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International Women's Day 2026

International Women's Day, celebrated annually on March 8, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

International Women’s Day can mean different things to various groups. At Vision Australia Library, we embrace the opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements through recognising and appreciating the contributions of women in literature, highlighting their influence and successes throughout history and in the present day.

We are proud to share seven new release titles which are insightful, evocative, compelling and inspiring. These are books written by innovative, talented and influential authors. These are books written by women.

We encourage all our members, irrespective of gender, to support International Women’s Day by reading an author they haven’t encountered before. Together we can celebrate women’s ongoing contribution to literature.

Identity Crisis by Nicola Gill

Be yourself, people say. But the last person Clare Palmer wants to be is herself. She's lost everything she once had and now can barely get through a bus ride without wanting to thump someone. (People who don't wear headphones, sniffers, fried chicken guzzlers). So, when she discovers her resemblance to beloved reality TV presenter Jenna Cox, Clare jumps at the chance to become a lookalike, earn some cash and get her life back together. But it's all too easy to cross the line between celebrity lookalike and pretending to be the real Jenna – and becoming someone else is about to take Clare's life down a track that's even rockier than the one she's on....

Broken Girl: A True Story by Bradley Trevor Greive and Caroline Laner Breure

Sometimes the whole truth is the death of everything. Caroline Laner Breure was on holiday in Spain with her boyfriend when her skull was crushed. A year later, following starless months in a coma and painful rehabilitation, Caroline returned to her beachside apartment in Sydney, only to find that her home was not her home, her lover was not her lover and her friends were not her friends. Everyone and everything she'd loved had vanished. Physically broken and no longer able to trust her own mind, she painstakingly searched for clues to explain the cruel disparity between her past and present. This is the true story of how Caroline solved her own mystery and reclaimed her life. A jagged and luminous survivor's account and a defiant celebration of imperfection, Broken Girl is a powerful and poetic work of staggering loss and betrayal, fierce beauty, dark humour, love and rage.

The New Rules: The Ultimate Guide to Being Her. Confidence. Dating. Relationships by Margarita Nazarenko

We all want to live the best life we can, but how do we sort through all the confusing messages about how to do that? Margarita Nazarenko tells it like it is when it comes to women and relationships – and women's relationships with themselves. A qualified life coach, YouTuber and TikTok sensation, Margarita advises women not only about how to navigate relationships with men, but how to create wonderful lives with or without a relationship. Her message is straightforward: don't expect to have a great life if you're not creating it for yourself first. The New Rules collects the wisdom Margarita has shared with her followers all over the world as well as new insights – and a bit about Margarita herself – in her unique and inimitable style. Margarita is agony aunt, big sister and best friend rolled into one and this book is a portable best friend that women can carry with them throughout the day – and throughout life.

Ride On: Hope, Healing and Getting Back on the Horse by Michelle Payne

A decade after her dramatic launch into fame, celebrated jockey Michelle Payne reflects on what she's learned about love, loss, courage and kindness. The Melbourne Cup: the most prestigious horse race in Australia and never won by a female jockey – until 2015. When Michelle Payne swept across the finish line, she made history and galloped straight into our hearts. Yet what came next for Michelle was an even wilder ride: a whirlwind of international celebrity that drove her to breaking point, a second catastrophic race fall and an excruciating fight to walk again. Ten years later, Ride On reveals exactly what empowered Michelle's trailblazing win and her following triumphs in the face of extraordinary adversity and pain – the experiences, perspective and discipline that helped her dig deeper and reach further than she'd ever thought possible.

Model Minority Gone Rogue: How an Unfulfilled Daughter of a Tiger Mother Went Way Off Script by Qin Qin

We all grow up with rules. Do this, be this, don't be that. Qin Qin was all about the rules: do your homework, be good, don't rock the boat. She was the model daughter, model student and model minority. But doing everything right? It made her lost and miserable. So, she decided to take a spectacular risk and change everything. At 23, Qin was an unhappy overachiever working for a prestigious law firm. So, she quit. She didn't know what else was out there, but she wanted to find out. She changed paths, changed countries, changed her entire view of what the world could be, and who she could be – with some primal screaming and tree-hugging along the way. In the process, she discovered the person she truly was, not who she thought she should be. Model Minority Gone Rogue is a funny, sad, exhilarating and thought-provoking true story about what happens when you want to live life on your own terms, even when those terms go against everything you've ever known. It's a story of what happens when you choose love over fear and honour your authentic self: life can be bigger and brighter than anything you had ever imagined.

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

When Amy Ashton's world fell apart 11 years ago, she started a collection. Just a few keepsakes of happier times: some honeysuckle to remind herself of the boy she loved, a chipped china bird, an old terracotta pot.... Things that others might throw away, but to Amy, represent a life that could have been. Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves – soon there'll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery, and Amy's carefully curated life begins to unravel. If she can find the courage to face her past, might the future she thought she'd lost still be hers for the taking?

The Feminine Art of Revenge by Celine Saintclare

Forced to abandon her lifelong dream of becoming a ballet dancer, Sylvie finds herself unqualified and unfulfilled in an admin job she hates. She doesn't know what she's doing with her life – until she meets her new boss, Jay. Handsome, rich and mysterious, Jay captures Sylvie's imagination. They embark on a passionate affair that consumes her every waking moment. Until Sylvie discovers he's already married. But heartbreak quickly turns to fury and she finally knows her true purpose: revenge.