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.
Taking Our Place in History: The Girls Write Now 2020 Anthology
Stories from Inside "Taking Our Place in History" Coming Soon!
Stories from Inside "Taking Our Place in History" Coming Soon!
The Editor
When an anonymous editor begins leaving comments on Percy’s document, all he wants is to be rid of them. Except before he knows it, he’s finally making progress on his story again.
Shadows of Innocence
This piece speaks to the shadow side of experiencing the first signs of becoming older and losing your inner child. This could be about many things that may take our innocence.
The Cracked Plate
Inspired by I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, this piece explores the quiet tension of growing up under high expectations. The plate is a metaphor—for memory, identity, and the cracks we carry.
Push
She never said a word, but she told us everything we needed to hear that night.
Broken Things
A former journalist begrudgingly gives an interview of her own in a story about the transformative power of a well-asked question.
Onism
Onism: The grief of being caught in your own body.
Momentum
Nearly all of us have experienced the magic and intensity of a live performance. This piece focuses on the joys, sorrows, and beautifully overwhelming experience of music.
For CeeCee Fresh
As I step into a new chapter, I reflect on the love and sacrifices that carried me here—told through the story of CeeCee Fresh, a car passed down by generations of women in my family.
Artificial Assistance Toward Mental Wellness
So often, discussions about artificial intelligence center its potential as a replacement for humans.
to you after li-young lee
A reminder that you don’t need permission to feel, to want, to write — you already have the right.
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.