Four Women Authors for You to Read and Learn from This Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month, which is a month that honors and celebrates the contributions women have made throughout history and continue to make today. International Women’s Day also takes place on March 8th, which is a day that also celebrates the achievements of women economically, culturally, and politically, as well as raises awareness about women’s equality, lobbies for gender parity, and fundraises for female-focused charities.
One important way to celebrate both Women’s History Month as well as International Women’s Day is to elevate their voices and highlight their stories and work. In light of that, we are highlighting four of our instructors who are published authors and educators with works you can read and workshops you can sign up for to explore literary works and enhance your writing skills.
Read on to learn more about these inspirational women and their compelling works!
Astoria Wright
Astoria Wright is an author, blogger, poet, and former educator. She has published 16 mystery novels including The Faerie Apothecary Mysteries series and A Witch’s Thrift Shop Mystery series which are available to purchase on major retail sites. In addition, she runs the Cozy Mystery Library where authors and readers in the cozy mystery community can find resources to help them find their key to success or their next great read!
Wright is also the instructor of our online workshop series, “Writer’s Dream Course,” where she shows aspiring authors how to go from page one to published in 3 easy-to-follow workshops! Check it out, here.
Kenya Nelson
Kenya Nelson is the author of Ungrateful, featuring a main character who is an alternative representation to mainstream media’s portrayal of Black women. At the young age of ten, she wrote and illustrated a children’s book series that she sold at the Detroit Art Festival. Then at the age of fifteen, she completed her first unpublished novel, and received numerous writing awards throughout her youth like the NAACP Act-So Award for playwriting when she was 16.
Nelson holds a Masters in TESOL as well as a Bachelor’s in English. For her graduate research, she focused on Critical Race Theory and how it can be applied in the ESL classrooms, developing a research framework for teachers to explore and decolonize racial ideologies in ESL education. This research study was selected to be used in the Capstone Graduate course at Hamline University. Kenya is currently serving on the International TEFL Academy alumni committee board.
She is also offering a variety of workshops on our platform including, “Creative Writing for ESL Learners: Telling Your Story on Social Media for ages 13-16,” “Alternative Perspectives: Challenging the Eurocentric Narratives of Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” and “Un-stereotyping: “Decolonizing” Offensive and Racial Tropes in Ethnic Literature.”
Charmonda Hatcher-Wallace
Charmonda Hatcher-Wallace is a published author and holds a Masters in English Literature with over 10 years of teaching experience. Her thesis titled “Biblical Commentaries and Glosses and Their Effect Upon the Black Slave, Blacks in American and African Americans” was published and reviews the linguistic variances of commentaries and glosses as well as the cultural and philosophical differences between blacks in America and African Americans.
Charmonda has studied British Literature, World Literature, American Literature and Black Literature, and has an affinity for Toni Morrison, Charles Dickens and mythology. She also has videos on the Teaching Channel related to writing and grammar which have been rated as highly effective. Charmonda is the instructor of the online workshop, “Who’s That Girl: The Female Archetype In Literature & Writing,” which will take place on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at 3 PM ET.
Roxanne Villarreal
Roxanne Villarreal is a published poet and holds a Masters in English with over 25 years of teaching experience. Since 1997, she has presented at national and regional conferences and has facilitated workshops on how to effectively teach writing and literature to students of different ages and abilities.
Her experience continues to inspire her to show students how literary classics still apply today. “Redefining the American Dream Through Literature,” “Rebellion: Jo's Rhetoric in Little Women,” and “Perception and Compassion in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein” are some of her upcoming workshops you can sign up for on our website.
Be sure to check out the diverse online workshops of the women we highlighted above to learn from their knowledge and expertise! How are you celebrating Women’s History Month, and who are some of your favorite women authors? Let us know in the comments below!