“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

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About Gina

Gina Barreca

Gina Barreca has appeared, often as a repeat guest, on 20/20The Today ShowCNN, the BBCNPR 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 HumorIt’s Not That I’m Bitter, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World, and Babes in Boyland: A Personal History of Coeducation in the Ivy League. Her latest books are part of a series she’s editing on FAST WOMEN for Woodhall Press; these including FAST FUNNY WOMEN: 75 Essays of Flash Nonfiction (2021), FAST FIERCE WOMEN (2022), and FAST FALLEN WOMEN (forthcoming in 2023). Of the other seven 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 work has appeared in most major publications, including The New York TimesThe Independent of LondonThe Chronicle of Higher EducationCosmopolitan, and The Harvard Business Review; her blog for Psychology Today has well over 7.5 million views. 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 Fallen Women: 75 Essays of Flash Nonfiction

Fast Fallen Women: 75 Essays of Flash Nonfiction

Fast Fallen Women introduces 75 new essays about the dangerous and enthralling ways women fall—and how we get back on our feet, more deft, more decisive, and more daring than ever. Holding a compact mirror up to life with the same curiosity that enveloped Eve when she once held the apple, editor Gina Barreca’s latest inclusive collection of short, sharp, feminist pieces illuminate women’s courage, curiosity, and wit.

With new works by Amy Tan, Jane Smiley, Caroline Leavitt, Bobbie Anne Mason, Honor Moore, Darien Hsu Gee, Ilene Beckerman, and Lynn Peril.

“Barreca is sharp analyst of women’s humor…observant, witty, acerbic, and knowledgeable.”

—Los Angeles Times

“You can count on Gina for essays that are fun, feminist, and provocative.”

—Roz Warren in Women’s Voices for Change

“Barreca is an unfailingly winning narrator…”

—Publishers Weekly

“Barreca learned to do what any sassy smartypants would: challenge stale ideas and press buttons.”

—Chicago Tribune

Gina's Recent Articles

Gina's Other Books

Book Cover If You Lean In
They Used to Call Me Snow White... But I Drifted
Babes in Boyland
It's Not That I'm Bitter
I'm with Stupid
Make Mine A Double
Penguin Book of Women's Humor
Sweet Revenge
The Signet Book of American Humor
Don't Tell Mama
Perfect Husbands (& Other Fairy Tales)
Untamed and Unabashed
An ABC of Vice
Women and Comedy
Sex and Death in Victorian Literature
The Erotics of Instruction
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