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About WordsWomen Press
WordsWomen Press is an indie publishing imprint dedicated to books that center women's lives, including their secrets, histories, and hard-won truths. Founded in 2024 by writer, activist, and educator Annette Marquis, our titles span memoir, documentary poetry, and micro-memoir. We publish stories of women that deserve to be told.Annette founded WordsWomen Press in 2024 because she wanted a publishing home that reflected her values as a writer and activist — a commitment to women's voices, to LGBTQ+ lives and histories, and to the kind of indie publishing that pushes back against the limits of traditional publishing.
Titles
AVAILABLE NOW
Living Into the Truth: A Daughter's Journey of Discovery by Annette Marquis
A memoir of uncovering family secrets and embracing identity. Set against the backdrop of mid-20th century America, Living Into the Truth follows Annette Marquis's journey from a Catholic upbringing shaped by silence and hidden truths to a life lived openly as a lesbian. Through research, DNA testing, and unflinching honesty, she unravels her family's past — including a sister lost to polio and the origins she was never meant to know — and arrives at hard-won insights about forgiveness, belonging, and what it means to live authentically.
FORTHCOMING IN 2026
What Doesn't Burn: Imagining Richmond's Grace Arents in Poems by Wendy DeGroat
A documentary poetry collection that recovers the life and legacy of Grace Arents, one of Richmond's most remarkable and overlooked women. Through lyric and documentary verse, DeGroat, restores Arents to the history she helped shape, and asks what we lose when women's stories are allowed to disappear. Cover reveal and reading: June 20, 2025, on the 100th anniversary of Ms. Arent's death. Book realase: Fall 2026
Accidental Mentors: Inspirational Stories of Women Who Shaped My Life without Even Trying by Annette Marquis
From the author: Accidental Mentors is a micro-memoir collection celebrating the women who changed me when they weren't even looking. These short, vivid pieces capture the teachers, neighbors, co-workers, family members, and friends whose words or actions made me the person I am today. It's my hope that these stories challenge you to remember and appareciate your accidental mentors.
A Note on How We Sell Books
We believe in independent booksellers and in readers who choose carefully where their book dollars go. Our titles are available directly through this website, independent bookstores and online retailers. We encourage you to buy local whenever you can. Although we include our books on big-name online booksellers, we encourage you to purchase directly from us or seek out an independent bookseller.For press inquiries and personal appearances, please contact:
Annette MarquisOwner
WordsWomen Press
Richmond, VA 23235
annette@wordswomen.com
(804) 396-2782
