The Distance is here.

Nikita Gill (born 1987)

Nikita was born in Belfast but grew up in New Delhi, where an inspiring teacher encouraged her to publish a short story about her grandfather in a newspaper. She has gained an enormous online following, and her first collection Wild Embers was published in 2017. Fierce Fairytales (2018) and Great Goddesses (2019) followed, in which Nikita writes and illustrates feminist reimaginings of traditional tales and classical myths, and she also edited Slam! You’re Gonna Wanna Hear This, a collection of performance poetry (2020). Persephone to Demeter is here.

Beatrice R. Gibbs

Born in Devon and educated at Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset, Beatrice became Co-Principal of Somerville School in Sussex. She was a poet and journalist and also wrote short fiction and children’s books. The Bomber is here.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935)

Charlotte’s father abandoned his family and she grew up in poverty, receiving little formal education, in Connecticut. She had relationships with women and men throughout her life and was married twice. The bout of depression Charlotte suffered after the birth of her daughter inspired her most famous work, the short story The Yellow Wallpaper, about a woman who is confined to her room by her husband. Charlotte was a vocal campaigner for women’s votes and rights and often wrote and lectured about the need to free women from domestic drudgery.

Locked Inside is here.

Nikki Giovanni (born 1943)

Nikki is an award-winning writer and activist. Initially unable to find a publisher for her work, she self-published. In the 1970s she co-founded a publishing house to promote work by other African-American women. Among numerous other honours, she has now been awarded seven NAACP Awards, nominated for a Grammy, selected as one of Oprah Winfrey’s twenty-five ‘Living Legends’ and been a finalist for the National Book Award. Three of her poetry collections have been New York Times bestsellers and she is now a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech. Nikki says, ‘I recommend old age; it’s fun.’ Ego Tripping (There May Be A Reason Why) is here.

Diane Glancy (born 1941)

Diane has Cherokee, English and German heritage and was born in Missouri. She writes across several genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama, and her work has won awards including the Oklahoma Book Award, the Cherokee Medal of Honor and the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry. She has served as artist-in-residence for the Oklahoma State Arts Council and has taught Native American literature and Creative Writing at Macalester College, Minnesota.

Kemo Sabe is here.

Salena Godden (born 1972)

Salena Godden is a poet, activist, broadcaster, essayist and memoirist based in London. She has published several volumes of poetry including Fishing in the Aftermath (2014), Pessimism is for Lightweights (2019) and a literary childhood memoir, Springfield Road (2014). Her spoken-word album LIVEwire was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award. Salena’s debut novel, Mrs Death Misses Death, is forthcoming. Galway Dreaming is here.

Charlotte L. Forten Grimké (1837–1914)

Charlotte’s diaries are some of the earliest we have by a free Black woman in America. A teacher and anti-slavery advocate, she was the first Black teacher to teach white students at a Salem school and also volunteered at a South Carolina school for former slaves and their children. After the American Civil War, she worked for the US government recruiting teachers. Charlotte’s poems were published under her maiden name and the pseudonyms Miss C.L.F. and ‘Lottie’ in abolitionist periodicals. Poem is here.