Willa Cather

I chose Willa Cather, because I remember learning(while reading My Antonia)that she was one of the first American female writers to break the gender barrier. When she first began to publish her work, companies would not accept it because she was a woman. Willa then began to submit work under the name "Will" Cather, the publishing companies then began to accept her work as well as compliment it. Willa Cather was born in 1873 in Virgina. In 1883 her family moved to Nebraska, which was monumental for Cather, as Nebraska is the setting for many of her writing. She attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and graduated in 1895. Cather worked as an editor for McClure's Magazine and a friend persuaded her to write. In 1923 she won a Pulitzer Prize. For more information on Willa Cather go to http://cather.unl.edu/life/bios/ahearn/index.htm