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.
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.
Foreword by
Introduction 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.
Girls Write Now Unmuted Print Anthology
Stories from Inside "Unmuted" Coming Soon!
Stories from Inside "Unmuted" Coming Soon!
Peaches & Ladders: Climbing as a First-Gen Daughter
As a first-generation daughter of immigrants, I was taught that hard work was the key to everything. But in chasing success, I began to question whether work should define my worth, or my life.
Burning and Being
A reflection on the fierce, untamed energy of Summer and the quiet struggle of an anxious mind seeking balance between intensity and rest. A journey through heat, rain, and the need to pause.
The Artist in Me is Finally Being Fed… Kayla Dudley’s Life@GWN
Kayla Dudley lives on art; it is her energy, what she constantly consumes. Admittedly, she couldn’t go a day without
Speaking on Shifting from Chasing to Living: The Ambition Trap
Featured Guests: Vahni Kurra and Amina AlTai In this episode, we’re diving into how writing can help you step into
Make the World Feel a Little More Hopeful…Ayah Al-Masyabi’s Life@GWN
Meet Ayah Al-Masyabi, a Girls Write Now mentee since 2021 whose journey through creativity and self-discovery has been deeply shaped
Lessons in Pottery and Growing Up
This piece was created to honor by my childhood spent with my grandmother!!
I Wonder How My Eighth Grade Art Teacher Would Feel About This
A personal essay on perfectionism, art, and not being able to let things go.
How to Dance on Broken Glass
How have girls and women risen up against oppression throughout history?
I’m afraid you’ll end up seeing me the way I see myself
Here are the things I don't want anyone else to know. Here is the person I don't anyone else to see.
Arcade of Hope
This was from when I visited Virginia in sophomore year summer. It was also the feeling of closing this chapter of my life as I head into college, reflecting on my parent and my journey.
Praise for Here & Now
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.