Information found by: Br0ken_Author and rorolovez

Female authors are an underrated section of the writing workplace, with only 53.8% of authors are female in America. However, as of 2020, women have started to publish more books than men, and in 2022, women earned 96% of what men earned in previous years. This is a huge accomplishment in women's development, so The Gemme Community wants to start Women's History Month with underrated female authors.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in Nigeria and was born on September 15, 1977. She was surrounded by books and her Igbo heritage storytelling traditions. She was always drawn to literature but noticed that the stories she read as a child mostly featured Western characters and settings. Determined to tell stories that reflected her own experiences, she pursued writing while studying in the U.S. Over the years, she has become one of the most influential voices in contemporary literature, tackling themes of race, identity, feminism, and post-colonialism. Some of her notable works include: Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), Americanah (2013), We Should All Be Feminists (2014), and Notes on Grief (2021).

Born Mahoko Yoshimoto (July 24, 1964, in Japan), she adopted the pen name "Banana." Raised in a creative family, her father was a renowned philosopher, and she was immersed in art and literature from an early age. While pursuing literature studies at Nihon University, she penned Kitchen, a novel examining love, grief, and the comfort of food, which gained international acclaim. Her writing possesses a dreamy, delicate style, delving into emotions and relationships in a manner that deeply resonates with readers. Some of her notable works include: Kitchen (1988), Goodbye Tsugumi (1989), NP (1990), Amrita (1994), and The Lake (2005).

Isabel Allende's life has been shaped by stories—both personal and political. Her father was a cousin of Chilean President Salvador Allende, and after the 1973 military coup, she fled the country, eventually settling in Venezuela. She was working as a journalist when she wrote The House of the Spirits, a novel that began as a letter to her dying grandfather. That letter turned into one of the most beloved works of magical realism, launching her career as a bestselling author. Allende's novels often center on strong, complex women and explore themes of love, exile, and resilience. She was born on August 2, 1942, in Chile. Some of her notable works include: The House of the Spirits (1982), Eva Luna (1987), Paula (1994), Daughter of Fortune (1999), and A Long Petal of the Sea (2019)

Annie Ernaux writes with a kind of fearless honesty that has made her one of the most important literary voices in France. Born into a working-class family in Normandy (September 1, 1940), she was the first in her family to pursue higher education. Her books examine class, memory, and the passage of time. Rather than writing traditional novels, she crafts stories from real moments in her life, blending personal experience with broader social themes. Her unflinching approach to storytelling earned her the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022. Some of her notable works include: Cleaned Out (1974), A Man's Place (1983), Simple Passion (1992), The Years (2008), and Getting Lost (2022).

With Ojibwe and German-American ancestry (June 7, 1954), Louise Erdrich grew up listening to tales from her Native American relatives, which later became the foundation of her writing. She studied literature and creative writing, eventually becoming one of the most celebrated Native American authors of our time. Her novels weave together generations of history, exploring themes of identity, love, and survival. Deeply connected to indigenous storytelling traditions, her work paints vivid, multi-layered portraits of Native American life, past and present. Some of her notable works include: Love Medicine (1984), The Beet Queen (1986), The Round House (2012), LaRose (2016), and The Night Watchman (2020).

Buchi Emechete was a writer that specialized in novels, plays, autobiographies, and children's books. Her (1974) debut novel was called "Second Class Citizen," which had serious themes such as female independence, freedom of education, and systematic racism. After the release, she gained recognition for the book and her other works, such as "The Bride Price," "The Slave Girl," and "The Joys of Motherhood." The other pieces of work had themes of slavery, tension between culture/traditions, motherhood, child marriage, and many other issues that occurred in Nigeria. Although she was recognized as the "first successful black woman novelist in Britain after 1948," she experienced abuse from her husband, which motivated her to write stories. In the late 80s, however, she started to write novels based on sexual and racial prejudice to UK immigrants and visited several American universities. Her works leave an impact on female literature and brings awareness to the racism black women and immigrants faced in Britain. She was born July 21, 1944, and died January 25th, 2017.

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was a British and American novelist and screenwriter. She collaborated with "Merchant Ivory Productions." In 1951, she started to write about her experiences in India and based novels off of Indian subjects. In total, she wrote a dozen novels, 23 screenplays, and 8 collections of short stories. She was awarded many prizes, but she was the first person to win both a Booker Prize and an Oscar. Ruth experienced a tragic childhood; her family was accused of being communists and experienced the violent actions during Kristallnacht (also known as "Night of Broken Glass"). Her family was one of the last groups to flee the Nazi regime in 1939. In 1939, she emigrated to Britain. Her works were often based on Indian romance, arranged marriages, and explored Idealism in early India. Ruth was a symbol of freedom in India and female success. She was born on May 7th, 1927, and died April 3rd, 2013.

Laura Esquivel is a Mexican novelist, screenwriter, and politician. She served in the "Chamber of Deputies" for the Morena Party from 2015-2018. She also qualified as an instructor for Theatre Workshops, Script Assessment, and Workshops of Writing Laboratories. Her love for screenplay motivated her to create a novel in 1989, titled "Como Agua Para Chocolate" (Like Water for Chocolate). Her novels included magical realism and the importance of food. For example, "Como Agua Para Chocolate" was about redactions of traditional Mexican recipes. At first, it received poor recognition in Mexico, but in 1990, the book became "Mexico's Bestseller" and was later translated into 20 different languages. The book was developed into a film and premiered in 1992. The film was at the top of Mexican Film Awards, received 10 Ariel Awards, and became the highest grossing "foreign" film in America. Laura not only symbolizes the importance of traditions, but shows her female independence. She was born September 20, 1950.

Katherine Mansfield was a NZ writer and critic. She was an important figure in the Modernist Movement. She often wrote about anxiety, sexuality, Christianity, and existentialism; her works were short stories and poems. She used happy memories from her childhood to inspire her to write some of her short stories, such as "Prelude." However, her first official publication was "His Little Friend." She was also inspired by French Symbolists and Oscar Wilde. Her works left an impact on New Zealand and the Modernist Movement. She was born October 14th, 1888, and died January 9th, 1923.

Zora Neale Hurston was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. Before she was a writer, she conducted research on anthropology and ethnography as a scholar in various universities, such as Barnard College and Columbia University. She often wrote stories on the struggles of the American South and was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Zora's determination led her to be a figure for Black history and portrayed various struggles of the 20th century. She was born on January 7, 1891, and died January 28, 1960.