Excerpt from the 1455 Women Writers Anthology, available everywhere, now!
For the inaugural 1455 Women Writers Anthology, we invited creatives aged 21 and over from around the world to respond to the theme of silence.
In many intentional senses, this is a broad, even opaque motif. On the other hand, it seems especially resonant in 2026, given sociopolitical developments in the United States and abroad. Also—and not for nothing—isn’t silence what art is always responding to, or replacing, or, in some form or fashion, rectifying, attempting to address or ameliorate? Silence, among many things, can protect or suppress, comfort or isolate.
For women, silence has often been both a condition and choice—a reflection of the worlds we inherit and the ones we imagine. 1455 wanted to see work that explored silence in all its forms: the stories left untold, the moments between the words, the quiet that carries truth. Whether interpreted as peace, defiance, or transformation, work that helps illuminate what silence conceals and what it reveals.
The writing submitted for this collection exceeded all expectations, and features women from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and stages of life. The voices in these pages explore what it means to navigate an ever-changing world. Their work examines memory, family, love, loss, ambition, belonging, creativity, and transformation. Some pieces challenge long-held assumptions; others celebrate tranquil moments of beauty and discovery. Together, they reveal the extraordinary depth and range of contemporary women’s writing while demonstrating how storytelling can bridge differences and foster understanding.
1455’s Women Writers Anthology is more than a collection of exceptional work; it’s a testament to the importance of creating space for women’s voices to be heard, shared, and celebrated. In bringing together writers from across communities and continents, this book highlights both the distinctiveness of individual experiences and the common threads that connect us all. These pages offer readers an opportunity to encounter new perspectives, discover emerging and established voices, and engage with stories that will resonate long after the final page is turned.
Copies available everywhere you buy books, including Bookshop.org and Amazon.
About the 1455 Women Writers Anthology
Silence speaks—if we’re willing to listen. 1455’s Women Writers Anthology brings together bold and compelling work from women across genres— poetry, fiction, and nonfiction—exploring the theme of silence in all its complexity. From what is withheld to what insists on being heard, these pieces examine silence as refuge, fortitude, erasure, and revelation. These stories and poems challenge us to reconsider what goes unspoken— and why—and how voice itself becomes an act of power. Through moments of quiet resistance, reflection, and transformation, this collection illuminates both what silence conceals and what it ultimately exposes. As part of the inaugural list from 1455 books, this anthology showcases a commitment to amplifying diverse voices, expanding access, and redefining whose stories frame our literary landscape.