Monday, August 12, 2019

WITMonth Day 12 | The 50 Day Countdown (part 1)

Exactly two months ago on June 12th 2019, I launched a new project ahead of WITMonth - the 50-Day Countdown. The list is one of my favorite things that I've ever done in the context of this project, promoting a single woman writer from around the world every day for fifty straight days. Each tweet included a photo of the writer (usually from Wikipedia or Goodreads, or credited from another source), her country of origin, occasionally her language of origin (if relevant), and a brief line about her work. Sometimes I referenced recently released books, sometimes I tagged publishers, sometimes I simply mentioned what the author is best known for.

It's a list I'm extraordinarily proud of. I haven't read all of the authors on it (in fact, I've only read half!), but I learned a lot in preparing it and I can't wait to read more from every single author on it. And so, this time counting up, the #WITMonth 50 Day Countdown:
  1. Trifonia Melibea Obono - Equatorial Guinea
  2. Rania Mamoun - Sudan
  3. Natalia Toledo - Mexico
  4. Eileen Chang - China
  5. Gabriela Alemán - Ecuador
  6. Leila Abouzeid - Morocco
  7. Rita Indiana - Dominican Republic
  8. Qiu Miajoin - Taiwan
  9. Gabriella Ghermandi - Ethiopia/Italy
  10. Nawal El Saadawi - Egypt
  11. Yoko Ogawa - Japan
  12. Okky Madasari - Indonesia
  13. Marie NDiaye - France
  14. Goli Taraghi - Iran
  15. Niviaq Korneliussen - Greenland
  16. Excilia Saldaña - Cuba
  17. Naomi Fontaine - Canada
  18. Yoko Tawada - Japan/Germany
  19. Claribel Alegría - El Salvador/Nicaragua
  20. Yu Miri - Japan
  21. Yanick Lahens - Haiti
  22. Paulina Chiziane - Mozambique
  23. Qurratulain Hyder - India
  24. Nu Nu Yi - Myanmar
  25. Mariama Bâ - Senegal
  26. Margarita García Robayo - Colombia
  27. Mahasweta Devi - India
  28. Scholastique Mukasonga - Rwanda/France
  29. Ece Temelkuran - Turkey
  30. C. S. Lakshmi (Ambai) - India
  31. Négar Djavadi - Iran/France
  32. Frieda Ekotto - Cameroon/Switzerland
  33. Cynthia McLeod - Suriname
  34. Jokha Alharthi - Oman
  35. Tanella Boni - Côte d'Ivoire
  36. Nathacha Appanah - Mauritius/France
  37. Dương Thu Hương - Vietnam
  38. Mayra Montero - Puerto Rico
  39. Dunya Mikhail - Iraq/US
  40. Khadija Mastoor (Mastur) - Pakistan
  41. Simone Schwarz-Bart - Guadeloupe/France
  42. Ghada al-Samman - Syria
  43. Justine Mintsa - Gabon
  44. Duanwad Pimwana - Thailand
  45. Hoada Barakat - Lebanon
  46. Ronit Matalon - Israel
  47. Raja (Raja'a) Alem - Saudi Arabia
  48. Sulochana Manandhar - Nepal
  49. Assia Djebar - Algeria
  50. Aigerim Tazhi - Kazakhstan
I loved compiling this list for a lot of reasons... but it's also an experience that has left me with a lot more to say.

(To be continued)

1 comment:

  1. This is an impressive list of authors! I can only imagine the research that went into compiling it. I'm familiar with only a handful and have read only one, Jokha Alharthi. And I like how you focused on authors from parts of the world that don't normally get much attention. Thank you for this! I look forward to reading your next post on the topic.

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