Books

#ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear Is The Hashtag You Need To Be Following

by K.W. Colyard
NBC

If you're a woman who writes, you're going to love-slash-hate reading through what 27 of your favorite authors had to say about #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear. Chocolat author Joanne Harris started the #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear hashtag on Monday, and the response has been swift, with hundreds of tweets detailing the unique forms of sexism that women writers face, from being encouraged to use pseudonyms to good old fashioned mansplaining.

Back in 2015, one writer did her part to unveil the widespread gender bias in publishing when she talked about her experience submitting a manuscript under a male pseudonym. Catherine Nichols' original manuscript was eight times less successful than an identical one submitted by "George."

Although reading about Nichols' experience was eye-opening for many people, it's only the tip of a very large iceberg. A number of renowned male writers are blatantly sexist toward their characters, fans, and colleagues. Back in 2011, Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul infamously claimed that no woman writer was his equal, not even Jane Austen, whom he derided as "sentimental." Purity author Jonathan Franzen insulted Oprah's literary taste as "schmaltzy" — after she picked his third novel, The Corrections, for her book club.

Novelist Jennifer Weiner coined a term for the kind of sexism that targets women who dare to write literary fiction: Goldfinching. Named for Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch, this is a phenomenon in which critics devalue books written and read by women, either by infantilizing them, or by deeming them too harsh or sentimental. One of the most prominent Goldfinching targets in recent memory was Hanya Yanagihara's Booker Prize-winning novel A Little Life.

Check out these authors on #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear below, and share your own experiences with us on Twitter!

1Victoria Schwab

Victoria Schwab is the author of several young adult series, including The Archived, Monsters of Verity, and The Near Witch. She also writes the Vicious and Shades of Magic series under the pseudonym V.E. Schwab.

2Deanna Raybourn

Deanna Raybourn writes historical fiction of the romance and mystery variety. Her Lady Julia Grey series was optioned for British television in 2015.

3Cherie Priest

Cherie Priest is the author of The Clockwork Century and Borden Dispatches, along with many other series. Her novel Boneshaker won the 2010 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

4Jourdan Rodrigue

Jourdan Rodrigue follows the Carolina Panthers for the Charlotte Observer.

5Racheline Maltese

Racheline Maltese is the author of The Book of Harry Potter Trifles, Trivias and Peculiarities. She works on the SerialBox series Tremontaine and co-authors novels with Erin McRae.

6Alyssa Wong

Alyssa Wong writes award-winning horror stories. At the time of this writing, she has been nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in two categories.

7Emily Gould

Emily Gould is the co-owner of Emily Books, an e-bookstore and publishing house. She is the author of Hex Education, And the Heart Says Whatever, and Friendship.

8Kate Elliott

Kate Elliott is the author of Court of Fives and other SFF series for teens and adults. Her work has been nominated for eight major speculative fiction honors, including the Locus, Nebula, and Andre Norton Awards.

9Diana Gabaldon

Diana Gabaldon writes the bestselling historical fantasy series, Outlander, which has been adapted into a graphic novel, musical album, and TV series, as well as the spin-off series, Lord John.

10Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult has written dozens of books, including My Sister's Keeper, Leaving Time, and Small Great Things. Four of her novels have been adapted into Lifetime Original Movies, and My Sister's Keeper was made into a 2009 feature film starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin.

11Beth Revis

Beth Revis writes science fiction for YA readers. Her debut novel, Across the Universe, was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and received Romantic Times' Seal of Excellence and Futuristic Novel of the Year Award.

12Joanne Harris

Joanne Harris is the author of several award-winning cookbooks and fiction series, including Chocolat and the RUNE books. The film adaptation of Chocolat was nominated for five Oscars and eight BAFTA Awards.

13Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed is the author of Wild, the inspiration for the Reese Witherspoon film of the same name, Tiny Beautiful Things, Torch, and Brave Enough. She is the host of the life-and-love advice column and podcast Dear Sugar.

14Neha Poonia

Neha Poonia is a journalist based in South Delhi, where she works as an anchor for CNN-News18.

15Jaye Wells

Jaye Wells is the author of the urban fantasy series Prospero's War and Sabina Kane. RT Book Reviews bestowed its Best Urban Fantasy Reviewers’ Choice Award on her novel, Blue-Blooded Vamp. She also writes as Kate Eden.

16Mary Emily O'Hara

Mary Emily O'Hara is an NBC News correspondent and former LGBT Reporter for The Daily Dot. She has written for Vice, Willamette Week, The Daily Beast, and The Advocate, among other outlets.

17Rin Chupeco

Rin Chupeco is the author of The Girl in the Well, The Suffering, and The Bone Witch.

18Emily Nussbaum

Emily Nussbaum won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2016, in recognition of her work at The New Yorker, where she has been the TV Critic since 2011.

19Sarah Reese Jones

Sarah Reese Jones works for PoliticusUSA as a Publisher, Managing Editor, and Senior White House and Congressional Correspondent. She also co-hosts Politicus Radio.

20Jenny Trout

Jenny Trout writes award-winning romance, paranormal fiction, and horror under her own name and two pseudonyms: Abigail Barnette and Jennifer Armintrout — not to be confused with Jennifer L. Armentrout.

21Megan Abbott

Megan Abbott is the Edgar Award-winning author of several novels, including Dare Me and You Will Know Me. She has also written a nonfiction book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, and edits A Hell of a Woman: an anthology of crime fiction by women writers.

22Chrissa Hardy

Chrissa Hardy is the editor of Wise Bread and writes for a number of websites, including Bustle.

23Keisha Hatchett

Keisha Hatchett is an assistant editor at The Mary Sue, and a contributing writer to POPSUGAR and Nerdist.

24Jennifer Finney Boylan

Jennifer Finney Boylan is the author of several books, including She's Not There, Stuck in the Middle with You, and the forthcoming Long Black Veil. She's Not There was nominated for the 16th Annual Lambda Literary Award in the Autobiography/Memoir category, winning in the Transgender/Genderqueer category.

25Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale is the author of a number of books for readers of all ages, including The Goose Girl, Austenland, Calamity Jack, and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Her novel, Princess Academy, was a 2006 Newberry Honor Book.

26Maureen Johnson

Maureen Johnson has written several standalone books and series, including Devilish and Shades of London. Her work has been nominated for the Edgar and Andre Norton Awards.

27Laurel Snyder

Laurel Snyder writes award-winning children's books, such as Swan and The Longest Night. She is also the author of Daphne and Jim: A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Biography in Verse and the editor of Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes.