We kicked off the Girls Write Now Live: Unmuted Spring Performance Series on March 12, 2021 with honoree Masuma Ahuja, author of Girlhood: Teens Around the World in Their Own Voices (Workman) and mentee emcees Filomena Baker and Kayla Morgan. One full year since everything shut down due to COVID-19, and our mentees and mentors have never stopped creating innovative, moving, entertaining and insightful work. There was juggling! Self-love advice! Odes to family and lineage! Thrilling and quirky fiction! And even a drawn-on barista mustache! Here, you can watch the full show.
What People Are Saying
“GIRLS WRITE NOW LIVE was full of such inspiration and provided the exact motivation I needed to head into a productive weekend of writing on my own. Thanks for the boost!”
–Becca James
“My favorite part was hearing the mentor and mentee paired work because everyone’s work was so creative and personal to their own experiences.”
–Shania Cox
“I loved getting to hear what Masuma had to say during the pre-show Q&A! Everyone’s performance was truly phenomenal, and I am so lucky to be a part of this amazing community!”
–Sandy Tan
“Girls Write Now has done it again. I loved the variety and talent in the presentations and I was charmed and impressed by the emcees. They have a future in broadcast!”
–Ellen Horan
Listen to the Pre-Show Q&A
Meet the Emcees & Honoree
MENTEE EMCEE
Filomena Baker
Filomena Baker is a novice writer who started writing at a young age (usually about mermaids going grocery shopping!). She loves to read all types of books, quality ranging from great to mediocre. Once, she got an award from her middle school for reading too much and for getting away with it. She’s lived in the Bronx her entire life, but her family hails from Venezuela. She spends most of her time listening to music and obsessing over superfluous things. She is currently a junior in high school.
MENTEE EMCEE
Kayla Morgan
Kayla Morgan is a junior in high school and is an avid poet and spoken word performer. She has fostered her craft as a mentee at Girls Write Now, a member of the Developing Artist Ensemble, with the Young Playwright’s Group at TDF NYC, Body Electric at UPenn and more. Kayla enjoys using her poetry to uplift neglected voices of the unheard in her community and beyond.
HONOREE
Masuma Ahuja
Masuma Ahuja is a freelance journalist reporting on gender, migration and human rights. She was previously a producer at CNN and national digital editor at the Washington Post. She uses words, photos and emerging media to report and tell stories about gender, migration and the impact of politics of people. Her projects have ranged from long-form stories to sending disposable cameras to women around the world to document their days to crowdsourcing voice mails from Americans about the impact of the 2016 election on their lives. She was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2014. Her new book Girlhood: Teens Around the World in Their Own Voices is out now from Algonquin Young Readers.
Meet the March 12 Girls Write Now Live Performers
Alice Kresberg & Amelia Possanza
Amari Murray & Sharon Mesmer
Caroline Der & Orla Murphy
Claire Yu & Jesse Chen
Gabrielle Galchen & Emily Barasch
Grace Yu & Sarah McNaughton
Kassidy Samuel-Ancrum & Shanille Martin
Lauren Weisberg & Lucy Carson
Lena DiBiasio & Hayley Altman
Maisha Jahan Chowdhury & Victoria Chow
Natalie Henry & Danielle Chery
Sandy Tan & Claudia Marina
Sophia Luo & Amy Parlapiano
Sylvi Stein & Nan Bauer-Maglin
Zuzanna Wasiluk & Aphrodite Brinsmead