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!
The Lessons of KuGong
An encounter with an old Chinese grandmother during a hot summer day shoveling compost in Brooklyn.
The Bargains We Make
What sacrifices did we make during the pandemic to sustain our parental relationships? What kind of person have you become since then?
18
Being 18 and wanting to run away from all that you know.
Our delight on My Body and Soul
Even after we've destroyed ourselves over a refusal to view ourselves as one with each other and the Earth, it will never truly die. There's something greater than ourselves, below us at all times.
Melancholy
Welcome to a podcast about the poem "Melancholy" written by mentee Elaine Ng and her mentor Jennifer Bacon! This poem is about the impact of COVID-19 on Elaine's experiences as a high schooler.
Resigned Lockheart
“What?! What do you mean I’m of royalty?” There was me, in a tank top and jeans being accused of having some type of royalty blood in, I would not even fit being of royalty.
Full Body (Laughter)
Look me in the eyes when I laugh. Look at our Black bodies that aren’t just bodies and our Black laughter that will never know death, even when we do. Even if we do.
the great jello incident
not your average love triangle… an alien love triangle
The Journal
A time jump into the future—my 46-year-old self revisits her old countryside home in Romania, where she used to spend her childhood summers. She finds an old journal of hers, uncovering deep memories.
My Mother, Laura
The art of caretaking.
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.