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!
Listen to the Kids: Sex-Ed Is More Important Than You Think, an Excerpt
An excerpt of an article I wrote where I interviewed eight students from across the city, country and world on their sex-education experiences.
Being the ‘Perfect’ Child
Being the "Perfect" Child is about standards that are commonly set within family structures. This piece talks about the struggles of trying to withhold both family and societal expectations.
Color is…
A piece about what the color purple means to me.
When I play piano, my grandmother wants to cry
This piece captures intergenerational strength and familial unity through a series of moments described through piano music.
Da Bronx
Da Bronx is a piece that depicts where I am from. A place near and dear to my heart.
Natural Hair
This story pertains to a time when I confronted my mother about changing my hair.
The Audition
An unassuming actress arrives at her audition, but nothing seems to be what it appears. From the peculiar office, to the even stranger auditioner, there lies something haunting lurking being the scene of one final audition.
Looking Out Over Something Senseless, It’s Just Me For Here Now, and Speaking
These three poems are related to reflection and my relation to the natural world.
you have been here before
An introspective piece about returning home and seeing the past through different eyes.
pause.
This poem is from the perspective of someone having an existential crisis and, in direct contrast to the title, has no pauses or punctuation.
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.