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!
Bus Stop
An excerpt of a normal NYC commute that explores the riders’ histories through their transient time on the bus.
The Monsters
This story is a post-apocalyptic world where monsters (in the form of mutant animals) come out at night. Sunlight is weak and limited in this world, so the characters have to be wary.
Harvest Season
Harvest Season is a contrapuntal poem that embodies the essence of yearning, meant to be read from left to right descending, or separately.
Untitled
Candles
This piece explores what home means, and the different ways it can manifest. I mainly explored how different smells can remind you of home, and what that home looks like for me.
I’m Not Angry, I’m African
This is inspired by one of my best friends Jayda and our conversation on the stairwell about our anger.
Ballard/B didn’t always stand for Beer
This is a poem about a neighborhood changing for the better and the worse.
“语言之美: 跨越东方的心灵之旅 / 언어의 아름다움: 동방을 여행하다” (Translation: “Beauty of Language: Journey Across the East”)
The two poems celebrates the beauty of both Korean and Mandarin Chinese, languages dear to the heart of the writer. These poems serve as a love letter to the rich tapestry of linguistic exploration.
Speaking on Magical Girls and Worlds
Prepare to enter into an incredible world with familiars, fantastical tech, and magical girls. That is what's in store for this conversation between mentor Kristy Cunningham Bigler and mentee Shreya Darji. They discuss worldbuilding, the quest for character names, and the funny personalities of ferrets. In this episode, you'll get to hear all about Kristy's work-in-progress Code Name: Space Goddess.
Speaking on Capturing the American Zeitgeist
Mentor Tatyana White Jenkins leads an inquisitive and informative discussion with Community Manager Jesse Jagtiani about the process and inspiration behind her fourth installment of her video series An American Tale.
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.