Special issue of Women’s Writing (Taylor & Francis), Guest-edited by Irina Rabinovich and Brygida Gasztold

Deadline: February 28, 2024

Special issue of Women’s Writing (Taylor & Francis)

Unveiling Untold Narratives: Rediscovering the Literary Legacy of Jewish Female Writers and Representations of Jewish Women by Female Writers from the 1700s to the 1920s

Guest Edited by Irina Rabinovich and Brygida Gasztold

Description: This compilation seeks to shed light on the often-overlooked voices and hidden gems within the vast tapestry of Jewish women’s writing, as crafted by female authors during a transformative period in history.

Delving into the rich and diverse literary landscape spanning the 18th to the early 20th centuries, this special issue aims to rectify the historical oversight of significant contributions made by Jewish women writers. From the Enlightenment era through the Victorian age and into the early waves of feminism, these women defied societal expectations and challenged the status quo, using the power of the written word to articulate their experiences, dreams, and challenges.

One of the primary goals of this special issue is not only to highlight neglected voices but also to critically examine the representations of Jewish women by female writers during this pivotal period. By doing so, we aim to foster a nuanced understanding of how these representations have shaped and been shaped by cultural, social, and historical contexts. Through a careful exploration of the ways in which Jewish women writers portrayed their own identities, as well as the characters they created, we seek to unravel the complexities of gender, religion, and ethnicity in the literary landscape.

This special issue serves as a scholarly platform to reexamine familiar texts and to unearth hidden treasures, fostering a renewed appreciation for the resilience, creativity, and intellectual prowess of Jewish women writers. We aim to challenge conventional literary canons and invite our readers to join us in reevaluating the historical and cultural significance of these works. As we embark on this exploration, “Unveiling Untold Narratives” becomes a catalyst for reshaping our understanding of the literary contributions of Jewish women, both as authors and as the subjects of representation. Join us in this intellectual excavation, as we illuminate the pages that, for too long, have remained in the shadows, and celebrate the voices that deserve their rightful place in the literary canon.

We welcome essays on:

  • Periodical Culture
  • Poetry
  • All types of fiction and non-fiction

We also welcome suggestions for reviews and reviewers for this special issue of the journal.

Please submit 300-400-word abstracts + up to 6 keywords, and a brief biography for consideration to Irina Rabinovich (Holon Institute of Technology, Israel) irener@hit.ac.il  and Brygida Gasztold (Koszalin University of Technology, Poland)  bgasztold@gmail.com by 28 February 2024. Completed articles are expected to be between 6500­–8000 words and will be due 31 October 2024.

  • Contributors should follow the journal’s house style details of which are to be found on the Women’s Writing web site 

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/0999082.asp. This is the new MLA. Do note that instead of footnotes, we use endnotes with NO bibliography. All bibliographical information is included in the endnotes i.e., place of publication, publisher, and date of publication in brackets on first citation of a book.