12 Essential Books for Women's History Month

From essays to fiction, Adichie’s work resonates globally, challenging gender inequality and celebrating African identity. Her novel Americanah remains essential reading, and now, after a decade, she returns to fiction with Dream Count, a novel about four women facing love and loss in a changing world.

Natasha Brown critiques Britain’s racial and economic systems with sharp precision. A former finance worker, she exposes the suffocating corporate culture, especially for Black women. In her debut, Assembly, a Black British woman navigates societal expectations at a garden party hosted by her wealthy, white partner's family. Tensions rise, and a life-changing event forces her to question the life she’s built. The Guardian called it a “modern Mrs. Dalloway.” Now, in her follow-up Universality, a gripping tale unfolds as a young journalist investigates a violent attack linked to wealth and power.

A former television scriptwriter turned novelist, Cho Nam-Joo ignited global feminist discourse with Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. Her work critiques South Korea’s rigid gender roles and economic inequality, particularly for working-class women. Miss Kim Knows, her latest book, follows eight women as they face the harsh realities of gender constraints. From public shaming to workplace discrimination to fleeting fame, this acclaimed Korean author’s short story collection reveals the quiet battles, hidden anger, and fierce resilience that shape everyday lives.

Astrid Roemer is a Surinamese-Dutch author who tackles themes of identity, the oppression of women, and feminist resistance. Her 1982 queer classic, On a Woman’s Madness, in which a woman escapes an abusive marriage to Paramaribo, established her as a feminist voice. Recently translated into English, the novel was longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Translated Literature.

Olga Ravn blends autofiction, poetry, and science fiction to explore gender, labor, and modern life. A Booker Prize and National Book Award nominee, and co-founder of the feminist collective Hekseskolen (Witch School), her work is both personal and political. My Work examines the pressures of motherhood, art, and the conflict between personal ambition and domestic life.

Banu Mushtaq, a lawyer, activist, and champion of Muslim women, uses literature to highlight the struggles of marginalized communities in India. Heart Lamp, her first collection in English and recently nominated for the 2025 International Booker Prize, was praised by judges for its "unforgettable characters" and its ability to "speak truth to power, slicing through fault lines of caste, class, and religion while exposing the rot within: corruption, oppression, and injustice."

Miriam Toews, bestselling author of Women Talking, draws on her Mennonite upbringing and her personal experiences with mental illness to explore themes of survival, faith, and strength. She writes about women navigating oppressive religious systems, familial bonds, and the healing power of humor. In Fight Night, her eighth novel, a spirited nine-year-old named Swiv recounts the story of three generations of women in a letter to her absent father.

Selva Almada is a fierce voice in Latin American literature, shedding light on gender violence and femicide in Argentina. Her third novel, Not a River, was shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize. Part of her "Men's Trilogy," it follows The Wind That Lays Waste and Brickmakers. Almada uses fiction and journalism to expose the systemic impunity around gender-based violence, aligning with movements like Ni Una Menos.

Virginie Despentes, former sex worker, filmmaker, and punk feminist icon, is known for her fearless critiques of power and patriarchy. Her latest, Dear Dickhead, is a sharp epistolary novel tracing an unexpected bond between an actress and her online troll. Through their exchange, Despentes tackles addiction, cancel culture, and lockdown isolation with biting humor. Vulture praised it as “a bitingly humorous conversation” that challenges assumptions and redefines connection in the digital age.

Born in Taybeh and based in New York, novelist and journalist Ibtisam Azem weaves historical memory with political urgency, documenting the Palestinian experience with nuance and depth. Her novel The Book of Disappearance, nominated for the 2025 International Booker Prize, imagines Palestinians disappearing overnight, a narrative praised by judges as "an exceptional exercise in memory-making and psycho-geography."