This year for our IWD reading list we are doing something a little different and focusing on fiction reads. Below is a list of the books we think you should read this year to feel empowered, hear the experiences of women across the world and lean into the historical experience of women. Enjoy. 

Why This List

✔ showcasing a diverse authors (Women of color & non-binary writers from Taiwan, Syria, Vietnam, India, China, the Philippines, and the UK)

✔ A broad range of themes (Feminism, war, queerness, colonialism, migration, history, humor, surrealism, and literary satire)

✔ Stories that challenge the status quo (Resilience, activism, rewriting history, and breaking gender roles)

1. All Fours – Miranda July (2024, USA)

A bold, funny, and intimate novel about a woman in her 40s experiencing a sexual and emotional awakening. A brilliant meditation on midlife reinvention and female desire.

2. The Bandit Queens – Parini Shroff (2023, India)

A darkly funny and empowering story about a woman falsely rumored to have killed her husband. As others seek her help in escaping their own marriages, she’s pulled into a world of rebellion and resistance.

3. The Women – Kristin Hannah (2024, USA/Vietnam)

A powerful historical novel about a nurse serving in the Vietnam War, highlighting the untold sacrifices and resilience of women in war.

4. The Husbands – Holly Gramazio (2023, UK)

A surreal, genre-bending novel where a woman wakes up every day with a different husband, forcing her to question love, agency, and society’s expectations of women.

5. The Maiden – Kate Foster (2023, Scotland)

A feminist historical thriller based on a true 17th-century murder case in Scotland, exploring power, gender, and injustice.

6. Wandering Souls – Cecile Pin (2023, Vietnam/UK)

A deeply moving debut about a Vietnamese refugee in 1970s Britain, navigating trauma, displacement, and resilience.

7. 99 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster – Isabelle Yap (2023, Philippines)

A dazzling mix of myth, fantasy, and history, following a century-old woman reflecting on her many past lives, filled with rebellion and survival. A powerful exploration of identity and legacy.

8. Yellowface – R.F. Kuang (2023, USA/China)

A darkly satirical thriller about a white author who steals the manuscript of her deceased Asian friend and becomes a literary sensation. A sharp critique of racism, cultural appropriation, and the erasure of marginalized voices in publishing.

9. The Thirty Names of Night – Zeyn Joukhadar (2020, USA/Syria, Non-Binary Author)

A lyrical and moving novel following a Syrian American trans man uncovering a hidden family history, blending art, love, and queer identity. Joukhadar’s storytelling is poetic and deeply emotional, exploring themes of migration, gender, and belonging.

10. Bestiary – K-Ming Chang (2020, Taiwan/USA, Queer & Non-Binary Author)

A beautifully written, magical realism novel about three generations of Taiwanese American women, blending folklore with themes of queerness, family trauma, and transformation.