--- title: Best Books by Women to Read to Understand the Election description: Here are the best women writers to read to understand the world today after the contentious presidential election. canonical: https://time.com/4567355/female-writers-election-2016/ author: Kastalia Medrano article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-11T16:09:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:50.351Z og:title: 10 Female Writers to Help You Understand the World After the Election og:description: From racial identity to national security og:url: https://time.com/4567355/female-writers-election-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3000491d20446509/6988ae2a428a9e0158cd4f9b/women-writers-politics-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2121 og:image:height: 1193 og:image:alt: Glasses on a stack of books og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Female Writers to Help You Understand the World After the Election twitter:description: From racial identity to national security twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3000491d20446509/6988ae2a428a9e0158cd4f9b/women-writers-politics-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Female Writers to Help You Understand the World After the Election > Sponsored content. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=32beffbb-d6bd-4067-8c2f-15db611ba0d5&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Kastalia Medrano](https://time.com/author/kastalia-medrano/) ## Kastalia Medrano Nov 11, 2016 4:09 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Kastalia Medrano](https://time.com/author/kastalia-medrano/) ## Kastalia Medrano Nov 11, 2016 4:09 PM UTC The world we woke up in Wednesday morning is very different from the one many of imagined it would be. In the majority of respects, though, the world is just as it was, and we’re simply realizing how blind we were to certain aspects of it. It’s this explosion of out presumed worldview, our tunnel vision echo chambers and personal bubbles, that’s the source of our cognitive dissonance. America’s populace, always a melting pot, will indeed continue to grow more diverse despite our president-elect’s [best efforts](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/09/what-it-will-take-for-president-trump-to-deport-millions-and-build-the-wall/). It’s vital that as we move forward as a nation we try to shake off any complacency in our perspective to understand human experiences that are not necessarily our own. To that end, here are 10 women whose writings might help us comprehend the things that will change when Donald Trump assumes the presidency, as well as the things that have always been around us, just less seen than they deserved to be. **1\. Rukmini Callimachi**A former poet, the [Romanian-born journalist](http://www.slate.com/articles/news%5Fand%5Fpolitics/interrogation/2016/07/rukmini%5Fcallimachi%5Fthe%5Fnew%5Fyork%5Ftimes%5Fisis%5Freporter%5Fdiscusses%5Fher%5Fbeat.html) now covers ISIS and Islamic extremism for the New York _Times._ She also writes about [challenges other than terrorism](http://archive.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/08/09/opium%5Faddictions%5Fgrip%5Fafghan%5Ffamilies%5Fvillages/?rss%5Fid=Boston.com+--+World+news) that still face the civilians of terror-ridden countries, which can otherwise be easy to overlook. You can follow Callimachi on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/rcallimachi). **2\. Sara Novic**A novelist and [magazine editor](http://www.sara-novic.com/about.html), Novic writes about [deafness and Deaf culture](https://www.guernicamag.com/daily/sara-novic-sign-of-the-times/). Her debut novel [_Girl At War_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0812986393/?tag=mottocom-20)follows a young Croatian girl as she navigates her adolescence following the breakup of Yugoslavia. You can follow her on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/NovicSara). **3\. Lindy West**The Seattle-based feminist writes about issues affecting women ranging from Internet harassment to sexual harassment to fat-shaming and taboos stifling discourse about periods and abortion. She currently has a regular [column in the _Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/west-lindy) and recently published a memoir, [_Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316348406/?tag=mottocom-20)_._ You can follow her on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/thelindywest). **4\. Roxane Gay**An incredibly prolific writer and professor, Gay is one of the strongest intersectional feminist voices in America today. Following the back-to-back releases of her first [novel](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802122515/?tag=mottocom-20) and [essay collection](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062282719/?tag=mottocom-20) in 2014, she’s found an increasingly larger audience for her writing on black identity, racism, rape, sexism, [politics](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/opinion/election-night-2016/the-audacity-of-hopelessness), bisexuality and [fat-shaming](http://www.xojane.com/issues/my-body-is-wildly-undisciplined-and-i-deny-myself-nearly-everything-i-desire). She contributes [regular op-eds to the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/column/roxane-gay)_._ You can follow her on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/rgay). **5\. Ellen Nakashima**Long-time [Washington _Post_ reporter](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/ellen-nakashima/) Ellen Nakashima covers national security, including cyberintelligence and civil liberties. Her