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!
Class of 2022 Editors’ Letter
Welcome to Stories by Girls Write Now/ a home for the underrepresented / to be heard
Hills Like White Infirmaries
The story focuses on the point of view of a young girl watching her mother get treated for a cold at a local clinic. After her mother is treated, she is unrecognizable.
Snapchat Eulogy
I was scrolling on social media and my eye caught a rather shocking headline. This poem is about the article I read and how very serious news is made palatable.
My Mind
The mind is our greatest asset, one that is used every moment of our lives. Some, like myself, have found new purpose for our minds, as escapism from reality.
The Birth of the Rose Flower
A poem about two people who are separated due to circumstances that are beyond their control. Do you think they will end up together?
Piggyback
This began as my personal statement for my Common Application, but has transformed over time into a personal essay.
Memory Lane
This piece addresses the duality of memory—how it can be beautiful but also hold us back from embracing the future.
I am my mother’s daughter
An immigrant anthem.
I am just a girl
This is a poem about Monica Lewinsky. I wrote this piece to reshape the narrative. Some parts in style after Eleanor Wikstrom.
Beginning of a Lifetime
I wrote this while thinking about my experience with Girls Write Now and where my love of writing started.
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.