Fiction on Protest and Activism

This week's resource is a continuation of the series on protest and activism. You'll find a short list of twelve works of fiction that either feature protest and activism or have been used to encourage political change. Directly below is a collection of resources connected to writing as activism. Writing has long been used as a tool in protests and movements for social change. The resources below provide guidance, context, and support for writers who seek to use their craft in this way. 

• Resources for Writers in Support of Justice and Action | Poets & Writers
• Websites about activism | Activist Handbook
• Spark: A 4C4Equality Journal – an open-access, online, peer-reviewed journal on activism in writing, rhetoric, and literacy studies
• Literary Activism – writers make worlds
• Resource Activism
• Activist Guide: The Power of Writing and Storytelling | ICNC
• Writing as Activism | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
• Writers and Politics Resources - The American Writers Museum
• Writers as Activists | Learning to Give
• Resources: Prison Writing / Arts Programs | Prison Activist Resource Center
• PEN America Prison Justice and Writing | Prison Activist Resource Center

Image Description: Books lined up on a table with their bindings facing up in a way common in secondhand book fairs. Each book is completely different from the next in color, text, and size.

Credit: Min An / Pexels

12 Works of Fiction with Connection to Protest or Activism

• Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
• The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch
• Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem
• Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets
• I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita
• The Animals' Conference by Erich Kästner
• The War Between The Tates by Alison Lurie
• Internment by Samira Ahmed
• Strumpet City by James Plunkett
• V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
• The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Sources

• 42 Inspirational Books for Young Activists (Imagination Soup): 42 Inspirational Books for Young Activists - Imagination Soup
• Making a Protest: Ten Political Novels to Challenge Your Views (BBC Arts): BBC Arts - The Novels That Shaped Our World - Making a protest: Ten political novels to challenge your views
• 9 Must-Read Works of Historical Protest Literature (Catalyst Planet): 9 Must-Read Works of Historical Protest Literature
• 17 Books Every Activist Should Read in 2019 (Mashable): 17 must-read books for activists | Mashable