frequent writing is one of the best resources for understanding [everything that’s been going on with the FBI](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fbi-director-comey-says-agency-wont-recommend-charges-over-clinton-email/2016/11/06/f6276b18-a45e-11e6-ba59-a7d93165c6d4%5Fstory.html) this year. You can follow her on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/search?q=ellen%20nakashima&src=typd). **6\. Claudia Rankine**A newly minted [MacArthur Fellow](https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/claudia-rankine), Rankine is a multi-genre writer who also contributes regularly to the New York [_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/magazine/the-meaning-of-serena-williams.html)_._ Her essays and poems generally focus on sexism, racism and black identity. Her 2014 masterpiece on racial microaggressions, [_Citizen: An American Lyric_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1555976905/?tag=mottocom-20), is a devastating and beautiful account of black humanity that should be read by anyone, regardless of race or gender, who is interested in deepening their understanding of what it means to be a 21st-century American. To our detriment, she is not on Twitter. **7\. Julia Ioffe**The Russian-American journalist is a former foreign correspondent who covers politics and currently writes [primarily for _Politico_](http://www.politico.eu/author/julia-ioffe/). As our president-elect’s relationship with Vladimir Putin will be of increasing interest come January, Ioffe’s mix of personal perspective and objective journalistic experience should only become more valuable, whether regarding [Russian cyberintelligence](http://www.politico.eu/article/seven-reasons-the-new-russian-hack-announcement-is-a-big-deal-vladimir-putin-donald-trump-barack-obama/) or the [threats facing the nation’s LGBTQ civilians](https://newrepublic.com/article/112362/russias-gay-propaganda-ban-putin-brings-past-present). She’s also spoken out about the anti-Semitic threats she faced as a result of her widely read [Melania Trump profile in _GQ_](http://www.gq.com/story/melania-trump-gq-interview). You can follow her on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/juliaioffe). **8\. Janet Mock**An author and advocate, Mock [writes openly about being transgender](http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/advice/a6075/born-male/) in a country that both stifles transgender voices and reacts to them with violence and hatred. Her memoir [_Redefining Realness_ ](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1476709130/?tag=mottocom-20)is a narrative not just on the struggles that accompany being transgendered, but on those that accompany mixed-race heritage and poverty. You can follow her on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/janetmock?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor). **9\. Kate Bowler**A professor of Christian history, [Bowler](https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/kate-bowler) is the author of [_Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0199827699/?tag=mottocom-20)a compassionate, decade-long look at an often-caricaturized community by a woman of faith who is nevertheless skeptical of Evangelism. Her [essay on the reaction to her diagnosis of terminal cancer](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/opinion/sunday/death-the-prosperity-gospel-and-me.html) in the prosperity gospel community is truly heart-breaking, and also interspersed with moments of great joy. She [blogs about illness and Christianity](http://katebowler.com/category/blog/), has attempted to help us understand [the faith of Donald Trump](http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/21/politics/trump-religion-gospel/) and is working on a second book on the lives of Evangelical women. You can follow her on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/KatecBowler). **10\. Mohja Kahf**The Damascus-born [poet and professor](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/mohja-kahf) writes about [issues of identity](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100301968.html) – Islam, sexuality, political resistance – in contexts both creative and academic. In addition to writing about Syrian politics and Islam, her novel _The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf_ centers on gender and ethnicity. Her Twitter account has not been active in several months, but you can follow her [here](https://twitter.com/ProfKahf). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4567355/female-writers-election-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4567355/female-writers-election-2016/"},"headline":"10 Female Writers to Help You Understand the World After the Election","datePublished":"2016-11-11T16:09:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:50.351Z","description":"From racial identity to national security","url":"https://time.com/4567355/female-writers-election-2016/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3000491d20446509/6988ae2a428a9e0158cd4f9b/women-writers-politics-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kastalia Medrano","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kastalia-medrano/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3000491d20446509/6988ae2a428a9e0158cd4f9b/women-writers-politics-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Glasses on a stack of books","caption":"Glasses on a stack of books","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4567355/female-writers-election-2016/","name":"10 Female Writers to Help You Understand the World After the Election"}}]}] ```