Girls Write Now is honored to partner with author Melissa Febos and illustrator Forsyth Harmon for a fundraiser celebrating the launch of Girlhood (Bloomsbury, March 30). The essay collection has been named a Most Anticipated Book by The New York Times, Buzzfeed, Time.com, OprahMag.com, The Millions, The Rumpus, LitHub and more. For the week leading up to publication on March 30, when you purchase artwork prints from the book, all proceeds benefit Girls Write Now.
A few words from Melissa on the initiative: “I wrote my essay collection, Girlhood, because I wanted to put words to the experiences that felt unspeakable when I was a girl. It was through writing—my own and that of others—that I was able to find my own voice, and ultimately to fill the silences of my own girlhood. Still, there are some truths that defy language, and for that reason, among others, I was thrilled to collaborate with artist and writer, Forsyth Harmon, who brought my essays, and my girlhood, to new life with her stunning illustrations. I’m so very happy for the opportunity to share these prints as a benefit for those young writers served by Girls Write Now.”
Melissa Febos is the author of the memoir Whip Smart and two essay collections: Abandon Me and Girlhood. The inaugural winner of the Jeanne Córdova Nonfiction Award from LAMBDA Literary and the recipient of fellowships from The MacDowell Colony, Bread Loaf, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The BAU Institute, Vermont Studio Center, The Barbara Deming Foundation and others; her essays have appeared in The Paris Review, The Believer, McSweeney’s Quarterly, Granta, Sewanee Review, Tin House, The Sun and The New York Times. She is an associate professor at the University of Iowa, where she teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program.
Forsyth Harmon is the author and illustrator of the novel Justine (Tin House, 2021). She is also the illustrator of Girlhood by Melissa Febos and The Art of the Affair by Catherine Lacey. She has also collaborated with writers Alexander Chee, Hermione Hoby, Sanaë Lemoine and Leslie Jamison. Forsyth’s work has been featured in The Believer, Tin House, Virginia Quarterly Review and The Awl. She received an MFA from Columbia University and currently lives in New York.