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.
Stories from Inside "Unmuted" Coming Soon!
Stories from Inside "Unmuted" Coming Soon!
Life Improvement Inc.
In a dystopian future America, the third great depression drives a desperate teenager to an unconventional job interview for the mysterious company, Life Improvement Inc. And what she finds out about the company is…unexpected.
Call Me Crazy
A parody of “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen.
A Warm Place
A story about barnyard animals who used to be friends.
Slang culture: an immigrant teen’s arch nemesis
Can slang culture even impact an immigrant teen at all?
Mood Ring
I mess up my mood by overthinking…
Extend Your Life 101: Peeling an Orange
In this podcast, you'll learn all about the revolutionary practice of orange meditation, and how peeling an orange every day may just extend your life.
Have You Ever…
This is a video about the natural world and how much of an impact it has on us in our day-to-day lives.
A War Between The Mind & Heart
A short story that follows the feelings of the main character of my WIP novel.
I Notice.
The city is full of sights and sounds, so maybe it is time we look around. On a journey in hopes to make others notice, I present to you my little green notebook.
THE 17 MOONS
A poem in the hope of having the audience grasp the meaning of a love letter. Not your usual love letter. As you read, the writer begins to build trust with the reader, the environment breathes, building the impact of the letter.
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.