ANTHOLOGIES

Taking Our Place in History: The Girls Write Now 2020 Anthology

Girls Write Now is thrilled to be in partnership with Dutton, who produced this year’s anthology. A special thanks to the team at Dutton—Christine Ball,Maya Ziv,Marya Pasciuto and Hannah Feeney, and to Feminist Press and Jamia Wilson, who produced the e-book. Thank you as well to Amazon Literary Partnership for their continued support and for recognizing Girls Write Now as a 2020 grant recipient, which directly funds the production of our anthologies.

Taking Our Place in History: The Girls Write Now 2020 Anthology
Taking Our Place in History: The Girls Write Now 2020 Anthology

The Girls Write Now 2020 class of mentees are using their voices for change in one of the most uncertain periods of modern history. This book invites you into their homes and families, their schools and neighborhoods, their hearts, hopes, and fears. Enter a world where clay creatures take on aluminum oppressors. Get thrown against an elevator wall in the midst of a horror story. Go backstage with a rock band, say goodbye to relatives as you start a new life, stand with an engineer solving a coding problem. Stare out from a coffin—or up at whales in the sky—and fall in love with the color of your skin. Experience tragedy in a mosque, feel the wounds of slavery, know the terror of glass shattering in a World War II village, and see how this next generation of leaders look to the past and write their present to create a better future.

Support Young Writers

Get a copy of the Girls Write Now 2020 Anthology “Taking Our Place in History” to support our mission to champion writers to break down the barriers of gender, age, race, and poverty to mentor, teach, and connect writers and leaders across disciplines and around the nation. With a focus on those historically disempowered due to their gender and gender identity, we harness the power of stories to shape culture, impact industries, and bridge worlds.
Reading from the 2024 Anthology Launch Party

Introduction by

Christine Ball

Honoree

Christine Ball started her career in publishing in publicity and then marketing. She is now SVP, Publisher at Dutton, Putnam, and Berkley, three imprints within the Penguin division of Penguin Random House where she has been since 2005. Dutton is the proud publisher of the Girls Write Now anthology for the last three years.

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With a Poem by

Rupi Kaur

Honoree

Rupi Kaur is a poet, author, and performer. Her second book, the sun and her flowers—an instant global bestseller, is an artistic sibling to her debut, milk and honey—one of America’s bestselling books of 2017. milk and honey has sold over 5 million copies, been translated into more than 42 languages, and was on the New York Times Bestsellers List for over three years.

Photo Credit: Nabil Shash

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Rupi Kaur

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 "Taking Our Place in History" Coming Soon!

Stories from Inside "Taking Our Place in History" Coming Soon!

Moments Committed to Memory

Junior year was full of me running around to so many different places all over NYC. I was always on the subway, always tired, and always wanting to go home. This year has taught me how to balance my personal life with work, but especially when it comes to family and friends. So this is for them because, without their support, Lord knows I would've collapsed by now!

For Mami Y Papi

his project I have is a project close to me as it goes through the journey of self reflection and of healing generational trauma. I try to find my mom’s father as well as finding out my dad’s family who, to my knowledge, have either passed or changed their name. This is my best project because it is a reflection of a common wound that kids like me have. Identity issues are prevalent in people of color and this helps me gain some sort of closure with my family as well as help my mom heal.

For Mami and Papi written in white cursive script on a green background. A family tree appears beneath it.

Prosody

Prosody has been almost 18 years in the making, the antithesis of the saying, “Write what you know.” I don't know much about the developmental disorder that both my sister and dad have, but I've grown up understanding that the topic of disabilities have been painted in black-and-white for years. The multilayered stigmas that surround it have impacted two of the most important people in my life. Going into this podcast, I wanted to help myself (and others) relate to the experiences of those on the autism spectrum, as well as give voice to those with disabilities and stories that should be heard.

Podcasting microphone beneath the words Prosody. A banner with tri-colored puzzle pieces appear above and below the microphone.
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Girls Write Now 2020 Anthology

Taking Our Places in History

From the Literary Community

“The young women and gender non-conforming youth whose work fills these pages are not only tomorrow’s greatest writers, speakers, activists, and thinkers—they are also today’s. Here are the voices shaping the world.”
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JULIA PHILLIPS Author
“The voices of girls and gender nonconforming youth have historically been downplayed, belittled, or lost to us—but they refuse to disappear any longer. Girls Write Now is giving a loudspeaker to these crucial voices, their wants and desires, and preserving them, putting them right in the stream of history, where they have always belonged.”
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ILANA MASAD Author
“The written word has often been the only outlet for women and girls to express their authentic stories and unique voices in so many societies across the globe. Girls Write Now harnesses that power, nurtures it, and amplifies it so that these singular voices can become generations.”
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ROBIN THEDE Author
“Too many girls are living their lives as a whisper, Girls Write Now teaches them to turn the volume all the way and let the world hear and see their stories.”
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CLEO WADE Author

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.