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!
Dylan’s Story
Dylan is a foster kid trying to make her way in Brooklyn, New York. Dylan’s story offers a intimate look into her life and mind.
Disney Princess
Mia, a sixteen year old girl, struggles with body dysmorphia when her friends ask her to be a Disney Princess for Halloween.
My Dear Friend Writing
This piece is about my relationship with writing, and how my life has changed since I was first introduced to it.
1:10:88
An essay about letting go of your identity.
Where Reality Truly Resides?
As a Bengali woman, I wanted to voice my pain on the Bangladeshi fast fashion workers are thrown into terrible working conditions. My poem compares beautiful nature against the ugly poverty that drags Bangladesh down.
white woman (crocodile) tears
Crocodile tears is a phrase that refers to a false display of emotions, specifically sadness or grief. The term is derived from the phenomenon of crocodiles crying whilst consuming prey.
The Step Calculator of Life
A whimsicial narrative of my life as my step count increases. Throughout my journey, I meet different parts of myself, from Curiosity to Shame. It's a story of how these "people" have helped me grow.
Profiling Kathy
Criminal Minds taught me how to profile, and I apply my knowledge by taking on the challenge of profiling myself.
A moment of honesty;
Five short monologues that unpack the intimate questions that reveal bits of yourself, but show who you are in sharing them with the world.
An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Problem of Consciousness
We know how neurons fire with chemical precision, but can we understand someone else's consciousness? Neuroscience can draw from computer science and the humanities to define consciousness.
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.