11 New Female Authors You’ll Want to Add to Your Library Today

Looking for new female voices to put on your bookshelf? Look no further. 

March is Women’s History Month, with March 8th being widely celebrated as International Women’s Day. To help you celebrate, we put together a list of up-and-coming female authors that write everything from autobiographies to children’s books, and everything in between. No matter your taste, we have you covered. 

Get ready to sink into some new reads. 

Nadia Owusu

Owusu’s first book came out only two months ago, but she’s already making waves. Her debut novel, Aftershocks: A Memoir, follows Owusu’s struggle to understand her true identity after her mother rejects her at only two and her father passes away at 13 years old. When she is 18, she attends school in America and truly starts to find herself. A story that tackles what home truly means, black womanhood, and coping with emotional trauma through generations, reviews are calling her “a writer to watch”. 

Learn more: https://www.nadiaaowusu.com/ 

Wendy Heard

Heard will be making her YA novel debut in just a few weeks – after two successful thriller novels in recent years, She’s Too Pretty to Burn will be released on March 30th. The story follows Veronica summering in San Diego, where a romance is afoot with her dream girl, Mick. What should be a summer of romance takes a turn – with one fire, two deaths, and three drownings. Oh, and a stalker. A dream summer, right? If you find yourself bingeing mystery series on Netflix, you’ll enjoy any of Heard’s books. You can preorder She’s Too Pretty to Burn today.

Learn more: https://www.wendyheard.com/

Torrey Peters

Peters’ first novel, Detransition, Baby, was released in January 2021. She also has two novellas available on her website that you can download for free. Detransition, Baby is the first novel written by a trans woman to be published by one of the big-five publishers. When Torrey isn’t tearing it up on her motorcycle, she works with a trans literary movement based on trans people sharing their work among each other without barriers. 

Learn more: https://www.torreypeters.com/ 

Morgan Rogers

Described as “the type of coming-of-age story we need,” Rogers’ debut album Honey Girl has received glowing reviews. The story follows Grace Porter, who just finishes her doctorate in astronomy before heading to a girls’ weekend in Vegas. What should be a fun getaway turns into the start of a new relationship when Grace gets married to a woman she meets on a night out. Rogers’ proudly writes for “queer girls trying to find their place in the world”.

Learn more: https://www.harpercollins.ca/author/cr-197057/morgan-rogers/ 

Amanda Gorman

If the name rings a bell, it’s because Gorman has been in the spotlight since being the first poet to perform at an Inauguration. Gorman’s poetry collection, The Hill We Climb, features the work she performed at President Biden’s inauguration. If poetry isn’t your speed, she also wrote a children’s book which has been brought to life with beautiful illustrations. There’s no doubt there will be more incredible work to come from Gorman, so today you can get invested at the ground level! 

Learn more: http://theamandagorman.com

Chanel Miller

A novel that became an instant New York Times Bestseller, Know My Name let readers see who this woman was besides Emily Doe – she is a writer, an artist, a survivor. Her story bravely shows the cultural biases she faced throughout her journey in a society that actively tries to protect perpetrators, not survivors. Miller’s autobiography, described as “a gut-punch, and in the end, somehow, also blessedly hopeful” by the New York Times, is a must-read by a powerful fighter. 

Learn more: https://www.chanel-miller.com/ 

Samantha Irby

There is no greater feeling than laughing until your stomach hurts with your girlfriends – Irby creates this feeling within her four novels. Her novels cover everything from her opinions on what she would be like as the Bachelorette to her experiences spreading her father’s ashes,  While her latest novel was published a few years ago, the lessons and laughs you share with her words are truly timeless. 

Learn more: http://www.samanthairby.com/ 

Samra Habib

Habib tells stories in both words and photos. In her memoir and debut novel,We Have Always Been Here, she shares the experiences throughout her life that transformed and shaped her identity as a queer Muslim women. She hasn’t stopped at telling her own story, however. Habib has a photo project titled Just Me and Allah: A Queer Musliim Photo Project. She features stories of other queer Muslim women, paired with photos of each women. It is a powerful project to pair with her powerful memoir. 

Learn more: https://cargocollective.com/samrahabib 


Jessica Knoll

If you find yourself drawn to drama and mystery, look no further than any of Knoll’s works. While her debut novel came out in 2015, she’s found continued success with her second novel. Reviews say Knoll is “a literary force to be reckoned with” – Reese Witherspoon is even set to produce the movie version of her book Luckiest Girl Alive. When she isn’t writing books that keep readers on the edge of their seat, Knoll is enjoying time at home with her husband and their bulldog, Beatrice.

Learn more: http://www.jessicaknoll.com/ 

Elena Favalli and Francesca Cavallo

Looking for female authors to share with the next generation (or a really beautiful book you can use for a coffee table centerpiece)? Look no further. Favalli and Cavallo teamed up and have created a series of Rebel Girl books, sharing stories of powerful women paired with illustrations even adults have to appreciate. They started with Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, which naturally took off. They’ve since released a second edition, an edition focused on immigrant women, and an edition focusing on stories of Black women is due in the fall.

Learn more: https://www.rebelgirls.com/ 

While you wait for your delivery of these books, you can get started on your Women’s History Month with Audible and Women Unlocked. For the month, you can listen for free on any Amazon Alexa Advice. Happy listening!