Meet Shannon Watts

I’m a speaker, author and Founder Emerita of Moms Demand Action, the largest women’s volunteer organization in America. I’ve been called a “summoner of women’s audacity,” and I’m honored to have been named a Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, a Forbes 50 over 50 Changemaker, and a Glamour Woman of the Year. My book “Fight Like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World,” was published in 2019.

After training to be journalist at the University of Missouri, I spent over a decade telling stories about America’s gun violence crisis on social media and news outlets like TIME, The Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, Marie Claire and ELLE. Given the degradation of platforms like Twitter, I’m moving to Substack to write about what I’ve learned as a longtime activist, leader and advocate for women. I’m also working on a new book to be published in 2025, and I look to Substack readers’ insights to help shape its narrative and stories.

I currently live in California, but was born and raised in Rochester, New York, and have also lived in Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Georgia, Wisconsin, Indiana and Colorado. You can follow me on most social media platforms at @ shannonrwatts. I’m most active on Instagram.

Why subscribe?

Because we all need to surround ourselves with a community of badass women and supporters who encourage us to find the spark inside us. Women – especially women of color and older women – are often told they have nothing valuable to offer. But our wealth of experiences and expertise are actually the answer to many of the world’s most pressing problems. Let’s fan the flames together.

Because I’m passionate about fostering a world in which women’s voices and talents flourish. I’ve learned so many lessons about myself and about the unique ability of women to step up, as well as the urgent, crucial need for women’s unique talents in the public square. Let’s name our burning desires.

Because we all need a supportive space to take steps toward transformation. I’ve spent the past decade encouraging thousands of women to get off the sidelines of their lives by coaxing out their desires and stories, showing them how to stand up for themselves and others, and encouraging them to take on roles they never imagined they were qualified for. Let’s play with fire.

What you’ll get when you subscribe

Each Monday, I share some of the insights I’ve gained after 11 years of activism, leadership and women’s advocacy in my newsletter. Feminism is at the center of my advocacy and writing, but this newsletter spans US politics and policy, popular culture, and whatever else is interesting at the moment. On Fridays, I ask readers for their feedback to include in my new book, to be published in 2025. Most of my posts are free to read but there are paid benefits to subscribing, including an impending podcast.

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