Gemma Cairney is an award-winning broadcaster and writer, her career at the BBC having spanned over a decade. Her first book Open(Macmillan, 2017) was a young adult guide to life and saw her tour across the UK. She is a regular contributor to audio and written anthologies, has judged the Wellcome Prize and hosted the Booker shortlist readings as well as many other literary talks. The Immortal Sisterhood is her first book for adults.
@gemagain | @gemcairn
”The Immortal Sisterhood captures how the stories of Black women and those with politically-feminised bodies are threaded together all around the world. As the USA struggles with what it considers to be history and what stories deserve to be told and retold, The Immortal Sisterhood is an offering to shine light and dance with the ancestors, such as Audre Lorde, who came before us and the elders who continue to guide us such as Grace Jones.”
Simone Seales
“Gemma is an absolute dynamo! Long may she continue to use her voice to such a powerful effect.”
Annie Lennox
The Immortal Sisterhood
12 Guiding Stars to Grow, Heal and Navigate Life
RELEASED 13 AUGUST 2026
Award-winning broadcaster and writer Gemma Cairney explores the collective power and wisdom to be found in the lives of twelve remarkable women.
For centuries, travellers would stare up at the stars to guide them. Constellations of shining lights would offer a path forward or a way through, delivering courage and hope on long, difficult voyages. Throughout her life, Gemma Cairney has pieced together her own constellation, one which is made up of inspirational women – artists, activists, musicians, writers, mathematicians, mystics – who guide her, fill her creative cup and provide a sense of solace and selfhood.
In The Immortal Sisterhood Gemma shares the twelve women who make up her spiritual sorority. From Grace Jones and Mary Wollstonecraft to Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Wang Zhenyi, these women span centuries and continents, they have experienced racism, sexism, illness, war, and they all offer something different to help Gemma navigate through life. In this genre-bending mix of biography, memoir, self-help, poetry and philosophy, Gemma seeks to introduce readers to her immortal sisterhood, to invite us to take strength from their stories and to challenge us to create our own. Who are your guiding stars?
Open: A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be
This book is full of honest advice about the big, bad and beautiful things that growing up is all about: from mental health to families to first love, and everything in between.
Gemma Cairney is an important advocate for young people and between her life experiences and her personal insight from her time as Radio 1's resident agony aunt on The Surgery, she is perfectly placed to offer hope and a huge comforting cuddle to young people questioning what life's all about or dealing with hard times.
Along with practical help and advice from a range of experts and gorgeous illustrations, this bright and colourful book also has a ribbon marker and plenty of space for readers to personalise and make it their own, making Open a treasured resource to return to whenever advice is needed.
Macmillan Children's Books; (9 Mar. 2017)
Hometown Tales South Coast
Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on the South Coast, you'll find two unique tales. 'Margate Calling' is an intimate, honest and inspiring account of living in Margate by award-winning BBC broadcaster Gemma Cairney. 'Maisie and Mrs Webster' is a bold, fiercely funny and deeply moving piece of fiction about an obese young woman who is confined to her bed and longs to see the sea, by Brighton-based playwright Judy Upton. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (28 Jun. 2018)
Feminism Is…
A lively and accessible book for teens on the history, pioneers, theories, questions, arguments, and daily reality of feminism today.
What is feminism? Combining insightful text with graphic illustrations, this engaging book introduces young adult readers to a subject that should matter to everyone. Feminism is... tackles the most intriguing and relevant topics, such as "Are all people equal?", "Do boys and girls learn the same things?" and "Why do women earn less than men?" Find out what equality for women really means, get a short history of feminism, and take a look at the issues that affect women at work, in the home, and around sex and identity. Meet, too, some great women, such as Gloria Steinem, Frida Kahlo, and Malala Yousafzi, "rebel girls" who refused to accept the status quo of their day and blazed a trail for others to follow.
With more than 50 topics that address key feminist concerns, Feminism is... takes on the issues, is informative, and always thought-provoking.
Dorling Kindersley Ltd (03/01/2019)