Donnell has co-edited two major textbooks in the field of anglophone Caribbean literature.
The Routledge Reader in Caribbean Literature (1996) recovered many lesser-known literary works, especially those published before the so-called "boom" of the 1950s.
The Routledge Companion to Anglophone Caribbean Literature (2011) brings together three generations of critics to map a scholarly reassessment of the field. Although celebrated as a pioneering black Jamaican
feminist and
nationalist, Marson's literary works were often dismissed for mimicking European style. Donnell has repeatedly argued that Marson's poetry powerfully represents her complicated relationship to both nationalism and feminism. Donnell's essay "Visibility, Violence and Voice? Attitudes to Veiling Post-11 September" appeared in
Veil: Veiling, Representation and Contemporary Art (2003), edited by
David A. Bailey and Gilane Tawadros. The essay gained attention because of its discussion of the
veil as a symbol of
political and
cultural identity in the
Muslim world. Donnell discusses how the
West's concentration on the veil diverts attention from other issues such as legal rights, education and access to healthcare, connecting to debates within
Islamic feminism. Donnell's 2025 book,
Lost and Found: An A-Z of Neglected Writers of the Anglophone Caribbean (
Papillote Press) is characterised by
Jacqueline Bishop as "an astonishment and a revelation ... literary and biographical excavation at its best", and in the words of
Bernardine Evaristo: "This is a fascinating groundbreaking and essential rewriting of literary history to include outstanding writers who fell from sight but whose works deserve to be better known." As
Marina Salandy-Brown noted in
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday: "It took Donnell 30 years of research to complete her dedicated task of reclamation. She delved to find what might have eluded others and found untapped sources, slowly creating, often helped by 'neglected' writers' families, colleagues and social media enquiry, a forgotten continent of Caribbean literary history."
Bridget Brereton's review in the
Trinidad Express concludes: "This wonderfully rich book rewrites the 20th-century literary history of the West Indies, and presents material on 25 fascinating authors who, for many reasons, never made it into the 'canon'. Donnell has given everyone interested in Caribbean writing a fine gift." ==Main publications==