Alexis Cheung
Mary Darby
Emma Delaney
Erica Drennan
Melanie Ehrenkranz
Mary Kate Frank
Kristen Gaerlan
Hermione Hoby
Jisu Kim
Maya Millett
Erica Moroz
Kate Mulley
Livia Nelson
Carol Paik
Nikki Palumbo
Emily Present
Hannah Sheldon-Dean
Marissa Silverman
Lauren Spencer
Lenna Stites
Carina Storrs
Jen Straus
Maryellen Tighe
Lauren Vespoli
Megan Wood
STAFF
Kelsey Adolphs, Operations Coordinator
Nyasiah Colon, Intern
iemi Hernandez-Kim, Senior Community Outreach Coordinator
Kelsey LePage, Development Coordinator
Molly MacDermot, Director of Special Initiatives
Maya Nussbaum, Founder and Executive Director
Lisbett Rodriguez, Community Outreach Coordinator
Erica Silberman, Director of Community
Amara Thomas, Community Outreach Coordinator
Kyndal Thomas, Community Outreach Coordinator
Contents
THE GIRLS WRITE NOW 2019 ANTHOLOGY
Cover
Praise
Title Page
Copyright
Foreword by Phoebe Robinson
Introduction by Tomi Adeyemi
A Note from Anthology Co-Chair, Catherine Greenman
Anthology Editorial Committee
JOURNALISM
AGUILAR-COLÓN, SOLEDAD
In School Brown Boys Wear Green
FICTION
ALEXANDER, JAN
The Girl Who Could Do Anything
MEMOIR
ALI, GRACE ANEIZA
On Storms and Survival
POETRY
ALLEN-KEFALINOS, KATERINA
Cuba I
POETRY
ALMS, ANNEMARIE
The Therapist
MEMOIR
ANDERSON, ALEXUS
Moribundo con un Corazón Roto
POETRY
ANDRE, SADE
Two sides of the Black Storm
POETRY
AVERY, CLEMENTINE
Sir Leo
FICTION
BABB, MAXINE
Gone Boy
POETRY
BAILEY, KECIAH
Two sides of the Black Storm
FICTION
BANNIGAN, AGNES
Gone Boy
MEMOIR
BARASCH, EMILY
Inherited
POETRY
BAUER-MAGLIN, NAN
Pink Toe Shoes
JOURNALISM
BLACK, ROSALIND
The Outcome
POETRY
BROOKES, JANEIN
Persephone of High School
MEMOIR
BRYAN, ANNIE
blank wall
FICTION
BURCHARD, ELISE
How to Feed a Monster
FICTION
CABRERA, NATHALIE
In This Moment
JOURNALISM
CARLIN, SHANNON
The Secret Life of Bee Sting Therapy: An Excerpt
MEMOIR
CARPENTER, JULIA
Dedicated
SCREENWRITING
CASTILLO, SAONY
Guy Problems
POETRY
CESPEDES-MORA, GENESIS
Our Super Power
POETRY
CHAUDHURY, NUPUR
People
POETRY
CHE, JORDAN
Insignificance in Numbers
POETRY
CHEN, DARYL
Awe on the MTA, or The Boldest Thing I Ever Saw on the New York City Subway
MEMOIR
CHODOROV KAMINSKY, JILL
My Husband Is the Man in Our Marriage
POETRY
CHRISTOPHER, JAYLI MILAN
Tip Tap Tips
POETRY
CHU, NICOLE
Ode to My Grandmother
POETRY
CHUIRAZZI, SARA
untitled
MEMOIR
CLARKE-ARIAS, BRIANNA
An Investigation on Affect
POETRY
CONAN, VIVIAN
Milestones
MEMOIR
COOPER, LILA
Sunday Scaries
POETRY
Ode to My Mittens
FICTION
CUNARD, CANDACE
The Goddess of No
FICTION
CUSTEN, SARAH
Fear Beyond the Future
POETRY
DA’COSTA, BERNA
[yellow …]
FICTION
DALEY, SHARI-JADE
the inner workings of a black girl
FICTION
DARBY, MARY
The Question
FICTION
DE LA ROSA, LORENA
Top Secret Surgery
MEMOIR
DIHYEM, MANAR
An Open Letter to Ignorance
MEMOIR
DOLA, LAILA
I Have Faith in My Father
POETRY
DOMINGUEZ, KIMBERLY
Elegy to My Mother’s Perfume
MEMOIR
DONAYRE, STEFANIE
A Punch of Confidence
FICTION
DRAKE, ILANA
NYC Girl
FICTION
