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!
white with a hint of lavender
My fear of snow was like someone else's fear of darkness. I now find the snow to be a good subject for metaphors which I explore in this piece.
Racing Mind
I have been running track since the age of nine years old. I am now in my high school’s track team, and these were my thoughts at my last meet.
El Barrio, an Excerpt
During the hottest summer of their lives, two best friends, Manuel Polanco and Xiomara Vargas, slowly drift apart as they deal with gangs, drugs and growing up in… El Barrio.
i’m worried about her
An ode to hers everywhere.
The First Naturalista
In this piece, I stumble across the wonders of natural hair and after, try to convince my mother to let me go natural.
Polished
At 11:32 on a typical Saturday night, a mom and daughter chat while doing their nails.
A House Sparrow’s Song
Even within a crowd, one can discover wings.
Shattered: Getting Out of the Tower
The first chapter to a longer work, Shattered is a reimagining of Rapunzel's story. It follows Marianne's journey of finding her place in the world and mustering the confidence to push the bounds of her world.
The Sweet and Sour: Life as a Senior
The Sweet and Sour: Life as a Senior is about the highs and lows, I have faced thus far in my senior year that redefined my outlook of what senior year really is.
Baggage
High school friends have a surprise encounter in an airport, a few years after graduating.
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.