As Women’s History Month concludes, here is a list of twenty-five female authors to add to your reading list. Including everything from essays to fiction to poems, this list celebrates female excellence in literature throughout history and transcending genres.

 

Claudia Rankine

Poet/Essayist/Playwright

Best known for: Citizen: An American Lyric

Other works include: Just Us: An American Conversation, The End of the Alphabet

 

I first read Rankine’s work four years ago, and its impact on me was indescribable. Through her use of mixed media, prose, and poetry, Rankine creates something wholly unique, redefining poetry.

 

Emily Dickinson

Poet

Best known for: “Because I could not stop for Death”

Other works include: “‘Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers”, “I heard a Fly buzz- when I died”

 

Despite most of her works not being published until after her death, Dickinson has become one of the most well known poets of her time. Discussing themes of nature and death, she acted as a trailblazer for female poets.

 

Audre Lorde

Poet/Activist

Best known for: Sister Outsider

Other works include: Your Silence Will Not Protect You, Uses of the Erotic

 

One of my favorite authors and advocates of all time, Lorde unapologetically critiques social systems. Her texts are instrumental in understanding intersectional activism.

Amanda Gorman

Poet/Activist

Best known for: The Hill We Climb

Other works include: Call Us What We Carry

 

Gorman gained notoriety in 2021, making history at President Biden’s inauguration  as the youngest ever inaugural poet. Since then, she’s released a poetry book, as well as a children’s book.

 

Maya Angelou

Activist/Poet/Memoirist

Best known for: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Other works include: And Still I Rise, Letters to my Daughter 

 

Angelou taught me to love poetry- she was one of the first poets I read, and the one that I always find myself returning to. Rightfully renowned, Angelou writes about grief, womanhood, and identity with remarkable prowess.

 

Roxanne Gay

Essayist/Memoirist/Writer

Best known for: Bad Feminist 

Other works include: Hunger, Difficult Women

 

I’ve always been compelled by Gay’s acceptance of imperfection. Her books expose the flaws most refuse to acknowledge. There is no perfect person, and there is no perfect feminist.

 

Margaret Atwood

Novelist

Best known for: The Handmaid’s Tale

Other works include: The Edible Woman, The Testaments

 

Combining dystopian fiction with real world events, Atwood uses her novels as a medium for social commentary and advocacy.

 

Jane Austen

Novelist

Best known for: Pride and Prejudice Other works include: Emma, Sense and Sensibility

 

Austen certainly needs no introduction. Her works have been adapted into films and television for decades, solidifying them as truly iconic fiction novels.

 

Joan Didion

Novelist/Memoirist/Essayist

Best known for: The Year of Magical Thinking

Other works include: Blue Nights, Play It as It Lays

 

When experiencing grief or chaos, I always find myself turning to Didion’s books. She beautifully illustrates the different ways in which loss is experienced, and Didion remains optimistic while simultaneously painfully honest.

 

Agatha Christie 

Novelist

Best known for: Murder on the Orient Express

Other works include: The Seven Dials Mystery, The Body in the Library

 

As a fanatic of mystery and thriller novels, I’d be remiss not to include Agatha Christie on this list. Famous for her two most known characters, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, Christie originated many of the themes still used in modern mystery books today.

 

Sally Rooney

Novelist

 

Best known for: Normal People

Other works include: Intermezzo, Conversations with Friends

 

With the majority of her books being centered around self discovery and love, Rooney brilliantly navigates the turbulence of personal evolution and the importance of perpetual growth.

 

Suzanne Collins

Novelist

Best known for: The Hunger Games

Other works include: Sunrise on the Reaping, Gregor the Overlander

 

Collins’ trilogy, The Hunger Games, was foundational to my love of literature. She excels in writing complex female characters and weaving social critique into literature that is both accessible and enjoyable for a wide range of ages.

 

Malala Yousafzai

Memoirist/Activist

Best known for: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban 

Other works include: We Are Displaced, Finding My Way: A Memoir

 

After a near death experience on her way home from school, Yousafzai has become an internationally recognized advocate for women and girl’s education access. Through her memoirs and other works, she continues her activism.

 

Mary Shelley

Novelist

Best known for: Frankenstein

Other works include: The Last Man, The Mortal Immortal

 

Shelley revolutionised science fiction with her novel Frankenstein. Her books, I would argue, are fundamental reads for any reader interested in the gothic and macabre.

 

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Novelist

Best known for: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo 

Other works include: Daisy Jones and the Six, Atmosphere

 

Celebrating women must also include celebrating love between women, making Reid an easy addition to this list. Frequently writing sapphic characters, Reid celebrates the beauty of queer love while refusing to neglect the challenges that come along with it.

 

Angie Thomas

Novelist

Best known for: The Hate U Give

Other works include: On the Come Up, Concrete Rose

 

Thomas’ use of fiction to tackle real world issues is sensational, using her novels to discuss racism. While I appreciate historic texts, what draws me most to Thomas’ novels are their modernity, showing what long standing issues present like in today’s world.

 

Louisa May Alcott

Novelist

Best known for Little Women

Other works include: Behind a Mask, Rose in Bloom

 

Alcott’s works, to me, have always encapsulated the female experience. Despite having been written centuries ago, she brilliantly captures the coming-of-age experience that transcends generations.

 

Margaret Walker

Poet/Writer

Best known for: Jubilee

Other works include: For My People, This is My Century

 

A trailblazer of Black American literature, Walker’s novels and poems artfully combat generational trauma and structures. Walker’s place as a legend of the Black Chicago Renaissance is solidified by each of her works.

 

Lorraine Hansberry

Playwright/Author

Best known for: A Raisin in the Sun

Other works include: Les Blancs: A Drama in Two Acts, To Be Young, Gifted, and Black

 

The first Black playwright of Broadway, Hansberry’s plays are equally as impactful on the page as they are on the stage, telling stories of the Black American experience.

 

Michelle Obama 

Memoirst

Best known for: Becoming

Other works include: The Look, The Light We Carry

 

Obama’s memoirs are texts I always find myself returning to. A true history maker, her first hand accounts of her work in the White House and beyond have always inspired me.

 

Jennette McCurdy

Memoirist/Novelist

Best known for: I’m Glad My Mom Died

Other works include: Half His Age

 

After an intense career as a child actress on Nickelodeon, McCurdy released her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, detailing her complicated relationships with her mother, fame, and self-image. Recently, she’s expanded into writing novels, the first of which was just recently released.

 

Donna Tartt

Novelist

Best known for: The Secret History

Other works include: The Little Friend, The Goldfinch

 

Considered a modern day classic author, I find myself drawn to Tartt’s dark explorations of obsession, power, and identity. Every novel of hers is riveting, highlighting flawed characters and complex relationships.

 

Jennifer Niven
Novelist
Best known for: All the Bright Places

Other works include: Holding Up The Universe, When We Were Monsters

 

With her books primarily being centered around themes of mental health and self discovery, Niven’s novels have gained massive traction over recent years.

 

Jeanette Walls

Novelist/Memoirist

Best known for: The Glass Castle

Other works include: Hang the Moon, The Silver Star

 

My favorite works of Walls are decidedly her memoirs and biographies. Recounting stories of her own life as well as her grandmother’s, Walls illustriously details her family’s legacy of dysfunction and overcoming adversity.

 

Betty Freidan 

Author/Activist

Best known for: The Feminine Mystique

Other works include: Problem that Has No Name, The Second Stage

 

Considered one of the mothers of second wave feminism, Friedan’s works invite readers to question the systems that shape them and seek true happiness.