Becky works as a personal trainer in Horsham, West Sussex and, in her spare time, is an avid reader of and advocate for books written by women. Here she shares how to source female-authored books…
I read about 50 books per year, and the vast majority are written by women. Since 2019, I’ve prioritised books authored by women, which may not sound particularly difficult, but when you factor in that most of my reading list is non-fiction, things change a bit. The publishing and bookselling industries are, by and large, still incredibly sexist, so sourcing female-authored reads can be tricky unless you know how.
Fortunately, I’m here to share my advice, and make it easier for you to find more women-authored books that you’ll enjoy.
Female-authored books – what’s the problem
There’s a clear demonstration for this: go into your nearest bookstore (particularly if it’s part of a chain), check the promotional tables, recently released and bestseller sections, and do a quick gender split of the authors. In the fiction section, you may find a good balance – however, I suspect there will also be a limited variety among those authors – but in the non-fiction section, you are likely to find it dominated by men.
I will add here that, generally, we are literally judging books by their cover and making assumptions about an author’s gender identity based on their name. However, the assumptions are sadly fairly safe – there’s also a bias in publishing towards the gender binary, and cisgender people, which is a whole other issue deserving of coverage.
But this is one of the key issues: booksellers often promote male-authored books more heavily than they do female-authored ones. Count the gender balance in the window display. Analyse the next marketing email you receive. Pick up a newspaper and look at which books are being reviewed. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it, but you can learn to work around it.
How to source books authored by women – in store
Go beyond the promotional areas, and you may find a different story. Unless I’m looking for a specific newly released title, I make a beeline straight for the areas that I know stock my preferred genre. Yes, this is about putting in effort. But that’s what bookstores are for – browsing!
If there’s something that you know you’d like to read, or you are looking for a recommendation, ask a member of staff. Please be polite – it’s likely that the person you speak to isn’t responsible for choosing stock or the store’s layout, but it is their job to help you, and retailers respond to data; the more we request female authors, the more they will be forced to take notice.
Use the book you buy
One of the great things about non-fiction books is that they contain bibliographies or references. I make notes whilst I’m reading or once I’ve finished, and the author helps me source more material. This is particularly effective when you’ve actually enjoyed a book – if the author liked it and found it useful, you might as well.
A more intricate way of using the book you purchase is to look up the publisher, particularly if it’s a niche imprint. Much like film studios and fragrance creators, publishers are curators – again, with non-fiction in particular, houses tend to gather authors who are birds of a feather, and so you may find that you enjoy something else that they help to put out into the world.
Sourcing female-authored reads online
The type of effort you make here is slightly different, but no less effective. This is about making the famous algorithm work for you, and where websites tracking us can work in our favour. There is still an art to it – as we all know, one careless whisper near our phones and we’re suddenly getting a raft of sponsored posts about a one-off gift we’ve bought for our distance relative who has very different interests for our own, and this is why what we give our attention to matters.
When browsing online, make use of the “people also purchased” or “you might like” sections and, where possible, give a vote with your clicks. Some retailers allow you to deselect items you’ve browsed or purchased, as they’re aware that they may have been linked to the aforementioned unrelated gifts or another purpose.
Social media can be helpful, but again beware the promotional might of marketing teams! BookTok and other communities can be chock full of the same three to five authors, and aren’t always the best way of finding novelty. It can be worth persevering though. Plus, you sometimes have access to the authors themselves – check an author’s social media page for their recommendations, or a mailing list signup option.
Mailing lists of broadcasters, podcasters, journalists, or other influencers you like can be worth a look too. These newsletters will also share information on where that person’s work has appeared and, if you follow the rabbit hole to those websites – things like lifestyle publications – there are often articles such as, “this year’s hottest beach reads” or “upcoming releases we’re excited about”.
Ask a friend
Before we had influencers, we had friends! And colleagues – one of the few things I miss about employment is that I’ve lost my book swap buddies. I, for one, get excited when I read a book and think of one of my friends – I’m always keen to tell them about something that I think they’ll enjoy, and go as far as gifting them a copy or passing mine on if I’m able to.
Have those conversations – share what you think of things, let people know what you’re open to, and you’ll find that the rewards come back to you. None of us is psychic, but when we engage with each other, our worlds open up.
Award winning female authors
Finally, awards are an obvious choice. I’ve lost track of how many authors I’ve stumbled across because they’ve been featured in a TV book club (remember those?!) or won or been nominated for a debut author prize. Again, these can be a bit limited as they are promotional and tastemaker-led, but use it as a jumping off point and see where the ride takes you.
The banner awards for women-authored books are the well-established Women’s Prize (a fiction award) and the much-newer but highly-credible sibling, the Women’s Prize for Non-fiction. Both have now announced their 2026 shortlists (longlisted titles are also promoted!) and are a fantastic place to start your journey.
Finally: a challenge
When I first started prioritising female-authored books, I made myself a promise – I could and would still read books written by men, but I would only read one before making sure that my next read was authored by a woman. I find that I do follow habits and so, I made this simple guideline for myself so that I would continue to push myself, and not fall into a habit I was trying to avoid. Give it a try yourself and see what happens!
Who wants my list of recommended reads?