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!
Pledge of Allegiance (Revised)
Pledge of Allegiance: Revised” is a subversion of the American Dream through the lens of mental wellbeing; “gifted” is a gilded promise unraveled by statistics and a vow to embrace the strength of vulnerability.
Eternal Discourse: The Stanford Prison Experiment [Episode 1]
In the first episode of Eternal Discourse, a podcast centered on complex social issues, Salma and Ashley cover the Stanford Prison Experiment, the unethical psychological demonstration conducted by professor Philip Zimbardo in 1971.
You are the Ball and We are the Touchdown
This project includes excerpts from a working anthology in progress. I included three poems which I feel represent the shaping of my femininity. I attempted to contrast my relationship with my mother, father and stepfather with interactions between myself and men in the world. Alongside these poems, I drew rough sketches which I felt best accompanied these poems. I have always loved to doodle, but have always confined them to the margins of my math homework. I got out of my comfort zone by merging the media of writing and art.
Speaking on Ancestral Storytelling Pt. 1
In this riveting conversation, both our guests talk about what it means to explore their Caribbean ancestry and queerness through writing poetry. Carissa opens with three excerpts from their in-progress poetry chapbook entitled “Messages from the Radical Diaspora.” If you’re all about culture, identity, emotional liberation, and history, this episode is for you.
Speaking on Embodying Resistance
Sometimes mere existence is resistance, especially when you’re a woman in the midst of a war the entire world is watching. In Episode 9, our Senior Community Systems Coordinator here at Girls Write Now Lisbett Rodriguez interviews Ukranian-American poet and Girls Write Now Mentor Vera Sirota.
Lost in Time
If Jing is the nebulous future and Anjeel the immortal past, then they meet in the hopeful present.
The Devouring
Faced with systemic oppression, two lovers choose a ritual called The Devouring and a world made from love.
Speaking on Body Liberation with Chrissy King
Tune in to hear author Chrissy King and host Kathryn Destin get candid about body image, fatphobia, disordered eating, social media, and collective liberation.
Curvy Wars
Curvy Wars is a training plan to help motivate me to wear my back brace for the hours required. I wear a brace for scoliosis and have been for four years.
Letter from Home
A poem reflecting on the relationship between Earth and humans.
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.