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!
Pledge of Allegiance (Revised)
Pledge of Allegiance: Revised” is a subversion of the American Dream through the lens of mental wellbeing; “gifted” is a gilded promise unraveled by statistics and a vow to embrace the strength of vulnerability.
Eternal Discourse: The Stanford Prison Experiment [Episode 1]
In the first episode of Eternal Discourse, a podcast centered on complex social issues, Salma and Ashley cover the Stanford Prison Experiment, the unethical psychological demonstration conducted by professor Philip Zimbardo in 1971.
You are the Ball and We are the Touchdown
This project includes excerpts from a working anthology in progress. I included three poems which I feel represent the shaping of my femininity. I attempted to contrast my relationship with my mother, father and stepfather with interactions between myself and men in the world. Alongside these poems, I drew rough sketches which I felt best accompanied these poems. I have always loved to doodle, but have always confined them to the margins of my math homework. I got out of my comfort zone by merging the media of writing and art.
Speaking on Ancestral Storytelling Pt. 1
In this riveting conversation, both our guests talk about what it means to explore their Caribbean ancestry and queerness through writing poetry. Carissa opens with three excerpts from their in-progress poetry chapbook entitled “Messages from the Radical Diaspora.” If you’re all about culture, identity, emotional liberation, and history, this episode is for you.
Speaking on Embodying Resistance
Sometimes mere existence is resistance, especially when you’re a woman in the midst of a war the entire world is watching. In Episode 9, our Senior Community Systems Coordinator here at Girls Write Now Lisbett Rodriguez interviews Ukranian-American poet and Girls Write Now Mentor Vera Sirota.
Lost in Time
If Jing is the nebulous future and Anjeel the immortal past, then they meet in the hopeful present.
The Devouring
Faced with systemic oppression, two lovers choose a ritual called The Devouring and a world made from love.
Speaking on Body Liberation with Chrissy King
Tune in to hear author Chrissy King and host Kathryn Destin get candid about body image, fatphobia, disordered eating, social media, and collective liberation.
Curvy Wars
Curvy Wars is a training plan to help motivate me to wear my back brace for the hours required. I wear a brace for scoliosis and have been for four years.
Letter from Home
A poem reflecting on the relationship between Earth and humans.
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.