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Publish Her™ Story

A Year in Books: 180+ Titles by Women of Color, Women in the LGBTQ+ Community and Women With Disabilities

By Chris Olsen

In 2025, Publish Her supported 226 women in book writing, publishing and marketing. Of those, 145 were women of color—52 percent were Black, 24 percent were Latinx, 13 percent were Native, and 11 percent were Asian American and Pacific Islander. Additionally, we supported 26 LGBTQ+ authors and 16 authors with disabilities. Publish Her is passionate about amplifying the voices of these groups because they continue to be underrepresented in publishing. In the U.S., the most recent author data showed:

  • .4 percent of authors identified as Native
  • 5 percent of authors identified as Asian
  • 6 percent of authors identified as Black
  • 8 percent of authors identified as Latinx
  • 11 percent of authors identified as disabled
  • 16 percent of authors identified as LGBTQ+

Following is a list of 180+ books that were included in our monthly book features in 2025. These titles were curated by our team or recommended by independent bookstore staff.

Science Fiction Day

In celebration of National Science Fiction Day on Jan. 2, Publish Her partnered with Black woman-owned Sistah Scifi bookstore in Oakland, California, and gave away this collection of science fiction books by Black women and LGBTQ+ authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “The Black Girl Survives This One” by Desiree S. Evans
  • “Black Shield Maiden” by Willow Smith
  • “The Canopy Keepers” by Veronica G. Henry
  • “Doll Seed: Stories” by Michele Tracy Berger
  • “A Few Rules for Predicting the Future” by Octavia E. Butler
  • “The Inheritance Trilogy” by N.K. Jemisin (a collection of three books)
  • “Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions” by Nalo Hopkinson
  • “Of One Blood” by Pauline Hopkins
  • “Sheine Lende” by Darcie Little Badger
  • “The Splinter in the Sky” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
  • “We Don’t Swim Here” by Vincent Tirado
  • “Will Do Magic for Small Change” by Andrea Hairston

Read in the Bathtub Day

For National Read in the Bathtub Day on Feb. 4, Publish Her partnered with woman-owned Content Bookstore in Northfield, Minnesota, and gave away a gift box that included this collection of tub-worthy reads:

  • “Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea” by Rebecca Thorne
  • “Four Weekends and a Funeral” by Ellie Palmer
  • “Out on a Limb” by Hannah Bonam-Young

Black History Month

During Black History Month in February, Publish Her recommended and gave away this collection of books by Black women and LGBTQ+ authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “Assata” by Assata Shakur
  • “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
  • “Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid
  • “Death of the Author” by Nnedi Okorafor
  • “Family Lore” by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • “I Did a New Thing” by Tabitha Brown
  • “Little Rot” by Akwaeke Emezi
  • “My Sister, the Serial Killer” by Oyinkan Braithwaite
  • “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry
  • “We Are Never Meeting in Real Life” by Samantha Irby
  • “The World We Make” by N.K. Jemisin

Women’s History Month

In conjunction with Women’s History Month in March, Publish Her celebrated Jane Austen by giving away a collection of her classic titles:

  • “Emma” by Jane Austen
  • “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austen
  • “Northanger Abbey” by Jane Austen
  • “Persuasion” by Jane Austen
  • “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
  • “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen

Additionally, to celebrate Women’s History Month, Publish Her recommended and gave away this collection of books by history-making women authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “All in Her Head” by Elizabeth Comen, M.D.
  • “Becoming Kin” by Patty Krawec
  • “Chicana Liberation” by Marisela R. Chávez
  • “Essential Labor” by Angela Garbes
  • “Fighting for Space” by Amy Shira Teitel
  • “Give Her Credit” by Grace L. Williams
  • “A Place of Our Own” by June Thomas
  • “Reproductive Rites” by Sophie Saint Thomas
  • “The Swans of Harlem” by Karen Valby
  • “Up to Speed” by Christine Yu
  • “We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • “Whipping Girl” by Julia Serano

