Dead Women Reading is a literary excavation site. We dig into the works of women who have been buried by the canon, overshadowed by their male contemporaries, or quietly erased from the syllabus. Some of our first stories, like The Yellow Wallpaper, show up in classrooms, but often in isolation and stripped of the fuller history and literary networks that shaped them.

Here, we return that depth. Through readings, reviews, essays, and multimedia storytelling, we explore these works in their original contexts, celebrating their genius, their grit, and the worlds they built despite the odds. It is part literary revival, part history lesson, part séance.

Whether you are a lifelong reader, a recovering English major, or just here for the gothic drama, Dead Women Reading invites you to pull up a chair, light a candle, and turn the page.

Because these women are not footnotes. They are the story.

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Crystal Hicks is a librarian, writer, and former literature and film professor who loves nothing more than unearthing a good story. She builds communities around books, whether that means curating rare collections, creating zines, or finding the perfect read for a rainy afternoon. Equal parts researcher and storyteller, she believes in the power of language to connect, provoke, and spark curiosity.