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!
Universes, Drifting: A Temporal Haiku Collection
We capture little moments of friendship, revelation, beauty, and stillness while exploring the brief and transformative form of haikus.
Breathe In Breathe Out
Grab yourself a nice glass of water, settle into your comfiest seat, then breath in and breath out. In our final episode of A Fistful of Verse, Tara Lago grounds the listener into worlds where freedom, hope, & love prevail. Allow this episode to remind you about the miracle of breath.
Maatrbhaasha
To my family for showing me that love goes beyond the words we speak.
If Only I Could Speak
When you go from Thailand to North Carolina, more than the spoken language changes—the box you’re put in does as well.
Speaking on Love, Dance & Sexism
In this episode, Girls Write Now Community Manager Emily Rigby speaks with former mentee and current mentor Samantha Isales about her piece “An Uncommon Love Story.” Fall in love with this beautiful and riveting tale of Harlemites navigating revolutionary love and regressive sexism inspired by Samantha’s experiences of home, bell hooks, and late nights in the club.
Limericks on a New York Night
Poetry360 mentee Mia Lindenburg tells her story of leaving poetry and returning to it upon realizing slam poetry can also capture all the joy and wonder of the world.
Intentional
Friendship fallouts are the absolute worst. These breakups can consume you like an ocean as the tides of feelings and memories come in and out. Poetry360 mentee Megumi Jindo shares her experience with one of life’s greatest heartbreaks.
Speaking on Writing as Therapy
This week we're delighted to present Mentees Dom Dawes (he/they) and Jamilah Araf (she/her) as they chat about Dom's poem "I Am From."
Rewind
In momentum: a friend and all the lovely people who sadly aren't here. This is a piece about the grief and healing that comes with loss.
Yellow Lines
The melting of ice in lemonade. The feeling of watching yourself from the outside as reality begins to unfold. The moments that occur after impatience.
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.