Top Books and Publishers to Read for International Women’s Day

“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” 

–Mary Shelley

 

Women’s History Month arrives two years into the global COVID-19 pandemic and it's been a wild ride for women, replete with frustrations and challenges. Yet despite setbacks, there are still bright moments to celebrate:

 

• 2021 showed widespread global advancement in women’s political leadership.
• Women continue leading COVID-19 research and response.
• The Tokyo Olympics were the most gender-balanced games in history with 49% of participating athletes identifying as women.
• In 2021, 78% of female respondents stated they had read at least one book within the last year.
• A study on the publishing industry in the United States revealed that 74 percent of employees in the field were cis women, whereas cis men accounted for 23 percent. Women make up more than 80 percent of marketing, publicity staff, and literary agents. Since 2017, women have held a greater share of publishing management jobs than men. However, despite the dominance of women in the field, men are still being paid more than women. 

 

The final data point inspired us to shine a light on women writers and publishers with the following curated reading and book club recommendations. For more information about women in the literary arts, check out VIDA, an amazing non-profit and intersectional feminist literary organization.

 

Women Founded Presses, Publishers, and Literary Magazines:

 

• Feminist Press
• She Writes Press
• Forest Avenue Press
• Coffee House Press
• Shade Mountain Press
• Sourcebooks
• Hawthorne Books
• Zibby Books launching in 2023
• Fatal Flaw Literary Magazine
• Aster(ix) Literary Journal

 

Read on for Feminist Fiction and Women’s Rights reading recommendations and discussion guides for women by women across the world. You’ll be happy to know that the following recommendations pass the Bechdel Test, a measure of the representation of women in fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two named women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Preach!

 

• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• The Power by Naomi Alderman
• Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia 
• Ordinary Girls, by Jaquira Díaz
• Bad Feminist By Roxanne Gay 
• Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 
• My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit By Jeanette Winterson
• Paradise, by Toni Morrison
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Citizen by Claudia Rankine
• Red Paint, by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe
• Bright Lines by Tanwi Nandini Islam
• Dog Flowers, by Danielle Geller
• Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister
• Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu

 

 

 

Women Who Read: Public Book Clubs for Women

 

• Well Read Black Girl
• She Reads
• Nasty Women Book Club
• Story of Woman
• One Page at a Time
• Sahiyo Discusses
• Lemon-Love Book Club
• Colorful Souls
• Moms Who Create
• Girls' Night In
• Read It and Weep
• Classic and Contemporary Women Book Club

 

We’ll be highlighting women’s stories, voices, and book clubs all month long via our blog, social media, and newsletter so if you enjoyed this feature, subscribe to our blog and create a Bookclubs account to access more reading and club inspiration! Already have an account? Rate and review books that you've read, and recommend your favorites to friends.