14 new books for Women's History Month 2026
New books alert! It's World Book Day – otherwise known as every parent's worst nightmare. While the days of dressing up as our favourite fictional characters are (mostly) behind us, there are still so many new books to discover, pre-order, and make our new personality. And the best part of this plan is… It just so happens to be Women's History Month, which means publishers are basically releasing new feminist tomes every other day.
Even Dua Lipa is in on the act, the pop star-turned-literary critic has selected Roxane Gay's iconic essay collection, Bad Feminist, for her monthly book club, noting that it feels like “a conversation with your smartest, funniest, wisest friend who’s always prepared to work things out alongside you.”
If that sounds up your street, there are plenty of new releases that tick all those boxes. Take Ashley James' first book, Bimbo, which weaves memoir and self-help to create the ultimate feminist toolbox – a neat addition to your library and an even better gift for your sister or girlfriends. Shahed Ezaydi's highly-anticipated The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women is a fierce reclamation of Muslim women's right to exist beyond the suffocating boundaries set by Western feminism. Or, my personal favourite, Flick: The Story of Female Pleasure by the inimitable Kate Lister, it's a riotous dance through the history of women's sexual pleasure – Rampant Rabbits and all.
Ahead, the best new books to read and pre-order during Women's History Month…
Author Shahed Ezaydi tells Glamour, “The Othered Woman explores how white feminism fuels Islamophobia and challenges the myths of how Muslim women are oppressed and who by, and shows that these myths translate into real harm in the UK, and around the world.
“I wanted to write the book to analyse and challenge so many of the perceptions and stereotypes that still follow Muslim women around today — especially in a society that increasingly views Muslims as the enemy.”
Release date: 20 March
In Flesh, model, activist, and writer Charli Howard's personal narrative of enduring sexual objectification, abuse, and trauma is carefully structured through the socio-political analysis of her own body parts.
Charli tells Glamour, “I wanted to write Flesh to delve into the impact misogyny has on the female body over time, and understand why so many of us believe beauty or our bodies are all we have to offer. I hope it makes women feel less alone while helping them understand how the patriarchy, society and history have impacted their self-esteem, while helping them come back to who they are.”
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Alex Light's first book You Are Not A Before Picture took on diet culture, and very nearly won. Since then, body positivity has taken a hit, with celebrities shrinking and impossible beauty standards closing in on us. The Price of Pretty arms readers with the tools to stop comparing and start living.
Release date: 7 May
Gisèle Pelicot needs no introduction. In her memoir, Giséle Pelicot reflects her journey to forging a new life in the wake of unimaginable trauma. Her words are a balm to survivors the world over: shame must change sides.
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The Bed Trick spins the astonishing true story of Gayle Newland, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a female friend while disguised as a man. Izabella Scott analyses how this incredibly rare crime, known as ‘rape by deception’, played out across two trials in 2015 and 2017. Utterly compelling.
OUT NOW
Given the last few years of relentless political instability, we've been yearning to hear what Rebecca Solnit – the brilliant mind behind Men Explain Things To Me and Hope in the Dark – has to say. In The Beginning Comes After the End, Rebecca Solnit journeys through history to provide answers to the most pressing questions of today.
Release date: 26 March
Katie Baskerville tells Glamour: “Beyond Belief explores how we've come to devalue what women say, why we treat their words as untrustworthy and how we can address and close the gender-based credibility gap.
“I wrote this book to empower women who've been made to feel invisible, silly, and unimportant when they speak up and out. My intention is for those who read it to know more about the systems that have coerced our silence for centuries, and give them the tools to keep gossiping well.”
Release date: 12 March
Jamilah Lemieux's love letter to Black single motherhood casts light on the pernicious systems that conspire to ostracise women from their own self-worth, featuring vulnerable personal insights interwoven with testimonies of single mothers from all walks of life.
Release date: 11 March
Editor Kate Pasola tells Glamour, “My primary goal with this project was to sound the alarm — that writers from working class backgrounds are not a self-renewing resource, and that without proper support and investment, we will lose these vital voices from literature, the arts and media. Nobody wants that. I also wanted to create something that would have made younger me feel less alone if I picked it up.
“I wanted to demonstrate through the variety and diversity of voices featured in Bread Alone that our struggles are interlocking, and that we have more in common with one another than with an elite minority which is hellbent on creating hateful division.”
Release date: 9 March
Quite frankly, what Dr Kate Lister doesn't know about sex isn't worth knowing. In Flick, she examines the cultural history of female pleasure from an academic perspective, while never skipping an opportunity for a pleasure-related pun.
Release date: 28 May
No One Wants To See Your Dick, Jess Davies' survival guide for navigating the digital world, is now out in paperback. Writing about the book for Glamour, she says, “It’s time we call out the deep-rooted misogyny that thrives online, that threatens to radicalise an entire generation of men through ‘masculinity’ grifters with podcast microphones, and call in parents, platforms and politicians to take a stand against the epidemic of violence against women and girls that is rampant in the digital world.”
OUT NOW
OK, but I'm literally just a girl? Whatever your opinions on girl dinner, Jess Bacon's bold reclamation of girlhood will give you a lot to chew over. She argues that reconnecting with our ‘inner girl’ can be an act of rebellion – especially in a society so hellbent on demonising anything remotely girly. Did someone say, girl power?
Release date: 11 June
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra or on TikTok at @lucyalexxandra.
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