Girls Write Now Unmuted

Censored. Repressed. Subdued. Bound. Muted. No more.

In a world pushed to the precipice of change, in a society that values the tried and true over the dynamic and new, what does it mean to be unmuted? In this anthology, a chorus of young women and gender-expansive teens give voice to fear and silence, hold nothing back, and demand justice. To be unmuted right now requires a new brand of bravery and these writers show us how it's done. Using stories, poems, essays, fiction, drama, interviews, and more, they report on a global pandemic, a climate crisis, and the movement for racial equity. They also invite us on their personal journeys through the labyrinth of young adulthood: feeling the rich soil of a neighborhood garden between their fingers; traveling through time in search of their parents; inhaling the charged air where young love is brewing.

For twenty-three years, the nationally award-winning nonprofit Girls Write Now has broken down the barriers of gender, race, age, and poverty, elevating the voices of writers who are too often not heard-or worse, silenced. Girls Write Now is the first writing and mentoring organization for girls and gender expansive youth of color, ranking today as one of the top programs nationwide for driving social-emotional growth for youth.