“Barreca is a sharp analyst of women’s humor…observant, witty, acerbic, and knowledgeable.”
Los Angeles Times
“An impassioned, wily, and often hilarious argument for women to unleash their sense of humor on the world.”
The Chicago Tribune
“Barreca’s humor shines through.”
Library Journal
“Wise, liberating and merry!”
Booklist
Photo credit for this image and the one above to Elena Seibert
Gina Barreca has appeared, often as a repeat guest, on 20/20, The Today Show, CNN, the BBC, NPR and, yes, on Oprah to discuss gender, power, politics, and humor. Her earlier books include the bestselling They Used to Call Me Snow White But I Drifted: Women’s Strategic Use of Humor, It’s Not That I’m Bitter, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World, If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse, and Babes in Boyland: A Personal History of Coeducation in the Ivy League. Of the other six books she’s written or co-written, several have been translated into to other languages–including Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese and German. Called “smart and funny” by People magazine and “Very, very funny. For a woman,” by Dave Barry, Gina was deemed a “feminist humor maven” by Ms. Magazine. Novelist Wally Lamb said “Barreca’s prose, in equal measures, is hilarious and humane.”
Gina’s award-winning weekly columns from The Hartford Courant are now distributed internationally by the Tribune Co.; her blog for Psychology Today has well over 6 million views. Gina’s work has appeared in most major publications, including The New York Times, The Independent of London, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Cosmopolitan, and The Harvard Business Review. Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Connecticut, Gina’s also the winner of UConn’s highest award for excellence in teaching. Read more about Gina…
Fast Funny Women is a broad collection: 75 women writers, ages 20 to 89, were invited by editor Gina Barreca to make a party out of their life’s most unnerving, challenging, illuminating, desperate, and hilarious moments. Political campaigners, devoted teachers, lousy daughters, good mothers, would-be nuns, admired sportswriters, grad-school-wanna-bes, revenge-driven sisters, frustrated roommates, body-fluid-sorting professionals, lace-loving fashion mavens, intrepid daters, hungry lovers, justice-seeking nasty-women, ACE wedding celebrants, trapped wives, and women with all kinds of ammunition tell their stories—and their stories are all under 750 words. You know many of these brilliant women, but you’ve never heard them like this: with new works commissioned for the book from NYT Bestseller and member of the American Academy of Poets Marge Piercy, Pulitzer-Prize winner Jane Smiley, NYT bestseller graphic artist Mimi Pond, New Yorker staff cartoonist Liza Donnelly, Commander of the British Empire Fay Weldon, bestselling author of Love, Loss, and What I Wore Ilene Beckerman, Sylvia creator Nicole Hollander, and stand-up comics Lisa Landry and Leighann Lord. Read more…
“Barreca is sharp analyst of women’s humor…observant, witty, acerbic, and knowledgeable.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Substantial,” “weighty,” and "large" are not bad words. The world’s narrow ideas of our lives and bodies need changing more urgently than anybody needs to lose 15 pounds.
March 3rd, 2021 | 7:00pm EST
Gina Barreca, “Fast Funny Women” in Conversation with Leighann Lord — Virtual Author Talk with RJ Julia Booksellers
March 4th, 2021 | 7:00pm – 8:00pm EST
Did She Just Say That? Women’s Voices, Impropriety, and The Power of Speaking Up — Virtual Author Talk with Ridgefield Library
March 10th, 2021 | 7:00pm EST
Gina Barreca and Nicole Hollander for “Fast Funny Women” — Virtual Author Event & Book Signing with The Book Cellar Inc.
March 25th, 2021 | 7:00pm – 8:00pm EST
Why 2021 Will Need All The Humor You Can Provide: Laughter, Community, and Strength — Virtual Event with The Women & Girls Fund of CT
Face the State
Gina and Jim Vicevich, former Channel 3 reported and host of Sound Off Connecticut on WTIC, join Face the State to talk about Campaign 2016. Watch here…
Guest on The Food Schmooze
Gina on The Food Schmooze with Faith Middleton Listen here…
© 2021, Gina Barreca. All Rights Reserved.