Support WriteGirl. Buy Our Anthologies!

WriteGirl Publications offers award-winning anthologies that showcase the bold voices and imaginative insights of teen girls and their WriteGirl mentors. The books present a diverse collection of personal stories, poetry, essays, scenes and lyrics, as well as innovative writing experiments for writers of all levels. WriteGirl books have won 99 national and international book awards! Click to view the list!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please allow up to 2 weeks to receive your order.

If you’re ordering more than 10 books from our website, please call our office at (213) 253-2655

New from WriteGirl Publications:

What’s Behind the Blue Door?

WriteGirl has partnered with Chronicle Books to produce an inspiring creativity journal featuring 75 writing activities and 50 writing tips to help take your writing to the next level!

This journal includes 160 pages of writing prompts with illustrations and plenty of space to write.

Click to learn more about What’s Behind the Blue Door?

This Moment: Bold Voices from WriteGirl

Featuring a foreword by actor and bestselling author Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls)

In This Moment, 180 teens share stories, poems, memoirs, scripts and songs that inspire reflection and ignite action. They write about their hopes and fears, loves and losses, amigas and pan dulce, as they navigate a challenging present and uncertain future with determination and grace.

Praise for This Moment

“This Moment is a collection that can be read in one sitting or savored bit by bit. Whatever the method of entry, the book is a treasure, worth being cherished and shared with girls everywhere. In total, it is a celebration of life and a quiet reflection on darkness in a word, inspiring.”

– Vivian Turnbull, Foreword Reviews

"These voices are an anthem of authenticity, of deep feeling, of wanting more and reaching for it. This is what the emerging feminine power sounds like."

– Danielle LaPorte, creator of The Desire Map

“I am in awe of these young women's courage, lyricism, wisdom and grace on the page. They are bright lights on the literary horizon.”

– Attica Locke, Edgar Award-winning author of Bluebird, Bluebird and writer/producer for When They See Us and Little Fires Everywhere

CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS MOMENT

PRICE: $19.95

SOUND GENERATION: The Resonant Voices of Teen Girls

In Sound Generation, the teen girls of WriteGirl share poems, stories and songs about their identity and dreams, relationships and challenges, midnight phone calls with friends and international adventures – both real and imagined – across Los Angeles, the United States, South America, Europe and more. Many pieces in this anthology are inspired by music – how melodies and lyrics connect girls to their lives, and connect them to the world. From the soundtrack of a grandmother’s kitchen, to a cassette playing when a girl first realizes she is in love, to vinyl records shrouded in well-worn sleeves, the sounds of these writers’ words transport readers to places where we can rejoice, reflect and resist together. Tune into the soundscape of your own life as you listen to the voices in this book...and enjoy an entire symphony of writing advice and experiments to help you compose your own stories.

Praise for Sound Generation

“Words alone are mostly meaningless. Words strung together can have rhythm and power and saliency. The symphony of the teenaged experience is precisely why WriteGirl exists – to capture the sloppiness and the art of being alive.”

– Heather Hach-Hearne, screenwriter of Freaky Friday and What to Expect When You’re Expecting

“Fearless, raw, and melodic – these poems and stories stand up and belt out: ‘I am here.’ The writing on these pages is not remarkable ‘for a teen.’ It's remarkable – full stop. Each voice in Sound Generation hums with verve and veracity."

 – Rachel Caris Love, screenwriter on Blindspot

EMOTIONAL MAP OF LOS ANGELES: Creative Voices from WriteGirl

In Emotional Map of Los Angeles, the girls and women of WriteGirl share poems and stories about their lives, their families, their dreams and their emotions. Many of the pieces in this anthology connect with Los Angeles, where concrete rivers, vines of jasmine and miles of freeways weave a complex web of canyons, landmarks and neighborhoods we all call home. The city where we live is filled with people, life lessons, heartache and joy that carve their way into the landscape of our lives. Think about your own adventures as you turn the pages, because an emotional map isn’t something you follow, it’s something you create along the way. In this, our 14th anthology, 190 women and girls contribute their creative voices!

