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!
Dear Friend
This piece is dedicated to my younger self who deserves the recognition for keeping her head high through all the downfalls presented throughout her life. With all my faults and mistakes, yesterday’s me is still me.
Brown Sugar
This piece is a fictional short story that tells the tale of a young African American girl who comes to the realization of who she is and what it means to her.
Weekends/Weekdays
I awake to my upstairs neighbors yelling and my mom shuffling to get my sister out the door for school. It’s 6:00 a.m. and my mom is shouting my name.
Serein: En Vida y En Muerte
This piece was inspired by a story my grandfather told me when I was younger about shape-shifting beasts in my home country of the Dominican Republic. I introduce you to both his world and a retelling of Mulan as we reach for a way to make our ancestors proud.
75 Years
I wrote this piece after visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site last summer and attending the United Nations Holocaust Memorial Ceremony on January 27, 2020. Seventy-five years have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz.
A False Home
We tend to cling to our past and the sense of familiarity because it reminds us of home. This prevents many of us from ever actually trying something new or finding who we’re meant to be. My story takes you on the journey of discovering why home isn’t always home.
Miss Manners Guide to Preventing Tragedy
I have always loved learning about different historical figures and trying to relate their experiences to my life, often with little success as I am not at a point in my life where I am a founding father or queen of any country; this piece is the fruit of that.
A Package of Cookies
This piece is about my relationship with my father, and my appreciation towards him for bringing our family to the United States. His sacrifice has given me the opportunity for a better future.
Becoming Manar the Star
I walked into Dunkin’ for one of our pair sessions, and I told my mentor Jaime that I wanted to run for school senate. But I needed a speech. The speech below is a result of our collaboration. This speech motivates me to pursue my dreams.
The Illusion Of Inclusion
I believe that as a leader you can do two things: either dig people deeper into their illusions and create false hope or free them of their social standards and stereotypes to reach their fullest potential.
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.