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!
FORGIVING ME IS EASY: FORGIVING YOU IS A BATTLE
This multimedia piece explores the multifaceted journey to healing my inner child. It focuses on the trauma forged after my father left my mother and I. It’s the apology I never received.
Paranoia
This poem is for anyone who feels unsafe walking alone at night or conjures shadows in the absence of light.
Overlooked
Overlooked is a poem that takes the reader in an unexpected direction.
Santana
This poem is about Santana, a dog who I have volunteered with at the Valley Animal Center in Fresno, California.
Witch Hair
Hair is a huge part of Dominican culture; it is intermingled with unrealistic and suffocating beauty standards. This is a rebellion against standards which categorize textured hair as "pelo malo" (bad hair).
Here, Youth
A conversation with, by, and for the intangible being of Youth.
Temper of the Snow
“Temper of the Snow” is an excerpt derived from the short story “That Boy I Named” that depicts Ling Xu’s recount of one of his most precious memories in the winter 7 years ago.
A First Timer’s Guide to Public Records
Follow me as I guide you through a night at one of Brooklyn’s hottest venues (and not just because I was wearing a sweater dress).
Ouroboros
A simple, strong poem on the endlessness of change and how, although it may be scary— it is necessary for
Dreamlike Musings and Practicality
This is a set of three poems where I explore little ideas I wished to center poems around through the use of visual language and one poem where I explore getting personal with my writing.
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.