Download Media Kit

Praise for Emotional Map of Los Angeles

"It is a gift to explore Los Angeles through the eyes of these brave and talented young women. I'm awed and inspired by the way this collection captures the heart, nerves, and soul of our city. We have so much to look forward to from the next generation of LA writers. This book is a remarkable and unforgettable trip. Prepare to be stirred."
– Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures and author of Unbreakable 

“The only thing more inspiring than WriteGirl, the organization, is the girls themselves. Their process is a combination of work and play, craft and self-exploration. The results are kind of mind-boggling!”
– Josann McGibbon, screenwriter, Runaway Bride, The Starter Wife

“There’s nothing like a jolt of beautiful, authentic voices to inspire and delight … WriteGirl gets down life. We get to share in that raw power.”
– Rita Hsiao, co-writer Mulan, Toy Story 2

OUT OF STOCK

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WriteGirl Postcards

Buy a pack of inspirational postcards with writing inspiration from WriteGirl teens and photos by WriteGirl Communications Manager Katie Geyer.

Pack of 15 postcards: $12 + $4 (shipping)

YOU ARE HERE: The WriteGirl Journey

If life were a straight line, it would be easy to stay on course. But life is full of twists and turns and unexpected bumps. In YOU ARE HERE: The WriteGirl Journey, 161 women and girls share their stories as they navigate their way through small moments and big adventures. In clear and unwavering voices, they tell us about where they are, where they’ve been and where they still hope to go. So climb in, adjust your rear view mirror, toss your GPS out the window and let this book be a passport to your own unexpected journey.

Praise for YOU ARE HERE

“The writing these girls produce is sharp and visceral, yet full of grace and insight. 
How lucky we are to share in their gift.”
– Meg Jackson, screenwriter, Boardwalk Empire, Profiler

“I’d love to put this anthology into the hands of everyone in the world so they could have a better model of what girls and women are like, and what they can accomplish.”
– Christina Lynch, television writer and co-author of City of Dark Magic and City of Lost Dreams
 
“The name could just as easily be "Write, Girl!" – an exhortation for a young woman to take her life, her future, her sense of self into her own hands by putting a pen there.” 
– Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times columnist, radio host KPCC,  best-selling author

Book Awards for You Are Here

• 2014 Honorable Mention, Hollywood Book Festival: You Are Here

• 2014 Finalist, USA Book Awards, Anthologies: You Are Here

• 2014 Winner, The Great Midwest Book Festival, Anthologies: You Are Here

• 2014 Winner, International Book Awards, Young Adult: You Are Here

• 2014 Winner, Beverly Hills Book Awards, Anthologies: You Are Here

• 2014 Runner Up, Great Northwest Book Festival: You Are Here

• 2014 Runner Up, Great Southwest Book Festival: You Are Here

• 2014 Finalist, Silver Medal, Next Generation Indie Book Awards: You Are Here

• 2014 Honorable Mention, San Francisco Book Festival: You Are Here

• 2014 Honorable Mention, Parks Book Festival: You Are Here

• 2014 Honorable Mention, New York Book Festival: You Are Her

• 2014 Honorable Mention, Los Angeles Book Festival: You Are Here

• 2014 Honorable Mention, London Book Festival: You Are Here

Pens On Fire

Creative Writing Guide for Teachers & Youth Leaders.

Over 200 Creative Writing Experiments. Great for teachers, schools and groups.

What teachers are saying about Pens on Fire:

“I've searched everywhere on the internet and at teachers' fairs for something like this to help me make creative writing fun and interesting for my class. It's amazing!” 

“I've used many experiments from “Pens on Fire” with much success and consider it my "go to" guide when working with kids or even challenging myself.”

PRICE: $24.95

No Character Limit: Truth & Fiction from WriteGirl

Between texting and tweeting, it may seem that “real” writing has gone out the window. But it hasn’t, and the girls and women of WriteGirl prove it. No Character Limit features the creative work and candid voices of over 125 writers in one emotionally charged volume. Enjoy their quirky humor; experience the universal pain and exhilaration of young love; and dive into the changing lives of these bold women and girls.

Praise for No Character Limit

“In this book, what these girls have to say makes us laugh at times, and other times, makes us want to cry. But their words always make us believe. These girls understand the power of words.”

