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!
white with a hint of lavender
My fear of snow was like someone else's fear of darkness. I now find the snow to be a good subject for metaphors which I explore in this piece.
Racing Mind
I have been running track since the age of nine years old. I am now in my high school’s track team, and these were my thoughts at my last meet.
El Barrio, an Excerpt
During the hottest summer of their lives, two best friends, Manuel Polanco and Xiomara Vargas, slowly drift apart as they deal with gangs, drugs and growing up in… El Barrio.
i’m worried about her
An ode to hers everywhere.
The First Naturalista
In this piece, I stumble across the wonders of natural hair and after, try to convince my mother to let me go natural.
Polished
At 11:32 on a typical Saturday night, a mom and daughter chat while doing their nails.
A House Sparrow’s Song
Even within a crowd, one can discover wings.
Shattered: Getting Out of the Tower
The first chapter to a longer work, Shattered is a reimagining of Rapunzel's story. It follows Marianne's journey of finding her place in the world and mustering the confidence to push the bounds of her world.
The Sweet and Sour: Life as a Senior
The Sweet and Sour: Life as a Senior is about the highs and lows, I have faced thus far in my senior year that redefined my outlook of what senior year really is.
Baggage
High school friends have a surprise encounter in an airport, a few years after graduating.
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.