Know Her Words

Know Her Words is a PEN International Women Writers Committee Initiative to celebrate the best women’s writing from around the world.

We invite all our PEN Centres to share the titles of the best books written by the women of their country.

This project will generate a global selection of works by women, offering a curated list from which to select extraordinary writing by women to encourage cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of the issues, stories, and imaginative breadth of each other’s places.

It is our hope that from this seed list, we may inspire the creation of intra-and cross-Centre Book Clubs, further Reading Lists, Author presentations—and more!

Instructions
Submission is open exclusively to members of PEN Centres.

1. With members from your PEN Centre or its WWC, nominate 10 works by women that you consider excellent.

2. Provide author, title, a very brief synopsis (2 or three sentences), genre, the year the work was published, photo of the author (if available), a cover image (if available) and where possible a place from which it can be obtained – i.e. Amazon, a publisher’s page, or an author’s page.

3. Send this information to Sarita Jenamani, the director of Know Her Words: [email protected]

These lists will be aggregated and available on the PEN WWC website. Please know, this is just a beginning – there will be an opportunity in the future to add more titles.

Recommended Books from Region (A-Z)

• Argentina

  • Crime Novels with Argentinians , Luisa Valenzuela, Tierra Firme Publishing

  • House, 2010, novelThe Supernatural Adventure ,  Esther Cross, Seix Barral Publishing House, 2023, essay/fictional

  • The Wind That Sweeps Away , Selva Almada, Random House, 2012, novel

  • The Adventures of China Iron , Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, Random House, 2019, novel

  • Rescue Distance , Samanta Schweblin, Random House, 2014, novel

  • The Things We Lost in the Fire , Mariana Enriquez, Anagrama, 2016, short stories

  • Death as a Side Effect , Ana María Shua, Sudamericana Publishing House, 1997, novel

  • The Russian Doll , Alicia Dujovne Ortiz, Alfaguara, 2011, novel

  • Not Many People Like This Tranquility , María Teresa Andrueto, Random House, 2013, short stories

  • Winter Fury , Perla Suez, Edhasa Publishing House, 2019, novel

• Brazil

  • Carolina de Jesus – “Quarto de despejo (1960)

  • Rachel de Queiroz – “O Quinze” (1930)

  • Cecília Meireles – “Romanceiro da Inconfidência” (1953)

  • Clarice Lispector – “A hora da Estrela” (1977)

  • Lygia Fagundes Teles – “As meninas ” (1973)

  • Ana Miranda – “Boca do Inferno” (1989).

  • Cora Coralina: O poema dos becos de Goias e estórias mais. (1965)

  • Lia Luft: A asa esquerda do anjo (1981)
    

  • Nísia Floresta: Direito das mulheres e injustiça dos homens (1832)
    

  • Mary Del Priore:Beije-me onde o sol não alcança (2015)

• Chile

  • Poema de Chile — Gabriela Mistral — Editorial Pomaire (1967); reissued by La Pollera Ediciones (2013)

  • Obras Completas — Teresa Wilms Montt — Editorial Renacimiento, Colección Los Cuatro Vientos, Serie Mayor (1994)

  • La amortajada — María Luisa Bombal — Editorial Nascimento (2nd ed., 1941; originally 1938)

  • La casa de los espíritus — Isabel Allende — Editorial Sudamericana (1982)

  • Los zarpazos del puma. La Caravana de la Muerte — Patricia Verdugo — Editorial Catalonia (1989)

  • Palabrarmas — Cecilia Vicuña — RIL Editores (2005)

  • Óxido de Carmen — Ana María del Río — Ediciones del Bronce, Barcelona (1986)

  • Lumpérica — Diamela Eltit — Editorial Seix Barral (1983)

  • Nosotras que nos queremos tanto — Marcela Serrano — Editorial Los Andes (1991)

  • Sangre en el ojo — Lina Meruane — Editorial Eterna Cadencia (2012)