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Black Inc.'s International Women's Day Reading List
To celebrate International Women’s Day, Black Inc. staff are recommending some of their favourite books by women! Don’t forget to check out our forthcoming releases and pre-order new books by Brigid Delaney, Jenny Valentish, Anna Krien and Kayte Nunn.
‘It's not as well known as some of her other books, but Janet Malcolm's The Purloined Clinic has many great things, including her long early piece on family therapy. Olivia Manning's series of novels about the Second World War, the Balkan Trilogy and the Levant Trilogy, have a wonderful documentary quality as well as several totally memorable characters. And I still think about Micheline Lee's gripping, Dostoyevskian novel The Healing Party, which Black Inc. published last year.’ —Chris, Senior Publisher
‘Harry Potter!! Or anything written by JK Rowling’ —Kim, Office Manager
‘Why I Am Not a Feminist by Jessa Crispin: As a 29 year old female raised by a feminist, naturally I identify with the label. BUT I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING JESSA IS SAYING! We have entered a wave of female empowerment that's great for middle-class white women who want to choose their professional lifestyles, who can choose to go to work and outsource the menial jobs. But what about all the other women who don't fit into that demographic? What about the disenfranchised? What about the women who stuck doing our menial work? Are they really benefiting from this current 'future is female' movement? If anything, Why I Am Not a Feminist makes you think deeply, and there's nothing wrong with that.’ —Patrizia, Marketing & Publicity Manager
‘Anna Goldsworthy's Unfinished Business: Sex, freedom and misogyny is a powerful essay, produced during the time when this country was, remarkably, governed by a woman. Framed by Julia Gillard's Misogyny Speech, Unfinished Business speaks to the lived realities of today's women, from politics to pop culture, and from sexuality to social media. In the brave new world of Trump, Goldsworthy's words are more vital than ever.’ —Sophie, Direct Sales and Subscriptions
‘Why I am Not a Feminist, by Jessa Crispin, is - despite the title - the best work of feminism I have read in a long time. Its energy and ferocity are perfect to shake up the conversation. It will certainly have its critics, but this deliciously elegant gripe about popular feminism was music to my ears. And most importantly it moves the discussion towards actual systemic change.’ —Sophy, Publisher
‘It's hard to choose one favourite book by a woman, but one that's at the top of my list is Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, set in Nigeria in the 1960s. One of my favourite Black Inc. books is Kate Jennings' Snake, a fierce, taught and unflinching novella. Jennings' prose crackles off the page. I'm also looking forward to the rerelease of Jennings' volume of poetry Come To Me My Melancholy Baby, coming out in August 2017.’ —Elisabeth, Sales Director
‘I’m going to recommend some of my favourite reads by women that I’ve read this year (I could write pages otherswise). Heartburn by Nora Ephron, an autobiographical novel about a pregnant woman discovering her husband is in love with somebody else, is unexpectedly hilarious and delightful. Crazy, Busy, Guilty by Lauren Sams is, for somebody without children, absolutely terrifying. I also laughed embarrassingly loud in public several times.’ —Phoebe, Digital Manager
‘Woman of Substances by Jenny Valentish: Ok, so I'm cheating because it's not out till June but I've just smashed through the manuscript and I'm still picking myself up off the floor. Jenny Valentish has bravely shared her journey into addiction and treatment, and it is one helluva a piece of writing: searingly honest, insightful and healing, assertive and courageous, and fiercely true. Even better, the book focuses on the female experience so a perfect choice for IWD.’ —Kate, Head of Marketing & Publicity
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About the authors
Jessa Crispin is the editor and founder of the online magazines Bookslut – one of America’s very first book blogs – and the literary journal Spolia. She is the author of The Dead Ladies Project and The Creative Tarot, and has written for the New York Times, Guardian, Washington Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, NPR.org, Chicago Sun-Times, and Architect Magazine, among other publications. She has …
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Micheline Lee's novel, The Healing Party, was shortlisted for several awards including the Victorian Premier's Literary Award. Born in Malaysia, she migrated to Australia when she was eight. Micheline has lived with a motor neurone disability from birth. She is also a former human rights lawyer and painter. Her latest Quarterly Essay is Lifeboat: Disability, Humanity and the NDIS.
Author photograph: Susan Gordon-Brown
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Lauren Sams is the author of She’s Having Her Baby and Crazy Busy Guilty. She is a writer whose work has appeared in ELLE, marie claire, Cosmopolitan, Good Food, delicious, Sunday Style and Daily Life. She lives in Sydney with her husband, daughter and two dogs.
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Anna Goldsworthy is the author of several books, including the novel Melting Moments and the memoirs Piano Lessons and Welcome to Your New Life. Her writing has appeared in The Monthly, The Age, The Australian, The Adelaide Review and The Best Australian Essays. She is also a concert pianist, with several recordings to her name.
Author photo …
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Kate Jennings (1948–2021) was an award-winning poet, essayist, short story writer and novelist. Both her novels, Snake and Moral Hazard, were New York Times Notable Books of the Year. She won the ALS Gold Medal, the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and the Adelaide Festival fiction prize. Born in rural New South Wales, she lived in New York from 1979.
Her books included Stanley and Sophie, Quarterly Essay 32: American Revolution and Trouble: …
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Jenny Valentish has been devoted to dancing around the void for many decades, first in the pub and then the boxing ring. The author of the acclaimed books Woman of Substances and Everything Harder Than Everyone Else, Jenny is a regular contributor to The Guardian and the ABC, and the former editor of Time Out Melbourne and Triple J’s Jmag.
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