ANTHOLOGIES

Girls Write Now Unmuted: The 2021 Anthology

Girls Write Now is thrilled to be in partnership again this year with Dutton, who produced this anthology. A special thanks to the team at Dutton—Christine Ball,Maya Ziv, and Lexy Cassola, and to Feminist Press and Jamia Wilson, who produced the ebook. Thank you as well to Amazon Literary Partnership for their continued support, which directly funds the production of our anthologies.

Girls Write Now Unmuted: The 2021 Anthology
Girls Write Now Unmuted: The 2021 Anthology

In the 2021 Girls Write Now Anthology, our mentees give voice to fear and silence, demand justice, and hold nothing back. To be unmuted right now requires a new brand of bravery, and these writers show how it’s done. Using stories, poems, essays, fiction, drama, interviews and more, they report on a global pandemic, a climate crisis and the movement for racial equality. They also invite us on their personal journeys through the labyrinth of young adulthood: feeling the rich soil of a neighborhood garden beneath their fingers; traveling through time in search of their parents; inhaling the charged air where young love is brewing. In a world pushed to the precipice of change, in a society that values the tried and true over the dynamic and new, the Girls Write Now class of 2021 is breaking the chains and showing what it means to speak loud, clear and true—to be unmuted.

Support Young Writers

Get a copy of the Girls Write Now 2021 Anthology: “Unmuted” to support our mission to champion writers to break down the barriers of gender, age, race, and poverty to mentor, teach, and connect writers and leaders across disciplines and around the nation. With a focus on those historically disempowered due to their gender and gender identity, we harness the power of stories to shape culture, impact industries, and bridge worlds.

Foreword by

Abi Daré

Honoree

Abi Daré is the author of The Girl with the Louding Voice, which was a New York Times bestseller, a #ReadWithJenna Today Show book club pick, and an Indie Next Pick. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and went on to study law at the University of Wolverhampton and has an MSc in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University as well as an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. Abi lives in Essex, UK with her husband and two daughters, who inspired her to write her debut novel. (Photo Credit: Gazmadu)

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Abi Dare

Introduction by

Robyn Crawford

Honoree

After a long career in the music industry, Robyn Crawford is now focused on mental and physical wellness and writing. She lives in New Jersey with her wife and children.

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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 "Unmuted" Coming Soon!

Stories from Inside "Unmuted" Coming Soon!

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Girls Write Now 2024 Anthology

Praise for Here & Now

From the Literary Community

“My work as a writer and my values as a person were absolutely made better by game-changing teachers and mentors. I’m thrilled to work with Girls Write Now, especially as they stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, and I’m so happy that they work to inspire bravery in young writers, both in their lives and on the page.”
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KILEY REID Author
“Girls Write Now gives me hope for our future and gives young writers what we all would have given our younger selves—space to grow, generous guidance, and the opportunity to flourish unfettered.”
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MIA MERCADO Author
“To witness hearts and minds coming together to create art is a magical, precious thing. Girls Write Now does the important work of fostering this creativity by bringing mentor and mentee together, and this beautiful  anthology—a showcase of diverse and significant talent—is powerful proof that we need this incredibly important resource now more than ever.”
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KRISTEN ARNETT Author

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.