Nice Work by Nasty Woman

By Linda L. Richards
In some ways, Nasty Woman Press was born almost the moment Donald Trump was elected as the U.S. president back in 2016. Award-winning author Kelli Stanley knew something had to be done. But what could one writer—a fiction writer, at that—do in the face of all that she sensed was about to come? Stanley allowed the moment to galvanize her, and she started putting together a crew.

The organization that resulted from all of that galvanizing is a registered non-profit called the Creative Resistance. Members are authors, readers, attorneys, librarians, editors, literary agents, artists, entertainers, publishers, performers, and others. “People who value creativity and imagination. People who value education, the environment, human rights, and a saner, more compassionate world,” says the organization’s Web site. Their imprint takes its name from an insult Trump directed at his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, during a 2016 presidential debate (“such a nasty woman”).

The first book-length publication from this resistance-driven organization drops this week, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Shattering Glass is intended to be the first in a series of anthologies, and if this one is a taste, we have some great reading ahead of us.

The book collects essays, interviews, articles, and short fiction on the stated theme—the empowerment of women—but it really is so much more. A sharp and beautifully rendered window into this cultural moment, crafted by passion and a deep need to try and right, or at least articulate, something that has gone terribly wrong.

And this is just the crew we want to have sharing stellar thoughts not only about but also around this moment in history. Contributors include Heather Graham, Valerie Plame (yes, that Valerie Plame), Sandi Ault, Eric Beetner, Cara Black, Rhys Bowen, former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, Hallie Ephron, Rachael Howzell Hall, Charlaine Harris, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Toni L.P. Kelner, Catriona McPherson, S.J. Rozan, Clea Simon, Alexandra Sokoloff, Kelli Stanley, Kate Thornton, Jacqueline Winspear, and several others. Profits from the sale of this collection will go to Planned Parenthood.

It’s a stunning lineup of authors writing to us from their hearts at an incredible moment in time. Run, don’t walk.