To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’ve collected a list of some of the most anticipated books by women authors to get excited for in 2022.
International Women’s Day is an annual global event that celebrates the achievements of women in every sphere of their lives. It’s a time to look at how far we’ve come, and how far we have yet to go.
This year on International Women’s Day, we’ve decided to delve into the optimism of the future and celebrate a number of women writers, their highly anticipated works, and their immeasurable contributions to literature. Covering a myriad of genres, locations, and experiences, we’ve collected a diverse list of this year’s most anticipated books by exceptional women in writing.
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English – Noor Naga (April)
Set in aftermath of the Arab Spring, If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English details the meeting of an Egyptian-American woman and a man from the village of Shobrakheit in Cairo. Subsequently, the experimental novel explores ideas of power, abuse, identity politics, and the reach of imperialism and revolution in the modern world.
Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel (April)
Following her bestselling novel Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility spans the settings of Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon, five centuries years later. Described by the publisher as “a virtuoso performance, that is as tender as it is intellectually playful,” Emily St. John Mandel’s newest book is the epitome of excellent sci-fi writing.
The Return of Faraz Ali – Aamina Ahmad (April)
As reviewed by Kirkus Reviews, the novel is described as “everything a reader could ask for: a sizzling, noir-like plot; political intrigue juxtaposed with a rich intergenerational family saga.” With its “capacious, conflicted characters, including women who may be marginalized by society but are masters of their own narratives,” The Return of Faraz Ali has at its core, what International Women’s Day is all about.
Either/Or – Elif Batuman (May)
A continuation of Elif Batuman’s Pulitzer Prize-finalised debut (The Idiot), Either/Or examines protagonist Selin’s pursuit of self-knowledge and explores the confronting and revelatory experiences of her newfound adulthood.
Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt (May)
“Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing,” said author Kevin Wilson, of Shelby Van Pelt’s new novel. The novel follows an elderly woman named Tova Sullivan, a shift worker at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, whose unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus, Marcellus, allows her to re-examine the traumas that shaped her life.
The Jane Austen Remedy – Ruth Wilson (May)
Ruth Wilson’s heartwarming memoir details the author’s journey in encountering, once again, the Jane Austen heroines that shaped the person she wanted to become as a young woman — except this time, she is enveloped in the solitude of a sunshine-yellow cottage in the Southern Highlands, a home that she has lived alone in for the last decade of her life.
Cult Classic – Sloane Crosley (June)
Described by fellow author Elif Batuman as “the witty, improbably propulsive rom-com you didn’t know you were waiting for” and an “effervescent delight,” Cult Classic follows the story of Lola, whose mysterious, mystical encounters with a series of ex-boyfriends delve into the philosophy of love, as well as themes of memory, morality, and loss.
Shmutz – Felicia Berliner (July)
Shmutz — a provocative debut novel — details the life of a young Hasidic woman, Raizl, and her fears of never being able to settle in the arranged, married life expected of her because of a secret addiction to porn. Felicia Berliner’s book ambitiously constructs a bridge between female sexuality, spirituality, and desire. As a gateway to a layered and complex female identity, Shmutz is a book that is brilliantly aligned with the values of International Women’s Day, and is the perfect addition to any TBR list.
A Hundred Other Girls – Iman Hariri-Kia (August)
Written by Bustle’s sex and relationships editor, Iman Hariri-Kia, A Hundred Other Girls is an insider’s perspective on the shifting landscape of the media world, and the way that women of color are carving their spaces in it. Following the story of Noora, a hustling, young writer, the novel is a witty portrait of sisterhood, ambition, and the relationships we forge with those that we love.
The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir – Ingrid Rojas Contreras (August)
Described by the publisher as a “dazzling, kaleidoscopic memoir reclaiming her family’s otherworldly legacy,” The Man Who Could Move Clouds is a memoir by critically-acclaimed writer Ingrid Rojas Contreras. Interspersing family anecdotes with Colombian history, as well as her own deeply personal experiences with the boundaries of reality, the novel is a brilliant examination of multigenerational stories and the magic held inside them.