-Meg Cabot, author, The Princess Diaries, Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls, Size 12 and Ready to Rock

“The writings in No Character Limit are bold and passionate. The words grab you, shake you and invade your brain but most of all they make you grateful.”

-Jennifer Crittenden, TV writer/producer, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Arrested Development, Everybody Loves Raymond

Awards for No Character Limit

PRICE: $19.95

Intensity: The 10th Anniversary Anthology from WriteGirl

INTENSITY presents creative work by more than 140 writers, including stories, poetry, lyrics, and novel excerpts. Get inspired by their candid writing advice throughout the book, and work your way to the closing chapter full of writing experiments.

“These girls started with a few words and the seed of an idea. With WriteGirl's encouragement, each girl allowed the words to keep coming until her idea grew into an essay, a story, or a poem. What do writers do? They write. And how lucky we are to have these writers' words to inspire us!”

– Carole King, GRAMMY Award-winning singer and songwriter

“The work of these young women reminds me what it's like to be young. Their voices are clear and passionate, carefully observant and exuberant. They celebrate their friends, their neighborhoods, new love, and mourn the losses from which their youth can't shield them. They tell the truth.”
– Terry Wolverton, author

Awards for Intensity

Beyond Words: The Creative Voices of WriteGirl

 Beyond Words is the ninth anthology from WriteGirl. More than 150 teen girls and professional women writers share their diverse perspectives and stories about family, identity, friendship, love, music, loss and more in this unique collection. From poignant poetry to breakup lyrics to an essay on finding meaning within a shag carpet, Beyond Words unveils a broad range of confident and fresh voices.

The book concludes with a full chapter of innovative writing activities and advice for aspiring writers at any level.

BEYOND WORDS has 7 book awards including:

• Winner, International Book Awards, Anthologies, Non-Fiction

• Winner, National Indie Excellence Awards, Anthology

• Winner, London Book Festival, Anthologies

• Winner, National Best Book Awards, USA BookNews, Poetry

“Powerful and strong, raw and vulnerable – these are the voices of girls who demand to be heard.”
– Kami Garcia, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Creatures

“Beyond Words is an anthology alive with discovery, humor, and a keen examination of the world through the written word."
– Sholeh Wolpe, poet, Rooftops of Tehran

Silhouette: Bold Lines and Voices from WriteGirl

Winner of Seven Book Awards!

• 1st Place, National Indie Excellence Awards, Anthologies

• Winner, New York Book Festival, Teenage

• Winner, International Book Awards, Anthologies, Nonfiction

• Winner, London Book Festival, Anthologies

• Winner, Los Angeles Book Festival, Nonfiction

• Winner, National Best Book Awards, USA BookNews, Poetry Anthologies

Silhouette, the eighth anthology from WriteGirl, captures the perspectives of women and girls writing about love, fear, relationships, school, accordions, foreign countries, Los Angeles, pastrami and the world around us. Writing advice and experiments will help you develop and share your own bold voice.

“WriteGirl is essential to helping our young women know how important their thoughts and feelings, not just their looks and bodies, are. Right on, girls – WriteGirl!”
– Nikki Giovanni (poet, Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes, Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea)

“These are breathtaking works that explode with emotional daring, formal elegance and searing honesty. WriteGirl has unleashed a host of exciting new writing voices into our midst. Readers everywhere: take note!”
– Marisa Silver (author, Babe in Paradise, No Direction Home, The God of War)

Listen to Me: Shared Secrets from WriteGirl!

Winner of 5 book awards including Grand Prize Winner, Next Generation Indie Book Awards and Best Book Winner, National Best Book Awards, USA Book News

Love, pain, relationships, cravings, neighbors, murder, boredom, mysteries, vegetarians and peacocks are just a few of the subjects inside the pages of Listen to Me: Shared Secrets from WriteGirl. An entire chapter offers a variety of writing experiments to help you discover and share your own secrets.

