Generation F. Girls Write Now
GENERATION F: THE GIRLS WRITE NOW 2018 ANTHOLOGY
“I remember the thrill of being published for the first time like it was yesterday. I was in the eighth grade and my poem, ‘The Door to Escape,’ appeared in the school yearbook. I kept running my fingers over the page, reading the poem again and again, feeling proud and scared in equal measure. Between you and me, the poem wasn’t very good, but it didn’t matter . . . It was the first time I was brave enough to put myself out there. I still think of that door to escape every time I hold a new book of mine that has managed to find its way into print. I feel proud and scared each time, but now with the balance maybe—just maybe—tipping in favor of pride. So I love that Girls Write Now gives young writers an opportunity to experience that thrill—that pride—and, through thoughtful mentoring, helps them to push past the fear.”
—TARA ALTEBRANDO, author of The Leaving
“There is no greater proof of the power of writing—and reading—than Girls Write Now. They create space for a diverse range of young, female voices—but by giving us the opportunity to read them, we emerge changed as well.”
—CHLOE BENJAMIN, author of The Immortalists
“These girls will create the feminism of the future. It is our job to listen to and support these young women. I’m very grateful that Girls Write Now is helping us do just that.”
—ROWAN HISAYO BUCHANAN, author of Harmless Like You
“When I sit down to write, I’m boldly proclaiming that I like spending time with myself, that I am interested in my own mind, ideas, fantasies, and inner life. For girls and women, it’s a radical act to say, my mind is a fascinating place. This is what we do every time we sit down to create.”
—NAIMA COSTER, author of Halsey Street
“Stories are history, aspiration, consolation, and survival. For most of history, girls have been the objects of storytellers. It’s time for them to write their own stories.”
—MOLLY CRABAPPLE, author of Drawing Blood
“Young women deserve and require mentorship from adult women who’ve been successful in their fields of interest. That’s exactly what Girls Write Now does: creates a bridge young women can use to move toward their goals. I love that.”
—CAMERON ESPOSITO, cocreator of Take My Wife
“Throughout their lives, women are told that they need to be empowered. That creates the message that someone else owns a female’s power and that it can be given and taken away. The incredible voices of girls collected in Generation F: The Girls Write Now 2018 Anthology proves this whole status quo about empowerment wrong. Girls don’t need to be empowered, they need to be enabled to use their own power. The Girls Write Now program makes me so excited for the future, one where all voices matter, not just some. Now, that is power.”
—DR. PATTI FLETCHER, cofounder, PSDNetwork, and author of Disrupters: Success Strategies from Women Who Break the Mold
“The work that Girls Write Now does, giving young women the tools to better express their ideas, opinions, and experiences, is vital. These girls’ stories should be required reading for anyone hungry for hope in a world that feels increasingly complex and unsteady. These are the changemakers with the power to shape our future.”
—NEHA GANDHI, editor in chief and COO of Girlboss
“Girls Write Now is the kind of powerful, lifelong experience I wish I’d had growing up. Young artists doing wildly creative work!”
—N. K. JEMISIN, author of the Broken Earth trilogy
“This anthology gifts us with the passionate voices of the next generation. You’ll be inspired by the knowledge that the written word will far more than endure, it will shine.”
—WALLACE KING, author of Edenland
“Girls Write Now is essential reading and essential writing. For a world that tells women and girls to be quiet, Girls Write Now is giving them the chance to make noise. Listen.”
—JILL KOLONGOWSKI, author of Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me: Discover the Magic of Friendship, Family, Courage, and Love in Your Life
“When I was a young immigrant, struggling with language and acceptance, I wish I had had an organization like Girls Write Now to help me find my voice. It is truly humbling to see the eloquence and power that can be unleashed in young women with the right touch—and to hear the strength in a chorus of newly discovered voices that have been granted the training and opportunity to reach their full potential.”
—MARIA KONNIKOVA, author of The Confidence Game and Mastermind
“The courageous and heartfelt stories that shape this anthology serve to remind us all that one of the most powerful things in the world is a girl with a pen in her hand.”
—LANG LEAV, author of Sad Girls
“To speak in one’s own voice—and to be heard—is a right as unalienable as the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Girls Write Now gives young women the means to exercise that right. This anthology brings the reader back, again and again, to one fundamental purpose of language itself: deliverance.”
—RACHEL LYON, author of Self-Portrait with Boy
“In an age that requires activism in the everyday, the Girls Write Now community of shared experience, mentorship, and creativity has become indispensable. Through story, our understanding of others grows; when we are the ones writing the story, our understanding of self also blooms. These pages are alive with the strength and self-reflection that is born when women work together. Generation F is officially required reading!”
—KELLY McMASTERS, coeditor of This Is the Place: Women Writing About Home
“Our world is desperate for fresh voices and new ideas from unconventional sources. The wealth of stories, creativity, and bravery in this collection gives me hope that this next generation will thrive on opportunities to break the mold, challenge the status quo, and let their individuality shine ever brighter.”
—NILOFER MERCHANT, author of The Power of Onlyness: Make Your Wild Ideas Mighty Enough to Dent the World
“Hooray for the courage of these young writers, for the grace of their mentors, and for the transforming power of story. Reading these young writers will make you stand up and cheer!”
—SY MONTGOMERY, author of Walking with the Great Apes: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Birute Galdikas
“Writing has been a tremendous help for me in finding my voice and finding myself. I love that Girls Write Now is helping girls from all walks of life find that power and truth within themselves.”
—BETH NEWELL, editor and cofounder of Reductress
“Few things can shape our future as vitally as empowering young women to become storytellers. Girls Write Now brings us yet another generation taking ownership of their narratives: bright and daring, past and present, now and always.”
—TÉA OBREHT, author of The Tiger’s Wife
“It isn’t the meek who will inherit the earth—it’s the young. Thank goodness these young writers, resisters, and boundary-pushers are anything but meek. Their powerful words will inspire you and give you hope for our future.”
—CAMILLE PERRI, author of The Assistants and