ANTHOLOGIES
Rise Speak Change: The 2017 Girls Write Now Anthology
At the QWERTY Digital Media Exhibition, our mentees showcased projects that are changing the way we tell narratives. A video overlaid with powerful poetry, thoughtful podcasts, and interactive games created with Twine — our mentees used the skills they learned in our digital workshops to create these multi-platform masterpieces.

Our mentees are defining the digital age by bringing the craft of writing into the 21st century. In our Digital Media Mentoring Program, we boost girls’ tech savvy and creative potential through digital media. In bringing our curriculum and writing approach into the digital age, we prepare the girls we serve to truly be the next generation of writers—on whatever platform they choose. Students are paired one-to-one with a digital media professional and together they transform their writing into digital art. All workshops are facilitated by graduate students at Parsons The New School for Design. Our workshops feature writing and digital skill-building exercises, prompts, and share-outs to diversify participants’ modes of self-expression. At the end of a program year, girls are equipped to tell a story in GIFs, a poem in HTML, and take their words to the next level.Together we embark on a journey of creative workshops, public readings and showcases, opportunities for publication, and more, all to give girls the tools to advance their writing through different mediums.
Introduction by
Foreword by
Moderated by
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 "Rise Speak Change" Coming Soon!
Stories from Inside "Rise Speak Change" Coming Soon!
The King of Hearts
The King of Hearts is random from a deck of cards where truly the title is meaningless but the poem somehow makes it seem relevant.
Scary Things/Midsummer
These pieces explore my ideas on love, loss, and emotional validation. They're the products of a girl who got lost inside her own head for too long.
Full House (with the K.M.A)
My family and the K.M.A are as tight as sticky labels on glass bottles: they’re hard to separate, but they often look better together.
I’m Happy
A piece that has been waiting too long to say what needed to be said, out loud and to the world. Regardless of everything that has happened this year, I’m happy to be alive!
Forever Queens/ The End of the N
We wrote two poems about our relationship to our residing borough, Queens. (Lilly is a lifelong native and Toni moved to Astoria five years ago.)
Night Swimming at Summer Camp in New Hampshire
The girls swim in the lake at summer camp. It is the only place around them that is cool.
palatable
"palatable" is a product of my experiences as a young black girl at a predominantly white school. Particularly, it’s my examination of the concept of palatability, and what it means to prepare yourself for consumption.
A Tale of Two Grandmothers
A Tale of Two Grandmothers By Lena DiBiasio & Hayley Altman Two grandmothers meet and form a close bond, only
Butterfly 蝴蝶
“Butterfly 蝴蝶” is an ode to my great-grandmother, who passed away a few years ago. On occasion, the butterfly of her spirit still flies by.
things i couldn’t tell you: pieces from an incomplete love story
A series of poems offer a small window into a passionate and debilitating relationship, of which our narrator discloses the intricacies and afflictions of the love she endured.
Praise for Rise Speak Change
From the Literary Community
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.