A word after a word after a word: Books to Read for International Women’s Day

by Taylor Follett

“A word after a word after a word is power,” wrote Margaret Atwood in her poem, “Spelling.” On March 8th, International Women’s Day, we celebrate the particular power wielded by women writers through their incredible works of literature, especially those published in 2018/2019. Make use of the library’s vast literature collection to honor contemporary women who write word after word after word to create worlds, critique society, and inspire their readers.

Women have published phenomenal novels in the past year, including critically acclaimed works like the Booker Prize-winning Milkman by Anna Burns and the National Book Award winner for Young People’s Literature, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. And that’s the only tip of the iceberg. Try these incredible novels:

Short but sweet (or horrifying, or sad, or incredibly powerful), these short story collections will keep the pages turning.

Once you’ve gotten your fill of prose, turn to verse:

Read about women’s lives and the things they’ve learned in these memoirs and essay collections:

Still looking for more books by wonderful women? Try last month’s reading list for Black History Month, which features works by Black women such as Michelle Obama, Tracy K. Smith, and Tayari Jones. Feel like we missed something? Tweet us and let us know! Is there a book by a woman that you want to read, but is missing from our collection? Let’s fix that.

Happy reading, and happy International Women’s Day!