DRENNAN, ERICA
Girl Abroad
POETRY
DUBOSE-MORRIS, JOLIAMOUR
winter v. spring
FICTION
ESTRELLA, YADYVIC
Coffee Chocolate
MEMOIR
FLYNTZ, AMY
Five Months
MEMOIR
FOYE, HASINA
Deaf
FICTION
FOYE, MEGHANN
Breaking the Chain
POETRY
FRANCOIS, SIARRA
Didane
POETRY
FRANK, LUCY
FIFTY YEARS AGO
MEMOIR
FRANK, MARY KATE
In Memory Of
POETRY
FRASER, KAYA
Esther Is Her Name
POETRY
FREEWIND, KARA
Control
MEMOIR
FULFORD, CAROLINE
Borderlands
MEMOIR
FULLER, JAIME
An Open Letter to Writing Open Letters
MEMOIR
GAERLAN, KRISTEN
The Imposter
MEMOIR
GALCHEN, GABRIELLE
What It’s Called
MEMOIR
GALINDO, MARIAH
Setting Precedent
FICTION
GARCIA, KIMBERLEY
Grey
POETRY
GAYEN, SENJUTI
Senjuti Gayen Is—
FICTION
GERINGER-BASS, LAURA
The Object of Desire
MEMOIR
GOLDEN, STEPHANIE
Horse-Crazy
FICTION
GOLDHILL, OLIVIA
Coming in
POETRY
GOLIGHTLY, ISABEL
subway miNd
MEMOIR
GOUDA, SARAH
Best Friends, Forever.
MEMOIR
GREENBERG, JAYLA
Beachbound
MEMOIR
GREENE, ANIYA
An Open Letter to Teachers Who Hate the Hard Questions
POETRY
GUERRERO, ANALISE
Relapse
MEMOIR
GUITY, GYANA
To All the Friends I’ve Loved B
efore
POETRY
GUZMAN, GIANNY
Glass
FICTION
HABTU, LENA
Song in the Silence
POETRY
HABTU, NAOMI
Cycles, Words, Spirits, and Flow
POETRY
HAO, IRENE
the day never looked so red
FICTION
HAQUE, SADIA
All-Consuming Reality
FICTION
HARRIS, AGUSTINA
Waves
FICTION
HARRIS, NYLAH
Daniel
FICTION
HART, LOLA
The Inheritance
FICTION
HEILIGMAN, DEBORAH
Dance Steps
POETRY
HERNANDEZ, RUBIT
Efflorescence
FICTION
HESSE, LAUREN
All of the Women Who Will Inevitably Have to Ask the Man in the Coffee Shop to Move His Bag
MEMOIR
HILBRING, VERONICA
Destination World
POETRY
HILL, DONNA
There All the Time
FICTION
HOBY, HERMIONE
Extract from Small Gods
POETRY
HUMPHREY, ANNA
Time to Be Brave
MEMOIR
HYMOWITZ, CAROL
Learning to Be Older
MEMOIR
JACOBS, KATE
Home
POETRY
JAGIRDAR, WAEZA
Untitled
MEMOIR
JAMES, SARANE
Nothing to Fear
MEMOIR
JEFFREY, BIANCA
Letter to You
MEMOIR
KARGBO, AMINATA
The Pink Hijab with Sparkles … I Wore Only Once
MEMOIR
KHANOM, FAIZA
A Proposal
FICTION
KIEL, LAUREN
A Vision in Red
POETRY
KLEINBUB, LINDA
Relic
MEMOIR
KOSTER, ELIZABETH
How Can You Not See This?
FICTION
LABUE, SAMMI
Song in the Silence
MEMOIR
LADSON, SIMERA
Assuage
JOURNALISM
LECLAIR, CATHERINE
Millennial Men, on Joining, and Then Leaving, the Priesthood
MEMOIR
LOZADA, JADE
Learning to Be Myself
POETRY
MACA GARCIA, LORENA
A Bouquet of Symphonies
JOURNALISM
McARDLE, MOLLY
State of the Nation
POETRY
McKAY, CIARA
Death Walks Through New York
POETRY
MILLETT, MAYA
The Things We Carry
MEMOIR
MOREL, ANGELY
Home
POETRY
MORGAN, AMINA
An Ode to Tears
MEMOIR
MORRIS, EMILY
Glory
FICTION
MUKHTAR, AMINA
All Is Good in His World
FICTION
MULLEY, KATE
The Bridge
MEMOIR
NAPOLITANO, KATE
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Woman Who Listens to Music
MEMOIR
NAZAIRE, SARADINE
An Educated Woman
MEMOIR
NELSON, LIVIA
The Exley
FICTION
NESBAT, HANNAH
Breaking News
POETRY
NEWMAN, KATE
Recycled Reasoning
POETRY
ORTEGA, YAMILET
child.
