Your Voice Is the Revolution: Why Women’s Books Matter More Than Ever in 2026

Your Voice Is the Revolution: Why Women’s Books Matter More Than Ever in 2026

By Alexa Bigwarfe | Alexa’s Publishing Chat

Some podcast episodes are carefully planned. This one wasn’t. On July 8th, 2026, after seeing a friend’s raw, honest Facebook post about the fear she’s carrying as a Black mother in America right now, I sat down and hit record. No script. No outline. Just the truth that I needed to say out loud.

And if you’ve been feeling the weight of everything happening in the world lately — feeling both overwhelmed and strangely more called than ever — this one is for you.

Why I Started Women in Publishing Summit (And Why I Thought We’d Be Done by Now)

When I founded Women in Publishing Summit in 2017, I had a simple hope: that by amplifying women’s voices and diverse perspectives in publishing, the industry — and the world — would shift. I genuinely thought we might work ourselves out of a job in a few years.

It’s 2026. We haven’t.

In fact, we find ourselves in a moment where the conversation has moved backward. Book bans are targeting Black history, LGBTQ+ stories, and any narrative that challenges a narrow status quo. Women’s rights are contracting. And the voices calling loudest for that contraction are doing so from behind masks, in the halls of power, and in school board meetings across the country.

That is not the world I imagined. But it is the world I’m in. And I believe with everything in me that this is exactly why our work matters.

Every Book Is an Act of Revolution

A year or so ago, I was at an entrepreneurship intensive surrounded by veterans doing genuinely life-altering work with their businesses. I had a moment of self-doubt — all I do is help people publish books — and said as much to one of the men in the room.

He looked at me like I had lost my mind.

“In today’s climate,” he said, “publishing a book IS revolutionary.” And then he pointed out that every single speaker at the program had either handed us a book or directed us to one that had fundamentally changed their life or business.

I knew that. But in that moment, I really knew it.

Whether you are writing a children’s picture book with characters who look like the children in your community, a novel that puts a human face on an experience others have never lived, a memoir that shows someone they’re not alone, or a nonfiction book that teaches a skill or shifts a mindset — your book matters. The act of writing it and getting it into the world is powerful. Full stop.

Book Bans Are a Signal, Not a Stop Sign

I want to speak plainly about book bans for a moment. The books being removed from shelves and pulled from school libraries are not random. They overwhelmingly cover Black history, LGBTQ+ experiences, and stories that don’t fit a very specific, very narrow narrative. That is not an accident.

And the response to that cannot be silence. The response has to be more books. More stories. More diverse voices publishing, more readers finding those books, more communities having those conversations.

Telling us we can’t read something is, historically, one of the clearest signals that what’s in that book is exactly what people need to read.

Watching My Daughter Find Her Voice

This episode was also shaped by something personal and beautiful that happened the same day I recorded it: I watched my youngest daughter — a filmmaker and screenwriter — be interviewed on the local news about her program’s film premiere.
Watching her director coach those young women from their first run-through to the live cameras rolling was striking. These young women had to learn not just the craft of filmmaking, but the confidence to talk about it in public. To step outside their comfort zones. To show up fully.

That’s the same journey we’re on as authors and publishing professionals. The craft is just part of it. Learning to speak, to be interviewed, to get on stages, to advocate for our own work — that’s the other half. And it’s learnable. At any age.

That’s a big part of what Stages and Pages (October 2026, San Antonio) is designed for — helping authors and speakers learn to use both their written and spoken voices to reach more people. If you have a message and want both a book and a stage, I’d love to see you there at stagesandpages.com.

Ain’t Nobody Coming to Save Us

I said it in this episode and I’ll say it here: ain’t nobody coming to save us. We have to save ourselves. And we do that by showing up, by using our platforms, by writing the books that need to be written, by speaking the truths that need to be spoken, by building the businesses that sustain us so we can keep doing that work.
Which is exactly why the WIP Business Bootcamp on August 21–22, 2026 is on my heart right now. Because here’s what I’ve learned after years of doing this work: I cannot make the kind of impact I want to make without a financially healthy business. I want to make more money. You should too. Money is what lets us keep showing up, keep creating, keep serving.

The Business Bootcamp isn’t about selling more books. It’s about taxes, accounting, legal foundations, financial development, and building wealth as women entrepreneurs in publishing. Two days, entirely virtual, and entirely worth it.

Grab your spot at womeninpublishingsummit.com/businessbc.

Your Words Matter. You Matter.

I don’t know exactly where things go from here. Some days I genuinely just want to lie down and sleep through it. But we can’t afford to check out. Not when there are stories that need telling. Not when there are readers who need to find those stories. Not when there are young women watching us to see how we show up.

So keep writing. Keep publishing. Keep speaking. Come join us in the WIP Society community at mywipsociety.com — a space built for women authors and publishing professionals who believe, like I do, that we are so much better together.

Your voice is not extra. Your voice is the point.

Q: Why do women’s voices in publishing matter so much right now?
 A: In 2026, book bans, shrinking representation, and political pressure on diverse stories make it more urgent than ever for women — and especially women from marginalized communities — to publish their work, speak their truth, and build platforms that can’t be silenced.

Q: What is the WIP Business Bootcamp and who is it for?
 A: The WIP Business Bootcamp is a two-day virtual event on August 21–22, 2026, designed for women authors and publishing professionals who want to build a legally sound, financially healthy publishing business. It covers taxes, accounting, legal basics, and financial development — not just book sales. Register at mywipsociety.com.

Q: How can an author learn to speak about their book in public?
 A: Many authors find public speaking, media interviews, and live stages intimidating — but these skills are learnable. The Stages and Pages Conference (San Antonio, October 2026) is specifically designed to help authors and speakers develop both their written and spoken voices for maximum impact.

Q: What is the WIP Society and how does it support women in publishing?
 A: WIP Society is a membership community for women authors and publishing professionals. Members get access to virtual bootcamps, monthly training, Q&A sessions, networking, and a supportive community of peers. Learn more at mywipsociety.com.