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.
Stories from Inside "Unmuted" Coming Soon!
Stories from Inside "Unmuted" Coming Soon!
A Guide to Making History
“A Guide to Making History” shares the inside thoughts of a young girl who loses her way and doesn’t know how to find herself again.
A Slice of Life
A Slice of Life By Christine Yan, Writing 360 Mentee Growing up in a fairly homogenous community, I found it
LOVE
My poem reflects the confidence I was able to gain in my time spent at Girls Write Now. Without gaining my new confidence, I wouldn’t have been able to write and speak my truth. That truth is: I deserve to be heard, and so do the stories and unjust lives of those who have passed away.
My Unnamed Feelings
My Unnamed Feelings By Fariya Kabir
Babygirls
Mommy doesn’t tell her she’s seeded first in a dying race.
Kayla Walford’s Website
This website features a few of the projects I have done in Girls Write Now 2019-2020. They all focus on “small” moments and objects which are normally seen as unimportant. The purpose of these pieces is to highlight the importance of each part of this world, whether or not they may leave their footprint in history.
Poems in Blue and Green
The ocean has inspired generations of artists and writers. My work is collected in a digital anthology as a continuation of mankind's love letter to the sea.
Bunk
This project is inspired by the idea of a "safe space" in a time of rebellion and unease. It features 16 and 17-year-old subjects: Kamilla, Malcolm, Roan, and me. This series, centered around the idea of the teen bedroom, delves into teens' ability to connect their freedoms and identity to their space. To create this piece about the human experience of life in-between, I've photographed and interviewed each participant. The young people in this project share what makes them feel at peace and comfortable in their ever-changing environments.
Bootlegs: A Necessary Evil
I was inspired by a joke that Lin-Manuel Miranda made on Twitter, and I wanted to look more into the subject and other people's opinions.
Becoming
In our modern world, where technology has transformed the way we do everything, stories are no longer only found in books. In the visual novel "Becoming," the audience follows the story of a high school junior named Sonia Young. Sonia discovers a book that lets her revisit her past and gain the confidence to write her next chapter. This interactive story gives the user a little insight, and perhaps control, over the chaotic world of a teenage girl.
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.