
THE GIRLS WRITE NOW 2022


This holiday season, find the perfect gift for everyone on your list with the Girls Write Now 2022 Holiday Gift Guide, inspired by and including products from our community of mentees, mentors, champions, and friends. From clean beauty to curated plants to activist astrology courses, we’re sure you’ll find lots to love.
Share this with your friends, family and colleagues. Or give them the gift of a donation in their honor!

HEALING THROUGH WORDS
by Rupi Kaur
Andrews McMeel
Rupi Kaur welcomes you into her world of writing and creativity through her fourth book, Healing Through Words. This collection of her curated guided writing exercises encourages you to explore themes of trauma, loss, heartache, love, healing, and celebration of the self. It is the creativity tool for everyone. Pick up a pen. Reflect. And let your thoughts wander.
FUNK, SOUL, HIPHOP,
LOVE & JUSTICE SHIRT
Danielle Ponder
Rock this T-shirt from our friend, rising singer-songwriter Danielle Ponder, representing some of the things we love most. Plus, catch Danielle’s gorgeous performance at our 2022 Agents of Change Awards!


RELATIONS:
AN ANTHOLOGY OF AFRICAN AND DIASPORA VOICES
Edited by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
HarperVia
This vital anthology is Girls Write Now mentor Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond’s striking vision of a meeting place of perspectives, centered in the African and diaspora experience. A refreshing collection of genre-spanning literature, it offers a vibrant meditation on being—inviting connection across real and imagined borders, and celebration of the most profound relations.
PENS & STATIONERY
BIC
What better gift for the storyteller in your life than the tools to write with? Plus, BIC Foundation supports Girls Write Now’s programming. Double bonus? Get 25% off through the end of January using code “GWN25”!


CURATED PLANTS & GREENERY
Hortihop
Launched by Girls Write Now mentor Heather O’Donovan, Hortihop delivers curated greenery selections in partnership with local plant shops. They also provide wellness guides and live support from a team of horticulturists, making it the perfect gift for the plant-lover in your life. Now is the time to find a Fiddle Leaf Fig for a friend.
ESTÉE LAUDER PRODUCTS
Selected by Amanda Gorman
As Girls Write Now champion and fellow Writing Change recipient Amanda Gorman says, the body and face are their own type of language. Shop Amanda’s curated selection of Estée Lauder products, centered around repair and regeneration.


INSIDE VOICE AUDIOBOOK
by Lake Bell
Pushkin Industries
Join Lake Bell on this fun, whip-smart exploration of the psychology, social science, cultural constructs, and mechanics of our voices, named Audible’s Best Nonfiction of 2022 and selected as one of AudioFile’s 2022 Best Nonfiction Audiobooks. Featuring iconic voices like Drew Barrymore, Tracy Ullman, and Susie Essman, as well as an original score by Chris Bear of Grizzly Bear, Inside Voice gets at the heart of why the way we sound matters in deeply personal ways.
REVOLUTIONARY ASTROLOGY SCHOOL
with Melanie Horton
Calling anyone who always knows what planet is in retrograde…this course is for you! This self-paced course by Girls Write Now mentor Melanie Horton teaches how to use astrology as a tool to for activist projects. Along the way, you’ll use the work of numerous Black activists like Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, and Kimberlé Crenshaw astrologically to better understand how their work can inspire and influence ours.


FIXED STARS
by Marisa Siegel
Illustrated by Trisha Previte
Burrow Press
In Fixed Stars, Girls Write Now mentor Marisa Siegel investigates the in-between: windows, porches, drawers, bedrooms, and basements are portals to examine how language shapes and is shaped, and to what ends. With original artwork by Trisha Previte, Fixed Stars is a lush voyage toward the reestablishment of hope.
FINDING ME
by Viola Davis
HarperOne
In Finding Me, Girls Write Now champion Viola Davis tells her story, in her own words, that spans her incredible life, from her coming-of-age in Rhode Island to present day. Hers is a story of overcoming, a true hero’s journey. Deeply personal, brutally honest, and riveting, Finding Me is a timeless and spellbinding memoir that will capture hearts and minds around the globe.


WHITE WOMEN
by Regina Jackson & Saira Rao
Penguin Books
A no-holds-barred guidebook aimed at white women who want to stop being nice and start dismantling white supremacy from the team behind Race2Dinner and the documentary film, Deconstructing Karen. White Women is a call to action for those who are looking to take the next steps in dismantling white supremacy.
TURNING
by Joy L. Smith
Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
In this debut young adult novel by Girls Write Now mentee Joy L. Smith, a former aspiring ballerina must confront her past in order to move forward from a devastating fall that leaves her without the use of her legs.


I LOVE MY FAMILY BOOK SERIES
by Jamir M. Williams
Little Readers Bookshelf
The perfect books for anyone in your life raising or working with young children, the I Love My Family books by Girls Write Now mentor Jamir M. Williams aim to provide diverse family representation, demonstrating to kids what it means to love and have a family.
LASH & BROW SERUMS
Circe Beauty
Wake up to your dream lashes and brows with these products by Girls Write Now mentor-founded company Circle Beauty! Using toxin-free ingredients and recyclable packaging, these serums make great gifts for those who see self-care as time for celebration and retreat.


