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!
Speaking on (Ethical?) Blood Sucking
This episode is all about vampires, and we get into it with Girls Write Now fellows Annaya Baynes and Kenna McCafferty. They discuss the history of vampires in Western media, the ethics of living under capitalism, and the way Black women often have the weight of the world placed on their shoulders.
Grew Through Jazz
This piece shares the story of a young woman who was influenced heavily by jazz throughout her life and details her understanding of jazz through a Black perspective
A Bloodline’s End
A motherland and a mother yearn for the children they've lost.
This Earth, our Eden
The poem is meant to speak on the feeling of hopelessness, but also the possibility of change. The idea that even within despair, there is still the ability for something revolutionary to happen.
Spirits of Succession
After 5 years of running a company Conor Coldwell never wanted, his recreational habits surface, threatening to ruin his career and his father’s: Harvey Coldwell, one of the most feared men in business.
Weeping Wisteria
All will wither eventually; enjoy it while it lasts instead.
rain
The thoughts of a student on a rainy day.
Dios Te Bendiga
This piece started as many little stories about my grandmother’s cooking and evolved into a story about my grandmother herself and the moments when we drink hot chocolate together.
The Great Cat Competition
Two cats live in a bookstore cafe…. and they are complete opposites. The cats fight over who the fan favorite is when an event is held.
The Case of the Ugly Black Shoes
I looked down at the horrible, ugly shoes that graced my feet swinging slightly above the floor: my sworn enemy.
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.