Six Badass Ladies You Should Know
Don’t miss any of their inspiring interviews!
Ellen Oh: Author, attorney, activist
Interview / Bonus materials
Léonicka Valcius: Book buyer, activist
Interview / Bonus materials
Pallavi Yetur: Therapist, film buff, singer
Interview / Bonus materials
Maya Rock: Author, freelance editor, journalist
Interview / Bonus materials
Sarah Enni: Writer, journalist, podcaster
Interview / Bonus materials
Jessica Metcalfe: Boutique owner, academic, professor, poet
Interview / Bonus materials
If you have suggestions for Badass Ladies to profile, please use the ask box – or submit links!
I was in JROTC in high school and the one principle I came away with was “Know yourself and seek self-improvement.” To me that means, constantly striving to be the best “you” you can be and give the world everything you have to offer.— Bookseller and activist Léonicka Valcius gives her advice to aspiring badass ladies
(Source: katehart.net)
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What inspires this week’s Badass Lady You Should Know, Léonicka Valcius?
3 places:
The CN Tower always reminds me of how blessed I have been to get so many wonderful opportunities in a short time. Beaches remind me of the beauty and power of the natural world, and mountains remind me that I am small and my life is fleeting.
3 books:
Picking just three is so difficult! As a child, series like The Baby-sitters Club and The Royal Diaries made me fall in love with books. In high school, reading for English class was often a chore but Lorca’s “La Casa de Bernarda Alba” and Miller’s “The Crucible” captivated me despite the essays I had to write on them. And in the past few years, The Spiritwalker Trilogy by Kate Elliott, Long Hidden edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older, The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin, Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor stretched my imagination and made me demand more from fiction.
3 songs/albums:
“Shadowland” from the Lion King Musical and “I Was Here” by Beyonce always move me to tears. And this week, “Feelin’ Myself” and “Want Some More” from Nicki Minaj’s The Pinkprint tie for “song that reminds me I’m a badass.”
3 things she’d like to learn:
Excel: I will consider this achieved when I can make cells in one spreadsheet populate based on data in another spreadsheet and create a pivot table in a 3rd spreadsheet.
CSS: I really want to learn code but I would need to start with a language that is relevant to my everyday work so I don’t lose the skill. Since I work on a number of different websites, learning CSS would be great!
To cook: The other day I overcooked oatmeal and it was the most pathetic breakfast ever. I should probably learn to feed myself appetizing food if I want to be considered a Real Adult.
Kate: What would your superhero costume look like?
Léonicka: Beyonce’s “***Flawless” costume from the On the Run tour. Or a burlesque outfit. Honestly, I would be that super sexy yet ridiculously impractical superhero that the real superheroes leave behind when they go on missions.
Kate: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever gotten?
Léonicka: A woman once stopped me to say I have excellent posture. Why thank you, stranger!
Kate: What quote do you think needs to be immortalized in handicraft?
Léonicka: "Always be creating.“ -Ann Daramola
Léonicka Valcius is a Toronto-based publishing professional who advocates for diversity in literature and the publishing industry. You can learn more at leonicka.com, follow her on Twitter, or check out her work at The Toast, the CBC,Open Book Toronto, Strange Horizons, and more. And don’t miss her Badass Ladies You Should Know profile!
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"Badass Ladies You Should Know” is brought to you by Kate Hart (kdhart), author of AFTER THE FALL, coming 2016 from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. If you add her book on Goodreads, she will love you forever.
Badass Ladies You Should Know
Recommended by this week’s Badass, Léonicka Valcius:
- “Feminista Jones is a social worker, author, speaker, and sex-positive feminist blogger.”
- “Zetta Elliott is an author and educator whose passion for children’s literature continuously inspires me.”
- “Heather Payne is an entrepreneur and founder of Ladies Learning Code in Canada. I volunteered for them a few times in the beginning and am SO impressed by how much they’ve grown in a short time.”
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Léonicka Valcius is a Toronto-based publishing professional who advocates for diversity in literature and the publishing industry. You can learn more at leonicka.com, follow her on Twitter, check out her work at The Toast, the CBC,Open Book Toronto, Strange Horizons, and more – and don’t forget to check out her Badass Ladies You Should Know profile!
*
“Badass Ladies You Should Know” is brought to you by Kate Hart (kdhart), author of AFTER THE FALL, coming 2016 from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. If you add her book on Goodreads, she will love you forever.
Ask them what their goals are and how you can help. Listen to them and give them the tools they need succeed without you. Respect their agency. Respect that maybe they don’t want your help.— Bookseller and activist Léonicka Valcius tells Kate Hart the best ways to support other women.
(Source: katehart.net)
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Badass Ladies You Should Know:
Bookseller and activist Léonicka Valcius
“These days, no conversation about literature or publishing is complete without a discussion of diversity and equity,” says Léonicka Valcius, this week’s Badass Lady You Should Know. Léonicka is a tireless advocate for inclusive literature, leading important conversations online and elsewhere, and I’m honored to share some of her wisdom here. (Special thanks to the also-badass catagator for connecting us!)
(Source: katehart.net)
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