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.
Rise Speak Change: The Girls Write Now Anthology 2017
Stories from Inside "Rise Speak Change" Coming Soon!
Stories from Inside "Rise Speak Change" Coming Soon!
Dreams, Hopes, Forward, Forward
I want to dedicate this piece to the person I am becoming. The way forward for me feels inspiring and optimistic!
Runaway Girl
Writing this piece was an outlet for my internal and external struggles when things were at a low point in my home life. I figuratively escaped by writing something that closely resonated with what I was feeling at that time.
A Gathering Storm
I wrote this piece as a 200-word exercise but ended up liking it enough to continue it. Like it or not, here goes…
The Climate Crisis Needs A Story
I first joined the New York City Climate Strike Coalition in July 2019. In the company of such impassioned, optimistic youth activists, I quickly realized that the climate crisis is not about numbers. It is a human story, with a human solution.
Goodbye Berlin
My family’s suffering in Russia, Poland, and Germany during World War II prompted me to reflect on the values of courage, perseverance, hope, and the price of war. My great-grandmother’s ordeal in occupied Russia during the Battle of Stalingrad inspired this story, about a single mother’s sacrifice amid the inferno of war.
Broken Glass/Not Yet Formed
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about being myself—and what that means for me as a young woman. I wanted to write something that reflected being free in my ability to dream and imagine any life for myself as a girl in the twenty-first century.
The Girl Who Speaks Millions of Languages
This piece is about a girl who can talk to animals and is meant to show how she struggles to find her identity.
Those Who Came Before
This short story is inspired by Mohsin Hamid’s novel Exit West. For Lana, the protagonist, taking her place in history means being the person who studies and gives a voice to the stories of those silenced.
A Snapshot in Time
“A Snapshot in Time” is a story about June, a teenager, who bonds with her grandmother and learns how far her love reaches.
LET’S PLAY AROUND: A game of sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis has been envisioned in art since as early as the 1700s, when it was described as a demonic visitation. But the fear it represents cannot play with women, because we are powerful and control our own dreams.
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.