Joan Liffring-Zug Bourret (February 20, 1929 – October 16, 2022) was an American photographer, book publisher, and civil rights activist. On April 6, 1951, she became the first woman to photograph herself giving birth. She contributed more than 500,000 negatives from the 1940s to 2007 to the archives of the

State Historical Society of Iowa The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI), a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, serves as the official historical repository for the State of Iowa and also provides grants, public education, and outreach about Iowa history a ...

and has been called Iowa's premier documentary photographer of the 20th century. In 1996 she was inducted into the

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame The Iowa Women's Hall of Fame was created to acknowledge the accomplishments of female role models associated with the U.S. state of Iowa, and is an endeavor of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW). History In 1972, the state of Iow ...

. She founded Penfield Books in 1979. Penfield Books has published more than 110 titles. Bourret's autobiography, ''Pictures and People: A Search for Visual Truth and Social Justice'' was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Award by the

Independent Book Publishers Association The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is a not-for-profit membership organization serving the independent publishing community through advocacy and education. With nearly 3,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing trade association i ...

in the category of Autobiographies/Memoirs in 2012.

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* 1929 births 2022 deaths American women photographers People from Iowa City, Iowa American civil rights activists American book publishers (people) Documentary photographers 21st-century American women American women photojournalists {{Photographer-stub