Vote: The Most Iconic Female Writer From History
To mark International Women's Day 2012, we're asking you to vote for the most iconic female writer of the past two hundred years.
Naturally, we've had to narrow it down a little.
Sticking to English language poetry and prose, we've left out brilliant journalists like Caitlin Moran, non-fiction authors like Claire Tomlin and great historical essayists like Mary Wollstonecraft.
Even from within the criteria, certain authors were left out on other grounds.
Harper Lee, who wrote one of the world's most beloved books (but only did it once), two of the Bronte sisters who we deemed only slightly less pioneering than the third (we won't spoil which one) and countless other worthy candidates narrowly missed the cut - something we hope you'll take up and debate with us in the comments below.
Yet despite these omissions, we believe the fifteen poets and authors we have selected represent a grand sweep of iconic female writers, from the proto-feminists undervalued in their time to the celebrated novelists whose next work we're anticipating in 2012.
It's not all highbrow figures from feminist literature either - blockbuster bestsellers, children's favourites and genre fiction giants are all vying for your vote.
Read the case for each writer in the gallery below, then scroll down to vote. We'll announce the winner next week.
VOTE:
Click to read David Cameron's blog How We're Tackling Violence Against Women: An Iceberg Under the Surface of Society.
Cherie Blair: Behind Every Successful Man is a Woman? Let's Reverse That Saying.
Loading comments… 
First Posted: 8/03/2012 07:58 Updated: 8/03/2012 11:53