On International Women’s Day 2023, we published The Things I Wish I’d Known, a book by women, for women, to raise funds for Women’s Aid. The book brought together personal essays written by women, sharing some of the things that they have learnt along the way and would like to pass on to support and inspire other women.

It was such a magical book, and experience, that we’re doing it all again.

On International Women’s Day 2025, we want to publish our second volume of The Things I Wish I’d Known, once again, with 100% of royalties going to support the amazing and important work of Women’s Aid.

And we’re looking for women to get involved.

When women support each other, incredible things happen.

It’s so easy to take part:
• You can choose whatever theme you’d like for your piece but it should be about thing(s) that you’d like to share with other women. Some of the topics we had in the first volume included ‘I wish I’d known…there is no need to rush’ and ‘I wish I’d known…a career choice isn’t for life.’
• Write it in your style that feels comfortable to you. You can share your experiences and stories, or you can pass on tips and guidance that have helped you.
• Let your words flow but as an ideal we would say somewhere between 800 and around 1,500 words would be a good rough word count.
• Don’t worry about grammar and typos! Your essay will be proofed and edited before it’s published.
• And lastly, and perhaps most importantly of all, this is for any woman whether you think of yourself as a writer or not. If you have something you want to say then please say it – and you will be fully supported through the process.

And by taking part you will be able to:
• Tell your story, capture your experiences, and put your thoughts down on paper – which can be really freeing and uplifting;
• Connect with and reach other women – who knows what difference your words will make to someone?
• Help to raise money to make a difference for a charity that supports women and children.

And there’s plenty of time to get involved – the deadline for submissions is 1st January 2025!

Interested? Get involved here or email engagingstories@yahoo.com