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.

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.
Introduction by
With a Poem 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 "Taking Our Place in History" Coming Soon!
Stories from Inside "Taking Our Place in History" Coming Soon!
This Is My Dwelling
Repetition numbs. Or at least, it’s supposed to.
The Best Chao in the World
Chao ga. To describe it in English makes it sound unappetizing.
Underground
The narrator's family is chosen by lottery to relocate underground for 15 years once the earth becomes overpopulated. This story recounts her first trip to the surface.
Dear Kanye
Dear Kanye, nine days ago I called financial offices of the colleges I applied to. Told them I had to submit my FAFSA without parental information….
Pelo Malo
Smoke rises, hot metal searing each rebellious strand.
Saturday Morning
“Come on, Ma, let me sleep.”
Dinner Time
A poem of food and family.
A Slight Misunderstanding
I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. I was just being Joy, being ten at a restaurant and heading to the bathroom.
Yellow Dress
Everyone has been acting different lately. I can’t blame them. Even I’m different.
Untitled
I loved everything in Anne’s fridge.
Taking Our Places in History
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.