Listen to Me is a dazzling chorus of smart, tough, inspired voices of independent-minded young women.
– Carol Muske-Dukes, California Poet Laureate

Listen to Me is blood on paper. Souls on the page. What courage these young writers have, what generosity.
– Sarah Fain, TV Executive Producer/Writer (The Shield, The Dollhouse)

Jamie S. Hansen writes about Listen to Me: Shared Secrets from Write Girl: “WriteGirl’s wonderful, inspirational anthology belongs in every media center, public library, and creative writing class.”
Read the full review from VOYA Library Magazine December 2008

The short prose and verse selections are by turns raw, crackling with energy, naïve, knowing, and, above all, deeply personal, revealing the inner lives of strong but vulnerable females. WriteGirl’s wonderful, inspirational anthology belongs in every media center, public library, and creative writing class.
VOYA Book Review of “Listen to Me”   (Dec 2008)

Lines of Velocity: Words That Move From WriteGirl

Winner of 6 Book Awards! The 6th Anthology from WriteGirl Publications, LINES OF VELOCITY is a wondrous and diverse collection -- stories, poems, songs, musings, rants and essays -- showcasing the unique and eclectic female voices of new and accomplished writers from WriteGirl. These girls and women speak freely about everything from the intensity of a teenager's bad day to the exhilaration of finding love in urban Los Angeles. Includes writing experiments from monthly workshops of the WriteGirl season.

"LINES OF VELOCITY is full of magic. Not just the wonder of raw, vivid writing, but also the alchemy of writers, leaping across age and cultural divides to inspire each other. The resulting work crackles with energy."
– Carol Flint, TV writer producer ER, The West Wing

Shannon Peterson writes in School Library Journal, 

“[Lines of Velocity] is a dynamic exchange of shared prompts, ideas, and projects as well as an obvious display of the inspired, caring, multigenerational relationships that were formed in the process."

UNTANGLED: Stories & Poetry from the Women and Girls of WriteGirl

WriteGirl's anthology, UNTANGLED: Stories & Poetry from the Women and Girls of WriteGirl, is the award winner for Fiction & Literature: Anthologies in the Best Books 2006 Book Awards.

UNTANGLED is the 5th anthology from WriteGirl Publications. UNTANGLED offers a fresh look into the minds of women and girls with 288 pages of honest poetry, shocking fiction and emotional nonfiction as well as inventive tips and a chapter of writing "experiments" from all the writers. Stephanie Almendarez, 18, muses over her coming-of-age struggles and revelations. Seventeen-year-old Shauna Herron explores the role of women in society, while Melissa Castillo conveys wisdom beyond her 15 years with vivid descriptions of her daily life, including her grandmother's intoxicating kitchen. In UNTANGLED, girls take a magnifying glass up to themselves and their worlds. This book breaks the rules of what writing has to be - there is a sense of abandonment in the variety of styles and subjects covered. It's like going on an adventure since every page takes you somewhere else. 

Nothing Held Back: Truth & Fiction

A literary adventure like no other. It’s the fourth anthology published by WriteGirl, a creative writing and mentoring program matching teen girls with mentors from the ranks of Los Angeles' most respected professional women writers. Dramatic in range and full of startling perspectives, these writers truly hold nothing back in this compelling collection of poems, lyrical essays, bold fiction and more. 100% of proceeds from sales benefit WriteGirl’s creative writing and mentoring program for high school girls.

David Ulin writes:
“[Nothing Held Back] suggests that reports of literacy’s death have been greatly exaggerated, that language remains a transformative force…For these girls (and their mentors) writing is a lens, a filter, a way to cut through the nonsense and see the possibilities.”
- Read David Ulin's full review from the Los Angeles Sunday Times Book Review.

Pieces of Me: The Voices of WriteGirl

WriteGirl’s 2004-05 anthology, showcases the poetry, essays, stories, scenes and lyrics of more than 100 teenage girls and women writing on love, family, identity, community and society.

Bold Ink: Collected Voices of Women and Girls

A compilation of writing from girls and women ages 11 through 55. This unique collection of poems, short stories, essays, songs and scenes addresses everything from love and war to culture and current events. As a result of such diverse voices, Bold Ink provides the reader with insight into the minds of today’s young women, while celebrating the art of creative writing like no other anthology.

Threads

WriteGirl’s premiere anthology captures the voices of Los Angeles women and girls in this powerful collection of poems, short stories and essays.

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