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 Scientist and the Fawn
The Covid-19 Pandemic left many individuals isolated and unemployed. Still, I would have never considered a career path as a Mad Scientist…
getting older
Maybe our photos will fill the gaps my memory won't.
The Road Trip
One trip that tests their relationship, will Connie and Alex survive?
How to Cut Your Hair
How to Cut Your Hair is an emotional exploration into the trauma caused by the fraught relationship between Blackness and femininity that follows Black women in every aspect of their lives.
Check
This poem is about my complicated, love-hate relationship with worry.
The Postcard Monologues
A small story of a girl's romantic encounters, mannerisms, and meetings told through her own POV and the perspective of a postcard she keeps in her room.
Love’s Sacrifice
Most people know their boundaries when it comes to love. I’m still trying to figure out mine.
Nostalgic Smells
My grandmother was diagnosed with dementia in 2020, I remember her through memories we shared years ago, and I wrote about these memories, by continuing to remember her as she would want me to.
Mom Pants
I have always been perceived to be younger than I actually was; at first, I was not too fond of it, but it eventually grew on me.
How Feminist Art Was Invented
This poem is inspired largely by Artemisia Gentileschi's art, life, and my own experiences.
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.