April 1913, image 11

P.R., "Woman Writers of To-day," ''The Age,'' Melbourne, 22 September 1945, image 9

Beatrice Campbell, "Writer's Room With a View," ''The Guardian,'' 21 February 1989, image 35
(assembly of women writers from the USSR, the United States, and France *" The Persephone Book of Short Stories," ''Persephone Books Ltd.'' 2012, ISBN 978-1903-155-905 is a collection of short stories written by women 1909-1986.

Notes

References

{{citation , last=Frankopan , first=Peter , contribution=Introduction , title=Alexiad , translator=E. R. A. Sewter , edition=Rev. , location=London , publisher=Penguin , year=2009 , isbn= 0140455272. Women and the arts Edward Jewitt Robinson (2001). Tamil Wisdom: Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages and Selections from Their Writings. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. Krishnamurti, Dr. C.R. (Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Canada) Thamizh Literature Through the Ages [1]