Earth Month

During Earth Month in April, Publish Her recommended and gave away this collection of Earth-themed books by women authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” by Amy Tan
  • “Black Girls Gardening” by Amber Grossman
  • “Disabled Ecologies” by Sunaura Taylor
  • “The Edge of Water” by Olufunke Grace Bankole
  • “Fresh Banana Leaves” by Jessica Hernanadez
  • “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler
  • “Parable of the Talents” by Octavia E. Butler
  • “Soil” by Camille T. Dungy
  • “The Seed Keeper” by Diane Wilson
  • “This Is the Year” by Gloria Muñoz
  • “To Be a Water Protector” by Winona LaDuke
  • “What If We Get It Right?” by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Indie Bookstore Day

In celebration of Indie Bookstore Day on April 26, Publish Her visited 20 women-owned bookstores in our home state of Minnesota (and neighboring Wisconsin), purchased a recommended title by a local woman author from each shop and gave away this collection (also featured on Bookshop.org):

Latinx Books Month

In celebration of Latinx Books Month in May, Publish Her partnered with Latinx-owned Whose Books in Dallas, Texas, and gave away this collection of books by Latinx authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “The Apartment” by Ana Menéndez
  • “Badass Bonita” by Kim Guerra
  • “Cantoras” by Caro de Robertis
  • “The Emergence of Latin American Science Fiction” by Rachel Haywood Ferreira
  • “Las Madres” by Esmeralda Santiago
  • “The Last Karankawas” by Kimberly Garza
  • “Malinalli” by Veronica Chapa
  • “My Underground American Dream” by Julissa Arce
  • “Queen of Urban Prophecy” by Aya de León
  • “Untamed Shore” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • “The Vulnerables” by Sigrid Nunez
  • “The Wind Knows My Name” by Isabel Allende

LGBTQ+ Pride Month

For LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June, Publish Her partnered with queer- and woman-owned Black Bird Books and Coffee in Raleigh, North Carolina, and gave away this collection of books by LGBTQ+ authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “Bellies” by Nicola Dinan
  • “Falling Back in Love With Being Human” by Kai Cheng Thom
  • “Gwen and Art Are Not in Love” by Lex Croucher
  • “Motheater” by Linda H. Codega
  • “Mutual Interest” by Olivia Wolfgang-Smith
  • “Private Rites” by Julia Armfield
  • “Rainbow History Class” by Hannah McElhinney
  • “Spear” by Nicola Griffith
  • “Stag Dance” by Torrey Peters
  • “Voyage of the Damned” by Frances White
  • “Who’s Afraid of Gender?” by Judith Butler
  • “Yours for the Taking” by Gabrielle Korn

Disability Pride Month

To honor Disability Pride Month in July, Publish Her partnered with Black-, Asian-, queer- and disabled-owned Loyalty Books in Washington, D.C., and gave away this collection of books by authors with disabilities (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “Being Heumann” by Judith Heumann
  • “Disabled Witchcraft” by Kandi Zeller
  • “The Girl Who Figured It Out” by Minda Dentler
  • “Good Different” by Meg Eden Kuyatt
  • “Haben” by Haben Girma
  • “Iron Widow” by Xiran Jay Zhao
  • “My Rainbow” by DeShanna Neal and Trinity Neal
  • “One for All” by Lillie Lainoff
  • “Some Days” by Julie A. Stamm
  • “Tidal Creatures” by Seanan McGuire
  • “We’ve Got This” by Eliza Hull
  • “Year of the Tiger” by Alice Wong

Bookstore Romance Day

In celebration of Bookstore Romance Day on Aug. 9, Publish Her visited four women-owned independent bookstores (plus four owned by men or co-owned by women and men) in our home state of Minnesota, purchased a recommended title by a local woman author from each and gave away this collection:

Wellness Month

During Wellness Month in September, Publish Her recommended and gave away this collection of wellness-themed books by women authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “Bibliotherapy in the Bronx” by Emely Rumble, LCSW
  • “The Empowered Hysterectomy” by Kameelah Phillips, M.D.
  • “For the Culture” by Klancy Miller
  • “Grown Woman Talk” by Sharon Malone, M.D.
  • “It’s Not Hysteria” by Karen Tang, M.D., MPH
  • “It’s Probably Nothing” by Naga Munchetty
  • “The Latina Anti-Diet” by Dalina Soto
  • “A Physical Education” by Casey Johnston
  • “Rest Is Resistance” by Tricia Hersey
  • “Taking Care of You” by Mary O’Connor, M.D., and Kanwal L. Haq, M.S.

