NYWIFT Blog

#SummerHours: Book to Screen…and Back Again: Wonder Woman (and Her Secret History)

Goodbye, winter caps—hello, summer hats! It’s that glorious time of year where many of us can switch from content creators to content consumers. NYWIFT members Mellini Kantayya and Kathryn O’Kane have put together #SummerHours, a series of fun summer books, movies, and TV shows by or about women.


By Mellini Kantayya

What do the lie detector, women’s suffrage, bondage, polyamory, Margaret Sanger, and Family Circle magazine have in common with one of this summer’s biggest blockbusters? Wonder Woman!

Secret_History_Of_Wonder_Woman_Cover.jpg

Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore offers up the salacious truth-is-stranger-than-fiction details in her book, The Secret History of Wonder Woman. Per NPR’s Etelka Lehoczky, The Secret History of Wonder Woman relates a tale so improbable, so juicy, it’ll have you saying, ‘Merciful Minerva!’”

 

(Cover photo by Bridgette Matthews)
PUBLISHED BY

Mellini_Kantayya

Mellini_Kantayya Mellini Kantayya is an actor, author of "Actor. Writer. Whatever. (essays on my rise to the top of the bottom of the entertainment industry)", contributor to Huffington Post Comedy, and an active NYWIFT member. www.mellinikantayya.com

View all posts by Mellini_Kantayya

1 Comment

busyk

I LOVED this book and all the quirky history that led to the inception of one of our most beloved superheros.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

Related Posts

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Kelli Reilly

Welcome to NYWIFT, Kelli Reilly! Kelli Reilly is a producer, director, and writer working across narrative film and documentary, based between New York and Los Angeles, and the founder of Quartermaster Creative. She studied film and television at NYU Tisch with a focus in experimental cinema and got her start working on acclaimed documentaries, including Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story, The Vow, and Student Athlete. Her recent producing work includes I Got You, SLICK, and The Daughter, and she is currently in post-production on the feature documentary Viva La Dita. She is also in production on the period feature The Florist and is a writer and contributor to the New York Times–recommended podcast Look Behind the Look. In our interview, Kelli discussed how she shaped her artistry, her inspirations, and her upcoming work.

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Kasey O’Brien

Welcome to NYWIFT, Kasey O’Brien! Kasey O’Brien (she/they) is a queer-identifying filmmaker based in Queens, working across both fictional narratives and documentaries. While she has dabbled in various positions in film production (including acting, writing, camera operation, and post-production), she is most at home directing and producing. Kasey was integral to the launch of NYU Tisch’s Master‘s in Virtual Production at the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center, whose inaugural cohort graduated in May 2025. She serves on the board of directors of PANO Network and is a founding member of The Garret Theatre Company. MFA from The New School.  In our interview, Kasey discussed her journey to working in independent film production. 

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Carmen Matias

Welcome to NYWIFT, Carmen Matias! A graduate of Hunter College in the 1970s, producer Carmen earned a degree in Broadcast with a minor in Theatre. Television was both an escape and a source of fantasy throughout her early life, ultimately guiding her toward a career in the medium, which she came to see as the best possible profession for her creative ambitions. In our interview, Carmen discussed her experience producing and shared her advice for young creatives. 

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Juleyka Lantigua

Welcome to NYWIFT, Juleyka Lantigua! Juleyka is an award-winning filmmaker, journalist, and the Founder of LWC Studios, a digital media studio dedicated to creating socially conscious storytelling for rising-majority audiences. As a filmmaker, she has executive produced multiple short films and documentaries, including the Peabody Award-nominated podcast series 70 Million through LWC Studios. A Fulbright Scholar with a Master’s degree in Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing, Juleyka brings a multidisciplinary approach to storytelling—one that blends rigorous reporting with deeply human narratives across platforms.

READ MORE
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
css.php