With Q1 of 2021 behind us, we’re excited to broaden our reading horizons and continue to tackle our personal reading goals. With this in mind, we’re happy to introduce Kendra Winchester, co-host of the wonderful Reading Women podcast:

Back in 2016, two friends started a podcast to share their love of books by or about women. Since then, the team expanded to include women from around the world, each sharing her unique perspective on the world and literature. What started out as a bi-weekly podcast grew into an organization that now hosts author interviews, puts out a weekly newsletter, features the yearly Reading Women Award, and so much more.

Each year, the Reading Women team collaborates to create a yearly reading challenge that encourages their listeners and the bookish community at large to consider the authors, genres, and topics that find their ways into TBR piles. Read on to learn more about this year’s challenge, Kendra’s goals for the podcast, and the upcoming collaboration between Reading Women and Old Town Books.

What's the origin story of the podcast? Had your team collaborated on any projects previously?

Back in 2016, a friend and I started the podcast as a hobby to keep us brushed up on our literary studies and to have a platform to discuss books with our fellow former grad students. But what started out as a hobby slowly changed into something bigger. Our audience changed, so our focus changed.

As we grew, so did our team. In 2019, we added three co-hosts that rotated, tackling different themes and types of literature. Later that year, we added even more contributors. Now, we have a team of over 10 people who are all working on various parts of Reading Women.

What is your primary goal for the Reading Women podcast?

Reading Women encourages readers to carefully consider the books they are reading and who is writing those books. For me, Reading Women has encouraged me to examine my reading life and what gaps I may have in my reading. How many books in translation am I reading? How many disabled, chronically ill, Deaf, or neurodivergent authors am I reading? How many trans authors am I reading? Each year, I try to tackle a new gap and expand my reading. It’s been incredibly helpful for me, and I hope it’s helpful to our listeners as well.

How does your team go about selecting the overall theme and subsequent prompts for the yearly reading challenge?

In the fall of every year, we have a meeting and discuss the next year’s themes. Once each co-host has chosen her themes, we then build the challenge around that. Since we started the Reading Women Challenge several years ago, we’ve never repeated a theme. We also try to consider the accessibility, format, and flexibility of each of the challenge prompts. It’s quite the process!

Which prompts are you most excited about from this year's challenge?

I’m very excited for the prompt about reading a cookbook by a woman of color. With how much men and white chefs dominate the cookbook world, I wanted to support women of color in the industry and highlight their work.

What's your favorite part of producing Reading Women? What is the biggest challenge?

I love talking with authors and readers from around the world. The biggest challenge is being a disabled person who can’t read text while working on a podcast about books. Most people don’t realize how difficult the internet can be when you need certain accommodations.

What are your favorite book podcasts?

I really love Liberty Hardy’s All the Books podcast. One of Reading Women’s contributors, Bree Hill, started the Categorically Romance podcast with her friend Sarah. And who doesn’t love Levar Burton Reads?

What's currently on your TBR pile?

I’m incredibly excited for Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, and The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. 

Which summer/fall releases are you most excited about?

Matrix by Lauren Groff; What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J. A. Chancy; and Win Me Something by Kyle Lucia Wu

What are your local/favorite indie bookstores?

I recently moved, but I still love M. Judson Booksellers and Hub City Bookshop.

Any words of advice for first-time challenge participants?

Have fun! This challenge is here to encourage you to read more widely, but we also want you to have a good time too.

Join Kendra and several of our Old Town Books booksellers for a virtual challenge check-in, this Sunday, April 25 at 4 PM EST. Learn more about the 2021 challenge, get Kendra’s advice for sourcing relevant titles, hear recommendations for some of the trickier categories, and more! Follow @theReadingWomen and use #ReadingWomenChallenge to participate on social media.

Participants are also eligible for this special one-time use shipping promo here at Old Town Books. For your first Challenge-based order, we're offering two shipping options: 99 cent shipping with code RWSHIP99 or $5 priority shipping they can use code RWSHIP5. At this time, only orders to the United States are eligible for the shipping promo.

About the Host

Kendra Winchester holds an MA in English Literature and is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Reading Women, a podcast with Lit Hub Radio that features books by or about women. She also writes about audiobooks for Book Riot. Raised in Appalachian Ohio, she currently lives in the South Carolina Low Country. www.readingwomenpodcast.com

Blog and photo contributions by Kendra Winchester.
Edited by Shannon McCarthy.