UKRANIAN-AMERICAN POETS RESPOND
Edited by Olena Jennings & Virlana Tkacz
This important anthology features 29 poetic views on Ukraine and Ukrainian culture and heritage in America, including Girls Write Now mentor Vera Sirota, alongside poets including Ilya Kaminsky, Dzvinia Orlowsky, and Olena Jennings.
FIVE TUESDAYS IN WINTER
by Lily King
Grove Atlantic
We love this Read With Jenna pick by Girls Write Now champion Lily King. Stories in the collection explore desire, loss, jolting violence, and the inexorable tug toward love at all costs.
Need some wisdom? Check out Lily King’s speech from the Girls Write Now Graduation Gala!


THE LIGHT WE CARRY
by Michelle Obama
Crown
Former First Lady Michelle Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. A rewarding blend of powerful stories and profound advice that will ignite conversation, The Light We Carry inspires readers to examine their own lives, identify their sources of gladness, and connect meaningfully in a turbulent world.
ACCEPTANCE
by Emi Nietfeld
Penguin Press
In this searing debut memoir, Girls Write Now mentor Emi Nietfeld tells her story of foster care and homelessness, Harvard and Big Tech, examining society’s fixation with resilience—and its cost. Both a chronicle of the American Dream and an indictment of it, this searing debut exposes the price of trading a troubled past for the promise of a bright future. Told with a ribbon of dark humor, Acceptance challenges our ideas of what it means to overcome—and find contentment on your own terms.


WHAT THE JAGUAR
TOLD HER
by Alexandra V. Méndez
Levine Querido
What the Jaguar Told Her is a lyrical debut telling the story of eighth grader Jade as she connects with Itztli, an elderly storyteller who exists between dreams and reality. This book beautifully chronicles growing up in the midst of change, finding the strength to be who you have always been, and a magical cultural homecoming.
IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL
by Andrea Beatriz Arango
Penguin Random House
How do you speak up when it feels like no one is listening? In this moving novel in verse by Girls Write Now mentor Andrea Beatriz Arango, one girl takes on seventh grade while facing mental health challenges, and must find her voice to advocate for the help and understanding she deserves.


BOOKWORM TEE
Mightyhumankind
The search for the perfect t-shirt is over! Mightyhumankind tees are super soft, crafted of sustainable fabric, and emblazoned with positive slogans to uplift and inspire. Plus, 10% of each tee sold goes to support different organizations tied to the theme of the tee. What more could you ask for?
THE POET SPEAKS WORKSHOP
with Amanda Eke
The Poet Speaks Workshop Series is an engaging experience into the culture of Spoken word, rhyme and tradition, held for all ages. Based on Girls Write Now mentor Amanda Eke’s experiences as a writer, performer and someone with Nigerian heritage, the workshop gives participants a chance to learn about oral traditions and their histories in any context all while solidifying the fundamental skills of rhyme.


WHAT THE FIREFLIES KNEW
by Kai Harris
Tiny Reparations Books
We love this pick from one of our favorite imprints, Phoebe Robinson’s Tiny Reparations Books. A dazzling and moving novel about family, identity, and race, What the Fireflies Knew is a coming-of-age story told by almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta that poignantly reveals the heartbreaking but necessary component of growing up—the realization that loved ones can be flawed and that the perfect family we all dream of looks different up close.
CATASTROPHE THEORY
by Rebecca Lowry Warchut
Woodhall Press
This novel by Girls Write Now mentor Rebecca Lowry Warchut follows Vera Garcia, whose soccer career is suddenly sidelined at the start of her senior year due to a rare brain tumor. She and her mother make it to St. Petersburg, Florida for surgery, just as Hurricane Phoenix’s trajectory turns directly toward them. As it churns closer and closer, past and present collide in a whirlwind of love, betrayal, and illusion. Will they succumb to loss, or like the phoenix, reinvent themselves, rewrite their stories, and rise anew?


THE BODY LIBERATION PROJECT
by Chrissy King
Forthcoming this spring from Tiny Reparations Books, we love this book from author, Instagram personality, and Girls Write Now 2022 Agent of Change Chrissy King, an exciting, genre-redefining narrative mix of memoir, inspiration, and specific exercises and prompts, with timely messages about social and racial justice, and how the world needs to move beyond body positivity to something even more exciting and revolutionary—body liberation.
TAKING ROOT:
THE GIRLS WRITE NOW
2022 ANTHOLOGY
Of course, we couldn’t create a Girls Write Now Gift Guide without including what we believe is the perfect gift for everyone in your life… Taking Root: The Girls Write Now 2022 Anthology! We are proud of our partnership with Dutton to produce this meaningful publication. The collection is a catalog of seeds—each young writer cultivating a shimmering, emergent voice. In short stories, personal essays, poetry, and more, they reflect on life-altering topics like heartbreak, self-care and friendship. The result is a stunning book with global relevance of all this generation has endured and transformed.



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