Hispanic Heritage Month

During Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Publish Her recommended and gave away this collection of books by Latinx authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “The Anatomy of Magic” by J.C. Cervantes
  • “Beasts of Carnaval” by Rosália Rodrigo
  • “The Bewitching” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • “Crying in the Bathroom” by Erika L. Sánchez
  • “The Great Divide” by Cristina Henríquez
  • “I’ll Give You a Reason” by Annell López
  • “Magical-Realism” by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal
  • “So Many Stars” by Caro de Robertis
  • “Tías and Primas” by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez
  • “When Javi Dumped Mari” by Mia Sosa

Banned Books Week

In recognition of Banned Books Week, Oct. 5-11, Publish Her recommended and gave away this collection of banned books by women and LGBTQ+ authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “Beloved” by Toni Morrison
  • “Beyond Magenta” by Susan Kuklin
  • “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
  • “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
  • “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe
  • “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas
  • “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros
  • “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Erika L. Sánchez
  • “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
  • “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi
  • “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred D. Taylor
  • “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston

Black Poetry Day

In celebration of Black Poetry Day on Oct. 17, Publish Her partnered with Chapter2 Books in Hudson, Wisconsin, and gave away this collection of books by Black women poets (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “Before I Lie” by Dralandra Larkins
  • “A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe” by Mahogany L. Browne
  • “The Collected Poems” by Audre Lorde
  • “The Complete Poetry” by Maya Angelou
  • “Joy in the Belly of a Riot” by Barbara Fant
  • “Lost Cities” by Valencia Robin
  • “The Natural Order of Things” by Donika Kelly
  • “Wash” by Ebony Stewart

Native American Heritage Month

For Native American Heritage Month in November, Publish Her partnered with Birchbark Books in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and gave away this collection of books by Native women authors (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “Bad Indians Book Club” by Patty Krawec
  • “Calling Down the Sky” by Rosanna Deerchild
  • “Girl Warrior” by Joy Harjo
  • “The Knowing” by Tanya Talaga
  • “Love After the End” by Various Authors
  • “Procession” by Katherena Vermette
  • “Sisters in the Wind” by Angeline Boulley
  • “Sugar Bush Babies” by Janis A. Fairbanks
  • “To the Moon and Back” by Eliana Ramage
  • “Whereas” by Layli Long Soldier

Women’s Entrepreneurship Day

In celebration of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on Nov. 19, Publish Her recommended and gave away this collection of books by women entrepreneurs (also featured on Bookshop.org):

  • “Build the Damn Thing” by Kathryn Finney
  • “Cultura and Cash” by Giovanna “Gigi” González
  • “Hello Ms. Perfect” by Amelia Reigstad, Ph.D.
  • “I Hope You Fail” by Pinky Cole
  • “The Karma of Success” by Liz Tran
  • “Level Up” by Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson
  • “Mother / Founder” by Amanda Jane Jones and Jennifer Fernandez
  • “Unapologetically Ambitious” by Shellye Archambeau
  • “Wildflower” by Aurora James
  • “Your First Million” by Arlan Hamilton

Gifts for Writers

Publish Her ended the year with a giveaway of writing essentials and this collection of books for and by women writers:

  • “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
  • “Free Within Ourselves” by Jewell Parker Rhodes
  • “End Credits” by Patty Lin
  • “A Poetry Handbook” by Mary Oliver

Are you an indie bookseller interested in partnering with Publish Her to elevate underrepresented authors? Drop us a line!

About the Author

Chris Olsen is a book designer, publisher, educator and the author of “Whyography: Building a Brand Fueled by Purpose.” The founder of Publish Her and Publish Her Story, Chris has helped thousands of women tell their stories and publish their books.

About Publish Her

Publish Her is a female-founded publisher dedicated to educating authors and elevating the words, writing and stories of women. We are passionate about amplifying the voices of women of color, women with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community. We aim to make publishing an attainable, exciting and collaborative process for all.

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