Words by Women is an annual interdisciplinary lecture series that brings in women
scholars, writers, performers, and community activists from across the country and
across the disciplines. This event is hosted in the fall and is free and open to the public.
Beginning in 1981, this annual event is a chance for writers and audience members
to interact and engage in converation. This is an inspiring and instructive experience
for writers, writing students, and connoisseurs of good writing. More than 100 women
writers have enriched the lives of Wichita audiences, including poets, playwrights,
authors of fiction and nonfiction, and features a mix of national, regional, and local
authors.
Since restarting the series in 2023, WEIS has leaned into its interdisciplinary scope
choosing scholars, writers, and authors from among the different disciplines in the
humanities and social sciences.
Words By Women 2026
Thanks for making Words By Women 2025 a success! Check back in 2026 to learn more
about plans for next year's Words By Women events!
Dr. Breanne Fahs, professor of women’s and gender studies at Arizona State University,
lectures on “Hairy Subjects: Resistance and Revolution in Women’s Body Hair Politics.”
Dr. Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, a historian of Black women in the United States, gives lecture, “Julia Chinn: A
Story of Sex, Slavery, and Survival in the Old South”. The lecture is based on her
book, “The Vice-President’s Black Wife: The Untold Story of Julia Chinn.” Chinn, whose
story is mostly unknown, was the Black wife of the ninth vice president of the United
States and serves as an example of the intersectionality of race and gender in the
19th century United States.
