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Finalist, Benjamin Franklin Awards for books published by independent presses.

The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life ^[2] presents twelve celebrated women authors and draws on their diaries, letters, memoirs, and interviews to show how they expressed their views on the subjects of importance to every writer– from carving out time to write to conquering their inner demons to developing a “voice” to balancing the demands of family life with the need to write.

Buy from Amazon.com ^[3]

Atlas provides her own illuminating commentary as well and reveals how the lessons of classic women writers of the past still resonate with women writing today. This beautifully illustrated book, filled with more than 100 archival images, will inspire anyone who loves to write, no matter where they are on their creative journey.

Find out more about the authors whose journeys are detailed in this book, with additional inspiration from other classic women authors on the book’s companion web site.  ^[2] Published by Sellers Publishing.

Observations and wisdom from:
Louisa May Alcott  /  Jane Austen  /  Charlotte Brontë  /  Willa Cather
Edna Ferber  /  Madeleine L’Engle  /  L.M. Montgomery  /  Anaïs Nin
George Sand  /  Harriet Beecher Stowe  /  Edith Wharton  /  Virginia Woolf

This bountiful literary quilt of quotations and intimate glimpses of writers’ work lives is an ideal gift for your favorite book mama…or yourself. —Nina Shengold, Chronogram Magazine

That these women are shown to have been vulnerable not only brings them to life, but suggests that the path to writing well lies in the very risky process of actually doing it, not in the over-reaching goal of landing in the literary archives. —Julie Ann Charpentier, ForeWord Reviews 

Atlas gifts to us (women writers) a beautiful little tome of relaxation, discovery and tutelage at the hands of the greats. This book is simply a delight that is likely to live on your bedside table or among your favorites. —Allena Tapia, About.com/Freelance writing

Wouldn’t it be great to have Willa Cather, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen or Anais Nin all hanging out in your kitchen, offering you support and wisdom, food for thought to continue on? …  I can turn to any page and find inspiration, guidance, and wisdom from some of the most amazing writers of the last two centuries. — Alexandra Jamieson (Oprah-featured author of The Great American Detox Diet, and co-star of the Oscar-nominated hit movie Super Size Me)

I’ve only read through the book once and already my copy has those post-it flags all along the sides signaling places for me to come back to when I need a literary kick in the pants. —Katie Sluiter, Katie’s Bookcase 

• Find out more about Nava’s books. ^[4]