The Feminist Know-It-All: You know her. You can’t stand her. Good thing she’s not here! Instead, this column by gender and women’s studies librarian Karla Strand will amplify stories of the creation, access, use and preservation of knowledge by women and girls around the world; share innovative projects and initiatives that focus on information, literacies, libraries and more; and, of course, talk about all of the books.

Hello, feminist reader friends! Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups. The aims of these lists are threefold:

1. I want to do my part in the disruption of what has been the acceptable “norm” in the book world for far too long—white, cis, heterosexual, male;
2. I want to amplify indie publishers and amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, queer, trans, nonbinary, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities—you know, the rest of us; and
3. I want to challenge and encourage you all to buy, borrow and read them! 

I love autumn in the Midwest. It’s cooler, the leaves are turning and change is in the air. I also love reading horror and watching scary movies at this time of year, so you know I’ve included a couple spooky stories this month—and a couple nonfiction titles I think are particularly terrifying. 

But the list isn’t all doom and gloom this month … well, actually, it mostly is. 

Nevertheless, there is some hope to be had here. There’s memoir and history, stories and essays. Even the scariest are packaged in lovingly written prose that educates and entertains. And there’s a first: I don’t think I’ve ever featured the new releases of both a mother and a daughter in a single month. So there’s that. 

With further ado, here are the 13 titles I’ve chosen for the month. Read, reflect, learn, enjoy, resist and repeat.  

By Kristen Millares Young. Red Hen Press. Out Oct. 6. 

Kristen Millares Young’s debut memoir-in-essays explores womanhood, motherhood, liberation and embodiment with an eye toward uncovering truths that awaken and enlighten. These 15 essays reveal a keen, curious spirit in search of wonder, wisdom and freedom. 

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By Nada Elia. Verso. Out Oct. 6. 

In this urgent and necessary volume, founding member of the Palestinian Feminist Collective Nada Elia presents a vital, nuanced history of Palestinian women and the feminisms that have guided their continual fight for liberation. Beginning in 1929, this volume illustrates how Palestine was – and continues to be – a feminist issue.

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By Nafissa Thompson-Spires. Scribner. Out Oct. 6. 

After the success of her collection Heads of the Colored People, Nafissa Thompson-Spires has written a humorous, heartfelt tale of a dead moonshiner and the four “wives” who may be responsible. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, this unique story highlights Thompson-Spires’s masterful storytelling.  

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By Kimberly Blaeser (Anishinaabe). Counterpoint. Out Oct. 6.

Now longlisted for the National Book Award, this outstanding collection of stories attests to Kimberly Blaeser’s remarkable writing talents. Already a magnificent poet, Blaeser’s debut prose work centers the fullness of the Anishinaabe people in storytelling that fluidly glides across space, time and genre to incorporate horror, humor, realism and futurism.   

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By Stacey Patton. Beacon Press. Out Oct. 6.

Journalist, historian and child advocate Stacey Patton has written a book that is at once tragic and necessary, one that should never have to be written but that all of us should read. In Strung Up, she traces how white people have been groomed into racism through the violence done to Black children over hundreds of years. It’s very hard to read, but that’s precisely why you must.

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By Amber Blaeser-Wardzala (Anishinaabe). Pantheon. Out Oct. 13. 

This powerful debut highlights the missing and murdered Indigenous women epidemic from the perspective of Middle Sister, who is grappling with sadness, guilt, regret, and relationships. Determined to discover what happened to Oldest Sister, she searches for clues while being pursued by a local white man with a mysterious past.

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By Mathilda Zeller (Inuit). Tor Nightfire. Out Oct. 13. 

If you’re looking for a folk horror to warm up your October night, this atmospheric debut is one to pick up. Set in an Inupiat village in remote Alaska, the story follows a young woman faced with a dangerous mystery when her sister goes missing. Come for the supernatural monster tale, stay for the imperative commentary on extractive colonialism; which one is more terrifying?  

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By Sasha Maria Suarez (White Earth Ojibwe). University of Minnesota Press. Out Oct. 13.

Focused on Indigenous urban life and survivance in Minneapolis, this community history considers White Earth Ojibwe women’s organizing, leadership, and institutional visibility. Sasha Maria Suarez’s comprehensive research and nuanced storytelling cover themes of home, place, education and gender roles over time. 

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By Zaina Arafat. Little, Brown and Co. Out Oct. 20.

Palestinian-American writer Zaina Arafat’s latest is a thoughtful collection of essays centered on the Palestinian diaspora. From rage and despair to joy and hope, the narratives Arafat shares focus on queerness, motherhood, home, loss and love.

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By María Fernanda Ampuero. Translated by Frances Riddle. The Feminist Press. Out Oct. 20.

Ecuadorian writer María Fernanda Ampuero’s latest essay collection is entitled Visceral for good reason. From her anguish at not becoming a mother to the haunting depths of depression, Ampuero’s attention to perspective and dedication to sharing her truths make these essays startling, empathetic and uncompromising. Take while reading this collection, but read it. 

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Written by Elaine Vilar Madruga. Translated by Kevin Gerry Dunn. HarperVia. Out Oct. 20.

I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t read some wild, gory horror in October! Now available in English, this award winner tells the story of a community trying to survive in a rapacious Cuban rainforest. It’s hard to fathom how something so excruciating can be so stunningly written. If you can stomach it, this one offers a brutal take on embodiment, motherhood and misogyny. 

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Edited by Justine Payton and Caroline Beuley. University of Iowa Press. Out Oct. 27.

From Myriam Gurba on racism and sexual assault to Ivan Coyote’s “on having a uterus but not looking like someone who does” to Lynn Schmiedler’s menopause essay without periods, this collection speaks to the mysterious, enraging, nuanced and life-saving aspects of gynecological healthcare.

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By Camila Kerwin. Street Noise. Out Oct. 27.

This outstanding debut graphic novel is at once heartbreaking and infuriating. Camila Kerwin combines her journalistic chops with her illustration acumen to produce an informational, reflective and lovingly drawn volume centering the youngest victims of the gun violence epidemic in the US. It’s this month’s #RequiredReading.

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A note from Ms. editors: We want to hear from you for The Majority, a new campaign collecting stories about how reproductive freedom has enabled readers to build the lives they want and need.

Poll after poll shows a majority of Americans support reproductive healthcare access. Yet public debate overlooks the lives shaped by abortion access, contraception, IVF, miscarriage care, maternal healthcare or comprehensive sex education—countless women who chose to pursue an education, have children, not have children, protect their health and chart their own future. What’s your reproductive freedom story? Add your voice. Together, these stories will help show not only why reproductive freedom remains a majority value, but also what it makes possible.