Girls Write Now Media

Anthologies

Each year, Girls Write Now publishes a print anthology showcasing the work of today’s next-generation voices. These books showcase stories that surprise us and stretch our understanding of the world and ourselves. Our anthologies have received praise from Gloria Steinem, Amanda Gorman, Roxane Gay, Meg Wolitzer, Emily St. John Mandel, Janet Mock, and countless others. Says People magazine, “It’s hard not to be inspired.”


Metamorphosis: Girls Write Now 2026 Anthology

To truly understand Girls Write Now, zoom out and observe a complex, multi-dimensional organism, constantly and consciously in the making. Its contours come into focus, and each word dissolves and evolves: Girls becomes a spectrum across gender, race, age, and poverty; Write spans genres, media, and disciplines; Now stretches across three decades and counting. Resolved into its component parts—G. W. N.—its very being refracts: a nonprofit, but also an incubator of art, a developer of professions, a community that heals. Made for writing and mentoring—and, in turn, for training, curating, and fortifying coalitions of artists, educators, and leaders. Rooted in New York City, branching outward: statewide, national, even global. Dubbed the Collaboratory: intimate, versatile, cutting-edge; designed to move with AI, a volatile marketplace, and our own psyches. For Girls Write Now, Metamorphosis is not only the title and theme of this anthology—it is a state of being.

Work from Inside Our Anthologies

Explore a treasure trove of writing, prompts, and insights from a multigenerational community of authors across decades and around the nation.

Our Partners

For the last five years, our annual anthologies have been published in partnership with Dutton Books and Amazon Literary Partnership. Our ebooks have been published with Dottir and Feminist Press. We are grateful for their support in championing the young voices featured here.

Our Digital Story Collection

Our Digital Story Collection

A Year in the Life

High school is a new chapter in every adolescent’s life, and it can be terrifying. Especially if you do not know anyone or if you are going through some mental issues. I was in the same predicament as some of you and looking back, it would've been nice to get some friendly advice from someone my age. My podcast can hopefully help high school students make the best of their four years or look back on them with a smile on their face.

For The Culture: The Black Hair Edition

This is a trailer for a podcast episode that will tackle the appropriation of Black hair in America. Kim Kardashian, a woman of major influence, appropriated Black hair when she wore box braids and called them “boxer braids.” I found it so offensive that I wanted to explore it and open up a conversation about it. I wanted to dismantle the cultural significance that was being ignored— and potentially lost. This podcast was my chance to be truthful about what matters to me: the intersection of hair and my identity.

Fresh Kills Transformation

What was once the largest landfill in the world before closing in 2001 happens to be within my hometown and community of Staten Island. Since then, the landscape has been engineered to become the largest park in New York City. This landfill has greatly affected the health of those in my community. By conducting research to better understand the effects of the landfill on the climate and public health, I realized how my interests can merge and benefit public knowledge of this space. To have my voice heard beyond what can be accomplished in a social media post, I decided to write a script and assemble audio to create a podcast. Through this podcast, others can learn about benefits and concerns relating to the parks department-led engineering project.

In Good Sentences

It is currently 2020—57 years after Sylvia Plath’s death in 1963—and yet she is still one of the most widely discussed writers today. Plath is now stereotyped as the quintessence for the depressed teenage girl because she wrote poems about heartbreak and depression and died by suicide after hearing that her husband was unfaithful. But in reality, Plath was, and is, one of the few writers who was able to transform her dark emotions into beauty. And as one of the forefront writers of her conservative generation, she was also most definitely a feminist.

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We Want To Publish Your Story!

Publication in the Girls Write Now anthologies is open to actively enrolled Girls Write Now mentees. To submit, head to your Portal.

Meet Our Author Community

Meet Our Author Community

Asma Al-Masyabi

Asma Al-Masyabi is a poet, writer, and visual artist based in Colorado. She is a ruth weiss Foundation Emerging Poet Award winner and her writing can be found in The Cincinnati Review, Subnivean, the Santa Clara Review, and more. She is a University of Colorado Denver graduate with a BFA in Creative Writing and reads for Copper Nickel and F(r)iction.

Ayah Al-Masyabi

Ayah Al-Masyabi is a student journalist, artist, and writer with work published in The Colorado Sun, YR Media, The Talon at the Community College of Denver, and more. As an artist and writer, stories – especially about humans – are what get her up in the morning and motivate her to keep writing about the things that matter. Any compelling story interests her, but those surrounding culture, food, and sports are some of her favorites.

Jamilah Araf

Jamilah Araf has been writing forever and has always enjoyed story-telling. Currently, she is branching out at the newspaper club at her Queens high school and enjoys physical and digital art, coding and music. While she might not call herself an athlete, Jamilah rollerblades, ice skates and swims. In addition to being a writer, Jamilah aspires to be a lawyer or a teacher. Today, you can find her jamming out to Ed Sheeran and Onerepublic or obsessing over Hamilton, Disney and the MCU. She eats Thai food, her grandmother’s desserts and ice cream with her family and friends.

Shayla Astudillo

Shayla Astudillo was born in New York City; at a year old they moved to Illinois. In Illinois, they found their love for the arts and multiple life lessons. Coming back to New York City was difficult, but they adapted. They are currently attending high school in Manhattan, NY with their friends. They have dealt with mental illness in their life, which is a strong factor in their writing. They continue their journey with optimism. Their life goal is to spread love to everyone they meet. They hope you can connect to their writing and find your safe place to call home.

Tilda Bartlett

Tilda Bartlett is a ninth grader from Manhattan. She loves art, especially drawing and sketching. She likes realistic fiction and artsy movies. Tilda likes listening to Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift. She hopes to embark on more creative endeavors in the future whether it be film making or art.

Shermaya Paul

Shermaya Paul is a sophomore who lives in Brooklyn. She was the valedictorian of her middle school and the winner of the Congressional App Challenge. She is also an alumni of the UN Junior Ambassador program. She is a talented artist and she likes to write.

Jamilah Araf ShaylaAstudillo Tilda Bartlett Shermaya Paul