We are living in times where the fluidity of culture has come to shape the volatility that defined 2025. In a capsule, the literary conversations continued to be dominated by discussions centred around power and politics, feminism and performativity, climate anxiety and pop culture, and digital manipulation that blurred the line between fiction and reality. Within this discourse, our tea-time conversations were stitched into carefully pleated archetypes, where the algorithm decided the words exchanged across the table.
Yet, this cultural typhoon saw the enunciation of pronounced literary voices, especially by women writers who continued to script history with their works, urging us to rethink our perspectives or simply sit by and observe the hidden magic between spaces separating words. As the year draws to a close, we bring to you our carefully curated selection of literary works by women writers that made headlines in 2025. From the “best” in fiction to history and thriller, here is a listicle of 10 books that dominated the scene and digital conversations in literary fandoms.
1. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
Nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize, Kiran Desai’s fictional bestseller The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is unlike any other. This spellbinding story by one of the most globally influential voices traces the lives of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge as they navigate their lives as aspiring novelists and struggling journalists, being bogged down by the differences of race, clan, country, and competing historical orientations.
As they embark on a search for happiness together, confronting the parody of alienating modernity, this capacious story is an enriching dive into themes of love, immigration, the relationship between art and artist, as well as the changing role of women in contemporary India. The Booker Prize jury put it well- ‘The writing moves with consummate fluency between an array of modes: philosophical, comic, earnest, emotional, and uncanny.‘
2. Fundamentally by Nussaibah Yunis
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Yunis is a witty, funny, and deeply philosophical debut novel by Nussaibah Yunis, following the journey of a young and heartbroken academic as she lands in Iraq to lead a United Nations-led deradicalisation programme created to reform ISIS brides. A fierce and razor-sharp exploration of radicalism, family, and the quest for belonging, Fundamentally boldly traces the journey of Nadia and the women she met, inspecting one of the defining controversies of our age.
It also examines the fallacies of the UN and other agencies in war zones. Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize, this book is a stellar work in fiction, brilliantly documenting realities in a flat tone.
3. Matriarch by Tina Knowles
A multigenerational family saga and NewYork Times bestseller, Matriarch is a colourful memoir by Beyoncé and Solange’s mother, Tina, a celebrated designer herself, chronicling themes of love, heartbreak, and perseverance, audaciously carrying within it, ‘the story of America.’
Detailing the power of black motherhood, the book cleverly traces the journey of Tina as a young girl from Galveston who takes it on herself to rise into the global figure she is today.
Detailing the power of black motherhood, the book cleverly traces the journey of Tina as a young girl from Galveston who takes it on herself to rise into the global figure she is today. Enlightening and surprising in equal measure, from the protagonist’s diagnosis with breast cancer to bracing the odds of American culture, the memoir gives readers a peek behind the successes and tragedies that shaped the famous family.
4. A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern
A deeply personal memoir recounting the rise to power of New Zealand’s former PM Jacinda Ardern, then the youngest female head of government, the book is a reflection on empathy, compassion, conviction, and courage, charting the path it takes to be a strong leader.
Jacinda’s visionary leadership as she charted the uncertainties of child poverty, the 2019 Christchurch Mosque Attacks, climate change, and uncertain trade deals, shows her journey of becoming a global icon, discarding her self-doubt to command respect.
5. Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy by Julia Ioffe
Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy by Julia Ioffe is a fresh and rejuvenating portrayal of Russia through the lens of women, blending historical narrative with the power of rich comprehension. Painting a vivid portrait of a country embroiled in political turmoil, Ioffe indicates the treatment meted out to women and the consequences of rejecting that treatment.
Painting a vivid portrait of a country embroiled in political turmoil, Ioffe indicates the treatment meted out to women and the consequences of rejecting that treatment.
Fleeing the Soviet Union for the US in 1990s, at the age of seven, Ioffe, in this book, answers the evergreen question- ‘How did the civilisation descend from one that produced extraordinary women to one that it is today?‘, making it an exemplary ode to womanhood.
6. Feminist History for Every Day of the Year by Kate Mosse
Women make up nearly 50 percent of the population but feature in merely 0.5 percent of recorded history. In Feminist History for Every Day of the Year, Kate Mosse, a bestselling author, champions the trailblazing journey of women who refused to submit to limitations and challenged the status quo to change the world for the better.
In Feminist History for Every Day of the Year, Kate Mosse, a bestselling author, champions the trailblazing journey of women who refused to submit to limitations and challenged the status quo to change the world for the better.
Featuring a mix of famous and lesser-known figures, including writers, politicians, artists, academicians and scientists, the anthology comprises 366 bite-sized stories retelling history from a feminist perspective.
7. Ultra Women by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson
Written by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson, this literary masterpiece delves into the intersection of feminism and sports to highlight the imbalance between expectations and abilities for women in endurance sports.
Through real-world examples, the book deals with real-life examples of gender-based discrimination to educate readers about the embedded misogyny in sports. Confronting the hardships of comparison with male peers, sexism and body image issues, this book is a must-read based on objectively ascertainable facts.
8. The Artist by Lucy Steeds
A love story wrapped in a mystery, The Artist by Lucy Steeds the book is a nostalgic and cinematic imprint on the landscape of Europe in the 1920s evoking a range of emotions under the shadow of war. Winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year, it is a tense psychodrama of female subversion and liberation cyclically wrapping together the beginning and ending in the same thread.
9. A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, Sophie Elmhirst’s NYT Bestseller is the electrifying story of a young couple who traded their lives for the ocean. Showing the tumultuous undercurrents of married life, the book deals with themes of love and obsession.
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, Sophie Elmhirst’s NYT Bestseller is the electrifying story of a young couple who traded their lives for the ocean.
As the couple’s 118-day sailing trip becomes a fight for survival, the adventurous novel chronicles the odds of human life that remain constant.
10. Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert
Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves is a searing take on womanhood, bogged down by pop culture as a powerful force, shaping our view and treatment of women in public and private.
Challenging the matrix of misogyny that undergirded cultural production, the book examines crucial issues such as pornography to navigate modernisation and the consequent collapse of feminism into a regressive period of darkness and hyper-objectification.
Across genres, these books bore a common thread- that of endurance, as they presented a collective challenge to chauvinistic and puritanic undercurrents to reposition feminism in the contemporary age. In a period of cultural backlash, when widespread uncertainty defines our lives, these books are a breath of fresh air, as they continue to make headlines for their legendary takes, penned down by women with a distinct worldview.
About the author(s)
Nausheen is currently an undergraduate student pursuing journalism at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University. With a keen interest in feminism, geopolitics, and social issues, her passions lie in research, writing, and public speaking. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, sipping coffee, and playing chess.
