Women in the Literary Landscape: A Centennial Publication of the Women’s National Book Association

Publishing veteran Tomaselli and librarian Reisner spearhead a host of contributors to this informative reference work, which celebrates both the 2017 centennial of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) and, more generally, the role of women in American publishing since the country’s founding. As with much of women’s history, women’s influence on the book business has been largely unheralded, the authors write. Their aim is to correct that with a chronology that touches on the stories of the famous (legendary Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham), the semi-famous (librarian Nancy Pearl, who inspired her own action figure). and the lesser known (Zitkala-Sa, a Lakota woman who was editor of American Indian Magazine in the late 19th century). In addition, entire primary source documents are included, among them a quiz from a 1938 issue of The Bookwoman, the association’s newsletter, that asked bookshop employees and owners questions such as “What is the wisest thing to do with an author who repeatedly offers to autograph her books—which you never stock?” (Partial answer: “I am just not able to keep your books in stock...”) Literary researchers will find a treasure trove of material here. [em](Mar.) [/em]