Humber College journalism professor Joy Crysdale’s book Fearless Female Journalists has been shortlisted by the American Library Association’s (ALA) Amelia Bloomer Project, an annual list of the best feminist books of the year for readers under the age of 18.
The book list is published by the Feminist Task Force of the American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table. It is well-known and respected amongst librarians and influences what books are ordered into American and Canadian libraries. Fearless Female Journalists is one of only three Canadian books on the nomination list.
The book highlights the careers of 10 outstanding journalists in Canada and around the world. It starts with the story of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a woman born in Delaware in 1823 who came to Canada and became the first black woman editor in North America. It ends with an account of Thembi Ngubane, a South African woman afflicted with AIDS whose diary of her illness reached more than 50 million people via radio and whose blog connected with even more before her death in 2009. There are also profiles of Canadian journalists Doris Anderson and Barbara Frum, American interviewer and talk show host Katie Couric, and Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
“I am thrilled by the attention Fearless Female Journalists has received,” says Joy Crysdale. “I truly hope the book increases understanding of the vital role journalism has in society, and that readers will learn the stories of some of the brave women who, in many ways, risked their lives to be journalists. They changed the world through their journalism – I really hope as many readers as possible can understand what these women did and what journalism can and should do.”
Final decisions of which books go on the list will be made in January 2011.
For more information, visit Humber's School of Journalism.
