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 House
Spaces have personality; spaces can be unkind.
Starman
A story about martians, but mostly, about humanity.
Therapy
This poem expresses a deep longing that the author had for a longtime friend.
Bifurcating Trees
This was written in a bout of nostalgia. Looking at old family albums, and how my relatives were a sea away, but it felt much further and I wondered what time will do to us.
Shopping List
The musty glass doors slid open and half-heartedly welcomed me into my local King-Soopers…
The Hill
We all live in a world of constant turnover and change. All it takes is a moment to recognize that every change lives inside of us.
Batteries Not Included // To Those Who Can’t Go Home for Christmas
These two poems may sound familiar at first but they may surprise you in what they are actually about. These are for the days when you’re missing home.
Static
This is a zuihitsu that reflects how overwhelming life is and uses the different meanings of the word "static."
Unspoken Things
"Unspoken Things" is about being in a gray area with someone and not knowing where you stand with them.
“Did you hear her Spanish?”
A short story about my relationship with language and Puerto Rican identity. Una breve historia sobre mi relación con el lenguaje y mi identidad Puertorriqueña. Izabell estaba muy emocionada de tener la oportunidad de trabajar con Fellow de Girls Write Now, Sally Familia, en la traducción de su historia del Inglés al Español.
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.