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 Sun I Love
We all feel the need to capture the beauty of nature and preserve it somehow. And videos show the beauty in a moment where it shines best. This video is not one, but many pieces of nature and peace coming together to represent one moment in time.
A Text
A Text By Isabel Golightly My project is a poem that comments on the current administration in a complex and
How Is A Diamond Made?
Diamonds are shiny and pretty but they weren’t “born” like that.
Love Through My Eyes
Feeling bummed out because all of your friends have a Valentine? Still waiting for your Peter Kavinsky or John Ambrose? Then you're not alone—check out my video to see how I coped with being single and why it might not be the end of the world for either of us.
An Ode to Wanderlust
Have you ever traveled the world through words alone? Exploring each place not as someone who wants great pictures or a story to show off, but someone who truly wants to feel the core of what it represents? I have—I've traveled and written about the emotions and the memories I haven't really made. Using Google Maps, I wrote poems about select countries I've never been to, and used it as a way to travel the globe. Though difficult, using elements of each country, I've managed to paint a picture of how I view them and their importance to me.
anxiety
At one time or another, we've all experienced loneliness and/or anxiety. Now more than ever, teenagers are constantly being mentally attacked and feel like there is no way out. I want to show that although times get rough and people leave, you will always be permanent in your own life and battles against anxiety, loneliness, and any other mental disease. The only way out is through. Fight for your happiness because you deserve it.
You NEED to Listen
Last spring, the New York Times was flooded with articles about abortion and how some states were trying to undermine Roe v. Wade. After reading these headlines, I became scared for myself, the girls around me, and any person who has a uterus. However, I have learned that if you are scared, you must stand up and fight for change. I am fighting back with my words.
Sex Is Her Identity
This graphic design accompanies a poetic performance about sexual identity and traditional expectations of young women.
Sex in the City 2.0
Who wouldn't want to see a modern version of Sex in the City in just a few slides? This collage is a visual representation of the things I have done as a young woman of color living in New York City. You can see not only the things I have achieved, the places I've traveled, and the clothes I wear while walking the streets of this cosmopolitan city, but you can also see the importance of my family and friends to me.
Simple Separate Person
My project is a blackout poetry piece using Walt Whitman's poem “One’s Self I Sing.” I am a poetry aficionado, so this piece is the perfect marriage between my existing love of writing and my newfound interest in the digital sphere.
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.