FICTION
PALERMO, GABI
The Puerto Rican Snow White
POETRY
PALUMBO, NIKKI
An Ode to My Short Hair
FICTION
PANTALEON, LESLIE
Re: Hazel Moss
POETRY
PARKER, RIA
The Day I Realized
MEMOIR
PIFER, CARLY
Shoe Thrower
POETRY
PRESENT, EMILY
A Dulled Match
MEMOIR
QUINTERO, STEPHANIE
A Bold Moment in My Life
MEMOIR
RAGHURAM, NANDITA
Ajji
MEMOIR
REESE, LYNDSEY
Arrival
MEMOIR
RINALDI, EMILY
One in a Melon
POETRY
ROBINSON, CECILY
A Seat at the Table
POETRY
RODRIGUEZ, DANIA
The Elements of Fashion
POETRY
ROLAND, JUDITH
Ode to an Avocado
POETRY
ROWE, JENNIFER
u can’t control a bad b
FICTION
RUBIN, JULIA LYNN
Messages in Candy
FICTION
RUPNARAIN, ROSHNIE
Warrior of the Ring
MEMOIR
SALEH, DALEELAH
In Flux
POETRY
SANDERSON, ISABELLE
Bleached
FICTION
SANTOS SABINO, KAYLA
Uncle (Let’s Say) Bob
FICTION
SCHEINER, KATHLEEN
The Beast
MEMOIR
SCHMIT, CAROLYN
The People You Meet
POETRY
SCHNEIDER, ASHLEY
Orientation
MEMOIR
SERLIN, JAMIE
Most Improved
FICTION
SHELDON-DEAN, HANNAH
The Swerve
POETRY
SHEUBA, SANJIDA
Dead Flowers & Forgotten Souls
FICTION
SHICKMANTER, MARGO
Tides
POETRY
SHOPE, RACHEL
Ode to San Vicente
POETRY
SILVERMAN, MARISSA
The Warrior
POETRY
SLON, MAEVE
The End
MEMOIR
SMITH, AYANA
The Fluidity of Language
POETRY
SPENCER, LAUREN
An Ode to a Certain Age
POETRY
STEIN, SYLVI
Song of the Sea
MEMOIR
STRAUS, JEN
Second Self
MEMOIR
STRICKLAND, HEATHER
Toe Prints
MEMOIR
SWANSON, HALEY
I Want Some More
MEMOIR
SYDNEY, CAROLINE
Dearest
FICTION
TAN, JOANNA
Ripples
MEMOIR
TAYLOR, JANIAH
From Past to Future Me
POETRY
THOMAS, ALANTA
Color Me Gentle//False Healing
POETRY
THOMAS, ELIZABETH
Recently Unearthed Microsoft Encarta Entries (Circa 1998)
MEMOIR
THOMAS, HANNAH
My Pooh Is My Best Friend
FICTION
TORRES, KENIA
The Legend of the Immortal
FICTION
UNCINI, KIMBERLY
Wednesday
POETRY
VESPOLI, LAUREN
Bright Spot
POETRY
WEJKO, ALEXA
Villanelle Against Backsliding
POETRY
WELCH, ASHLEY
Carmen
POETRY
WHELAN, MARIA
Wicked and
Bold
MEMOIR
WILLIAMS, SHANAI
Who wants to be great?
POETRY
WILLIG, ROBIN
Crystal Bowl
POETRY
WOOD, ALIKAY
Alikay Wood Is—
MEMOIR
WOOD, MEGAN
You Can’t Sit with Us: Havana
FICTION
YANG, KAITLYN
The Day the Nothings Came
POETRY
YU, CLAIRE
You, She
FICTION
YU, GRACE
used matches
FICTION
ZHANG, EN YU
One Night
FICTION
ZYADA, BASMALA
Finite
Ctrl + B: Prompts and Writing Exercises for Individuals and Groups
THE GIRLS WRITE NOW
2019 ANTHOLOGY
SOLEDAD AGUILAR-COLÓN
YEARS AS MENTEE: 3
GRADE: Senior
HIGH SCHOOL: Beacon High School
BORN: Bronx, NY
LIVES: New York, NY
PUBLICATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: Silver Keys and Honorable Mention