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!
Episode 1: On Environmental Advocacy through Creative Expression & Community Action
In this episode of The Vision Lab: Youth Voices for Change, Lead Incubator Mentee Robyn Lam speaks with Girls Write
Hit the road, Sharon
Excerpt from Screenplay 1950- Sharon’s home where she grew up Sharon: Mom! Mom! Sharon’s mom comes from upstairs to the living room Sharon’s mother: What, child?! Can’t you see I am busy. Sharon: Look what I found in the magazine, Andrea Hill is at the Ritz Carlton offering singing lessons. Mother: Sharon, darling, you're 10 years old, you know that you have no talent and will just have to marry well. You meet men at good colleges which means you have to study. Plus you wouldn’t even be let in with the clothes you wear. Sharon: oh, okay. Math isn’t very fun though.
Kina Under the Piano
After Aunt Ida died, Kina lies awake longing to hear her play once more. Until one night, she does…
Afloat at Sea
To devout to a form or an idea of perfection of living, will one only find that their voyage to such reality is forever lost like a shipwrecked at sea.
Lord’s Prayer
This is a "found poem" , in which a pre-existing text is re-structured to create new poetic meaning.
Solitude
This poem is for everyone who has felt alone in this world.
scrapbook of my childhood
This poem encapsulates the sense of feeling trapped beneath the weight of expectation as life continues around you, simultaneously representing a longing for the innocence of one's past.
Don’t Water Dead Flowers
A poem depicting the complex feelings following the endings of deteriorated relationships.
You are Safe. You are Protected. You are Sexy.
These are the words that have been guiding my growth.
Alphabet Boy
This animated children's book immerses you in its unconventional pages. Through its unique color and tender tone, my animated short depicts one boy's courage to trust himself.
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.