March is Women’s History Month and a perfect time to praise the accomplishments of our state’s female writers. It’s a great time to learn more about one of your favorite writers or discover a new literary voice.

Based partly on responses from my Regional Readers, I will recommend four of Kentucky’s highly-regarded female authors and some emerging stars, too.

Janice Holt Giles (1909-1979) was a prolific novelist and a successful writer of Kentucky fiction. The Regional Readers read "The Believers," a novel about the Shaker communities in Kentucky, last year and we’re going to read "Johnny Osage" this year. We have sixteen of Giles’ books in our store.

Harriette Simpson Arnow (1908-1986) is a novelist best-known for "The Dollmaker," but she wrote some highly regarded social histories, too. We have five Arnow books in stock.

Caroline Gordon (1895-1981) was a novelist, short story writer, critic, and a writer of national importance. She is not well-known today, but she still holds an important place in Kentucky literature. Our regional fiction section contains "Caroline Gordon: The Collected Stories" which includes "The Captive," another variant of the Jenny Wiley story.

Elizabeth Madox Roberts (1881-1941) was a poet and novelist. In our store, you’ll find her two great classics, "The Time of Man" and "The Great Meadow," perhaps the greatest novel of Kentucky frontier life.

In Kentucky today, there are a number of great female writers. Many are continuing to grow in national recognition.

I recently wrote about Bobbie Ann Mason, a formidable, national talent who has returned to her Kentucky roots.

Another Kentuckian who has burst upon the regional and national scene is Linda Scott DeRosier, from nearby Johnson County. Her memoirs "Creeker" and "Songs of Life and Grace" capture Eastern Kentucky life in the 1940s and 1950s. No one has a better ear for our language or eye for our cultural practices than Linda, who has been a good friend to the Jesse Stuart Foundation for many years.

There are many contemporary female writers in this region, many more than I can recognize here, but you will find their works in our bookstore. My reading group truly enjoyed "Above the Slate," a novel about Eastern Kentucky coal-mining life by Lou Martin.

History buffs will enjoy "The Journals of Tommie Lee Hubbard" by Deborah Nelson-Campbell, "Kentucky Women" by Eugenia Potter, "House Calls" by Alma Roberts, and "Courageous Paths" by Jane B. Stephenson.

Every female writer from Kentucky that I have mentioned represents hundreds more whose works will richly repay your reading efforts. I encourage you to celebrate Women’s History Month by re-reading an old favorite or discovering a new one.

These books and many thousands more are available at the Jesse Stuart Foundation Bookstore, 1645 Winchester Avenue in downtown Ashland. Our store hours are 9-5, Monday - Friday.