International Women's Day: Inspiring Messages From Your Favourite Authors

It is important to honour and empower women every day. International Women's Day is not about celebrating women more this day, but amplifying our voices and actions to "forge a more inclusive world for women" together, so that the world may continue to witness the relentless fight for women's equality.

Let us unite, celebrate, and work towards a future where equality is not just an aspiration, but a reality — one day.

Let's draw inspiration from the voices of talented women who have fearlessly pursued their passions and shared their joy through their writing. We had the great benefit of speaking to some incredible authors who very graciously shared some inspiration and allowed us the opportunity to share their quotes with you.

We hope these are the push you need to start your writing journeys!

Happy International Women’s Day!

I’ve been asked so many times what my best advice is for people who wish to become authors. I know sometimes that answer can be long and convoluted and sometimes a lot to absorb. So I’ll just say this.

Someone out there needs your story.

There is a person waiting to escape their day. Maybe it was a long day chasing their kids. Maybe they got fired. Maybe it’s yet another day in a very long string of days where they haven’t felt like themselves and they don’t know how to crawl out of that hole.

They’re going to pick up your book, and all of that is going to melt away. They’re going to breath normally for the first time in hours while their eyes are on your work.

Whatever is holding you back from publishing, let this vision take that anxieties place. Your words will provide some relief from the real world.

Write the book. Let nothing stop you. Because you never know who needs it.

– Emma Hamm

USAToday Bestselling Author Emma Hamm grew up in a small town surrounded by trees and animals. She writes strong, confident, powerful women who aren't afraid to grow and make mistakes. Her books will always be a little bit feminist, and are geared towards empowering both men and women to be comfortable in their own skin.

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Take the leap. Jot down that idea. Write out a few paragraphs. Even if it’s rough and unpolished—just start. That’s the hardest part. There are resources to help with everything else, but believe in yourself and just start.

– Ashley Bennett

Ashley is an avid reader and during the Covid-19 pandemic, she decided to dip her toes into writing and hasn’t looked back. She loves coffee, candles, fall weather, mid-century modern furniture, and a good alien romance (complete with fancy peens).

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Find the story only you can tell and tell it in the way that only you can. Be weird. Be you. Whatever that looks like.

– Nancey Cummings

Nancey is a USA Today bestselling author. She writes fast-paced, low-angst books about kissing aliens, because that’s how she rolls.

She once had an argument with her husband about being married in space. He claimed that marriage was a legal contract and ended when a person left orbit. Nancey said the vows were “till death do us part” not “until the spaceship departs.”

She has written twenty books about being married in space just to prove him wrong.

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I think the most sincere and effective kind of art is the art you can create when you’re making it for no one but yourself. Making art that’s just for you to enjoy is how you truly unlock your passion and drive—and other people’s opinions matter far less when you’re not aiming to please them. It’s hard to remember this as more and more people read your work, but ultimately you have to make yourself happy.

- Lyonne Riley

Lyonne Riley spends most of her time writing fantastical, monstrous, and super steamy books. She lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere with her spouse and two dogs.

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Don’t cut corners but you shouldn’t even try to get it perfect. Perfection doesn’t exist. Fail forward and grow. I know writing and publishing can feel scary, big, and overwhelming. But don’t let it hold you back. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

– Rhea Fox

Rhea Fox spends her days writing, thinking about her plots, talking about her characters, or winding down writing some recreational smut.

When not pondering weird peens, Rhea can usually be found with her phone in hand reading a romance novel, creating more funny reels for her Insta, or exploring the woods with her kids.

Rhea writes Monster Romance full of weird, flawed characters that still deserve all the love, of sugar and spice, with neurodivergent or mental health rep (because she enjoys reading and writing about people who are as weird as her), and guaranteed Happily Ever Afters.

Together with her husband, two kids and a dog named Hamlet, she lives on the market square of an old village in the north of Bavaria. Growing up, Rhea came to love lores, mythical creatures and fairy tales that fascinate her to this day.

Beyond these she is inspired by her unfiltered ADHD brain, by art, literature and music, and the terrible wonder that is the human mind.

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Here are a few charities and alliances that the International Women's Day organisation suggests donating to this year: