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!
The Little Girl and The Fox (Excerpt)
A little girl goes on a journey through a floating kingdom to seek out a magical fox in order to satiate her endless desire for companionship.
A Suitcase of Lost Things
Two women, quarantining apart for a year, exchange disposable cameras and the stories of lost-and-found parts of their worlds, eight miles apart. These are the stories they uncovered.
Seepage
Spilling thoughts on paper; the unrefined, unfiltered, unmuted musings of Lavera Yul.
La Niña y La Del Barrio
The privilege to read someone's story is great, but what counts the most is the experience you leave with after you reach the last page.
On the Intersection Between Teenage Sexuality and the Objectivity of Women Across Races
This piece analyzes a girl's friendship with a boy at school, one that shows her that taking ownership of her sexual desires should be done without shame.
Your hand is light in mine.
A dreamlike meditation on loss and love.
Now I See You
Going blind at the age of ten was his worst nightmare come true, until he began to see in color.
Love Letters to the Seasons From a Statue and a Student
As the title says, “Love Letters to the Seasons From a Statue and a Student” is an ode to the elements from two very different pairs of eyes.
Unknown Identity
Teenagers oftentimes don't know themselves and are not well aware of their identity. This is a poem where I am exploring the different sides of my identity.
Finding Home
I started this piece after I went to the doctor’s office for the first time during COVID. I realized this would be the last time I would be in this small office because I’m turning 18 and next year I may be far from home because of college. It reminded me that I might not always have my mom by my side in places where you have to make important decisions or hear sensitive information. The possibility of being away from home for the first time made me wonder how my connection to myself and my family would change. This piece is about the worries of growing up, the changing bonds of family, and finding home when everything seems to be moving under your feet.
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.