An Inside Look: Voice to Voice: Girls Write Now’s 2015 Anthology

This year’s anthology, Voice to Voice, is a medley of powerful stories. Our girls tackle big issues, such as race relations and abuse, as well as current feelings on social media, self-esteem and family dynamics. Learn a little more about the mentees and their featured work:

Rachel Aghanwa with mentor Sara Polsky

“Black is just a color,” I’ve heard people say. Technically, they’re wrong. Black is the presence of ALL colors. But black is deeper than “just a color.” Black is my roots, the vines of my family tree twist-ing their way across the Atlantic Ocean on a straight path to the motherland. Black is my complexion, the skin tone stretching over the canvas of my body, encasing every crevice on the surface. Black is beautiful, and black is what makes me, me. – Rachel Aghanwa, “Black”

Brittany Nanton with mentor Amy Flyntz

I have a lot of fears. I think I’m mostly scared of everything, or maybe it’s just my anxiety that makes me fearful. I don’t like bugs, doctor visits, closed-in spaces, the dark, being in groups, and mostly everything else you can think of. I sometimes feel as though having those fears limits me on the certain things that teens my age are doing. While other kids are partying and making memories that they’ll keep forever, I’m home alone blogging about random things. – Brittney Nanton, “Who Am I?”

Charlene Vasquez with mentor Caitlin Rimshnick

Autism. This word can mean anything to anyone. It’s such a varied term; those who have it can’t express what it is either. It is not something you can feel — or touch. Autism? Oh no, it is much more than that. Autism is color; it is complexity. It is day and night, happy and sad. It’s not one thing only and it is not rare. Although this is my own opinion that I speak, autism can be anything. There is no definite answer as to what it is or what it is not. Merely, autism is. – Charlene Vasquez, “Autism is…”

Cindy Chu with mentor Iris Cushing

I was once played amongst knotted trees
And bramled briars. Those were the days
When calm, crystalline sky met tense earth,
Where the ever-changing sands of time
Reached unwilling equilibrium: this is why branches
Are emblazoned with embossed leaves,
Fingers grazing the base of the atmosphere.

– Cindy Chu, “Qixi”

Be sure to grab a copy after it launches at the 2015 Girls Write Now Awards on May 19. Enjoy these amazing pieces alongside many more!

The Girls Write Now anthology has been recognized as the Outstanding Book of the Year in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and has earned additional honors from the International Book Awards, National Indie Excellence Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the New York Book Festival, the San Francisco Book Festival, and the Paris Book Festival.