Guest blog post by Betsy Talbot

“Be a white man. Take credit.”

So says Jack Donaghy from the TV series 30 Rock.

Unlike many women, Donaghy has no trouble taking credit when credit is due (and even sometimes when it's not!).

This may sound crazy, but when it comes to gaining recognition, women can learn a few things from the likes of Jack Donaghy.

Hélène Cixous (born 5 June 1937) is a professor, French feminist writer, poet, philosopher, and literary critic.

She holds honorary degrees from Queen's University and the University of Alberta in Canada; University College Dublin in Ireland; the University of York and University College London in the UK; and Georgetown University, Northwestern University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the USA.

Rosa Chacel (b. June 3, 1898 in Valladolid; d. August 7, 1994, Madrid) was a famous and sometimes controversial writer from Spain. She was a native of Valladolid.

Chacel was the daughter of a teacher who sent her to live with her grandmother in Madrid. 

Xiao Hong (June 2, 1911 – January 22, 1942), also spelled Hsiao Hung, was a Chinese writer. Her real name was Zhang Naiying (张乃莹); she also used the pen name Qiao Yin.

Xiao Hong was born in Hulan county, Heilongjiang Province, on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival to a landowning family. Her mother died when Xiao Hong was young, and she had a difficult relationship with her conservative father growing up.

Elizabeth, Princess Bibesco née Elizabeth Asquith (26 February 1897 – 7 April 1945) was an English writer, active between 1921 and 1940.

A final posthumous collection of her stories, poems and aphorisms was published under the title Haven in 1951, with a preface by Elizabeth Bowen.