Karla J. Strand, Author at Ms. Magazine https://msmagazine.com/author/kstrand/ More Than A Magazine, A Movement Fri, 19 Dec 2025 22:05:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://msmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-ms-logo-32x32.jpg Karla J. Strand, Author at Ms. Magazine https://msmagazine.com/author/kstrand/ 32 32 2025 ‘Best of the Rest’: Our Favorite Books of the Year https://msmagazine.com/2025/12/19/best-feminist-books-2025/ Fri, 19 Dec 2025 22:05:19 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=390386 You’ve read the other “Best of” lists—now read this one. You know, the one for the rest of us.

Here are Ms. magazine's top feminist books of 2025.

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]]> December 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us https://msmagazine.com/2025/12/09/best-new-feminist-books-gifts-december-2025-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-lgbtq-writers/ Tue, 09 Dec 2025 22:45:42 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=389466 Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

December’s 14 titles are great for gifting or curling up with on a cold winter’s night. Wishing you all a lovely holiday season! 

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]]> The Politics of ‘Audit’: How Texas Is Using Bureaucracy to Erase Gender Studies https://msmagazine.com/2025/11/11/texas-gender-studies-audit-university-college-feminist-studies/ Tue, 11 Nov 2025 22:00:00 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=387832 Professor Melissa McCoul was dismissed in September after teaching LGBTQ+ themes in her children’s literature course at Texas A&M. Just this week, a faculty council determined McCoul's firing violated her academic freedom.

But politicians and activists who oppose what they call “woke gender ideology,” are galvanized and doubling down, using this Texas A&M case to push for curricular reviews aimed at eliminating women’s, gender and sexuality studies from public colleges and universities across Texas.

Framed as bureaucratic oversight, conservatives seek to eliminate gender studies and related fields through procedural mechanisms that evade public scrutiny. The assaults on gender studies in Texas are not just a local issue; they are a national bellwether. They signal a coordinated effect to dismantle feminist and queer inquiry and remind us that silence, in the face of repression, is complicity.

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]]> November 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us https://msmagazine.com/2025/11/01/best-new-feminist-books-november-2025-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-lgbtq-writers/ Sat, 01 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=388005 Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

I hope you find something on this list of 20 that fuels your feminism and reminds you of the power of our collective stories.

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]]> October 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us https://msmagazine.com/2025/10/07/best-new-feminist-books-october-2025-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-lgbtq-writers/ Tue, 07 Oct 2025 16:43:56 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=386910 In a time when we need it the most, these 20 books will provide the knowledge, respite, ideas, empathy and rage we need right now to continue the work of liberation.

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]]> September 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us https://msmagazine.com/2025/09/03/best-new-feminist-books-september-2025-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-lgbtq-writers/ Wed, 03 Sep 2025 21:34:33 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=385464 Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

If you’ve read this column before or follow book publishing, you may know that September is a giant month for new releases. Excellent books are being released this month that you won’t see on this list, and you may wonder why we neglected to include them. Most of the time, this is intentional. We will forego a book with a Big Name publisher and lots of marketing power behind it for a book published by an indie label. We may opt to include a debut author instead of someone who’s got a few books to their name. No matter what, we put time and effort into ensuring we choose the right books for the list and you, our readers.  

Let’s get into the 25 books we’ve chosen to highlight for September 2025. 

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]]> August 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us https://msmagazine.com/2025/08/01/best-new-feminist-books-august-2025-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-lgbtq-writers/ Fri, 01 Aug 2025 21:13:00 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=384131 Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

Check out the top 25 books that we are excited about this month!

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]]> July 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us https://msmagazine.com/2025/07/01/best-new-feminist-books-july-2025-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-lgbtq-writers/ Tue, 01 Jul 2025 20:05:22 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=382023 Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

Check out the top 22 books that we are excited about this month!

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]]> June 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us https://msmagazine.com/2025/06/03/best-feminist-books-june-2025-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-lgbtq-writers/ Tue, 03 Jun 2025 19:53:24 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=380435 Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

Red Hen Press. Alice James Books. Voice of Witness. Nightboat Books. Deep Vellum. Feminist Press. These are just a few of the many indie publishers and nonprofits who recently had their National Endowment for the Arts funding cut by the federal government. An attack on art—specifically literary art—is a deliberate attempt to keep us feeling hopeless, uninspired and compliant.

Many affected publishers have been strategizing ways to lessen the impact, but there is work for us to do, too. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial for us to buy or borrow these publishers’ works, share them with our loved ones and ask our local librarians to get copies.

Reading even just one or two of the 25 books on this list is a first step towards sending the message that we will continue to support the arts and prioritize the stories being told by and about marginalized groups. 

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]]> May 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us https://msmagazine.com/2025/05/02/best-feminist-books-may-2025-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-lgbtq-writers/ Fri, 02 May 2025 19:43:58 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=378956 Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

It’s finally springtime in the Midwest, the grass is turning green and flowers are beginning to bloom. The robins are back, the fawns are appearing and the coyotes are howling. For me, it couldn’t come too soon. These signs of life are a welcome distraction from our political, social and environmental realities right now. More importantly, they provide hope and a reason for joy. The fresh air and blue skies remind me to pause, to breathe and to acknowledge gratitude, even in times of pain and want.

The 26 books on this month’s list provide some of that much-needed hope and joy as well. They tell stories of strength and resilience, of relationships and love, of imagination and dreams. 

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