ANTHOLOGIES

New Worlds: The 2013 Girls Write Now Anthology

In this anthology celebrating 15 years of intergenerational connection, the Girls Write Now mentors and mentees of yesteryear offer a unique window into the artistic spirit of 2013. Dive into what these community members have to say below.

New Worlds anthology cover 2013
New Worlds anthology cover 2013

In tune with this year’s curricular theme, New Worlds: the Girls Write Now 2013 Anthology is composed of stories that celebrate the incredible diversity and creative fearlessness of our intergenerational community, showcasing poetry, fiction, memoir and more that surprise us and stretch our understanding of the world and ourselves.

Support Young Writers

Get a copy of the Girls Write Now 2013 Anthology: “New Worlds” to support our mission to champion writers to break down the barriers of gender, age, race, and poverty to mentor, teach, and connect writers and leaders across disciplines and around the nation. With a focus on those historically disempowered due to their gender and gender identity, we harness the power of stories to shape culture, impact industries, and bridge worlds.
Reading from the 2024 Anthology Launch Party

Foreword by

Adele Griffin

Honoree

Adele Griffin is a New Yorker who enjoys living in Los Angeles even if never snows here. She is the author of many books for new and young people. The Favor (June 2023) is her first book for older people. She loves pull-quotes, bakery cakes, and writing about herself in third person. Find her on Instagram at @adelegriffin or adelegriffin.com for big surprises (okay, no surprises, but that's where you can find more bio and the book list).

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Read What's Inside

Browse our collection of stories from inside the book. Complete with notes from the author and anecdotes from our mentees and mentors.

Stories from Inside "New Worlds"

Stories from Inside "New Worlds"

Flowers for Georgia

My dad and I love art history, and we wanted to bring to light stories of women who have carved and sculpted their place in history! There are so many inspiring women today, but also many women who may be in the shadows of history— and who should be kept alive. This work was a challenge given that I had never worked on a piece through a media platform before. The piece is a product of my learning process and the new mode of storytelling I tried, and the writing I always do!

Popped

Pop culture is all around us—in the movie trailers we watch, the celebrities we follow, in the books we read, and more. But pop culture often intersects with the larger structures of our lives, like politics or ethics, and these intersections bring up interesting questions about how we consume media. This podcast is a look at these intersections and how to answer these questions in an age in which the personal is the political. In each episode, I'll explore a recent pop culture trend and then analyze it through a larger framework with background research.

The Perfect American

The Perfect American tells the stories of immigrants detained by ICE. Every episode is centered around a different detainee. Each with a different story, a different perspective, and a different relationship with America. In this country, where not everyone qualifies as American, these people deserve a chance to be heard. A chance to prove themselves, to show who they are outside of what the media spews about them. These are the Perfect Americans, the people who strive to be a part of a nation that doesn't want them.

Fragments: The Need for Attention

My stop-motion poem is inviting, and it gives good advice on how to live your life: try to be more open and express how you feel to others, so that you are not bottling up your problems and keeping them to yourself. The found poem was inspired by words that stood out to me in a few used books, and as I highlighted many words, it became easier to pinpoint the topic of the poem.

All Of My Maybes

The sun rising, the birds chirping, the light morning breeze and the sweet smell of spring in the air—the narrator of my short story looks out at the melancholic scene playing out before her. All she can think about as she watches the sky is how her life could be if she wasn't afraid of adventure. All of us have struggled with venturing out into the unknown. Like the narrator, most of us find ourselves sitting down and contemplating what life could be like. It's fictional, but she's still me. That's why this represents my best work.

My Week in School

This podcast goes into the life of one of many high school students. Each high school student has their own activities, and this just focuses on one student. This represents my best work since it's relatable to most of the other Girls Write Now mentees. We're all high school students and deal with so much during the school year, and sometimes we just need to hear someone else going through a similar thing to feel better about a bad or good day.

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Girls Write Now 2023 Anthology

Praise for New Worlds

From the Literary Community

“To write from the heart is to illuminate one’s existence against many kinds of darkness. These young writers are going deep, feeling hard, self-defining what has as yet no public face. What a refreshment to me as an older writer. To feel what is so true, so real, so liberating in this work. After all, it is the hard on freedom we gain ourselves that is truly our own.”
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Alice Walker Author
“It’s not easy being a woman of color in this world. But I write because I still have hope that things can be changed. Whenever I falter, I look over my shoulder and see the next generation of women writers rising — I hear the bold voices of these brilliant young women and I forge ahead knowing the change we need is already underway.”
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Zetta Elliot Author

Intersectional Voices in Editorial Print Committee

Every year, the Intersectional Voices in Editorial (IV Edit) Print Committee brings their talents to the task of editing, producing, and promoting this fresh collection of writing from today’s emerging voices. The committee is made up of mentors, mentees, and other volunteers who are passionate about diversifying the publishing landscape.