October is Women’s History Month in Canada. Women’s History Month is a powerful opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the significant contributions of women and gender-diverse people across the world. Throughout history, women and gender-diverse people have always defied expectations, pushed boundaries, and created impactful change for generations to come.
This reading list highlights books written by women and gender-diverse authors for women and gender-diverse people.
Fiction
- Pachinko by Min Jin LeeÂ
- Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo Â
- The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Â
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. ButlerÂ
- True Biz by Sara NovićÂ
- The Secret Sky: A Novel of Forbidden Love in Afghanistan by Atia Abawi
- Zami by Audre LordeÂ
- Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieÂ
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi Â
Non-fiction and Essays
- Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
- Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada From Slavery to the Present by Robyn Maynard
- What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordan
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Kimmerer
- Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
- Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
- Pleasure Activism by adrienne brown
- Runaway Wives and Rogue Feminists: The Origins of the Women’s Shelter Movement in Canada by Margo Goodhand
- Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Memoirs
- Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
- Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
- I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
- I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
- Genderqueer by Maia Kobabe
Do you like these picks, or would you like to contribute titles of your own? Let us know on our Instagram!