Here’s An Exclusive Look At The 20th Anniversary Edition Of “Speak”

"Now we’re getting to a more rational, healthier understanding of sexual intimacy about sober informed, enthusiastic consent," author Laurie Halse Anderson told BuzzFeed News.

Twenty years after Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was originally released, Macmillan is publishing a special edition of the book with a brand-new cover and new material in January 2019.

Square Fish Publishers / Macmillan Publishers

The book tells the story of a teenage girl who struggles through her freshman year of high school after being raped.

Here’s an exclusive look at the new cover:

MacMillan

The 20th anniversary edition will also include a poem and essay about consent by the author, an updated list of resources for survivors of sexual violence, and a new introduction about the impact of Speak over the past two decades.

Anderson told BuzzFeed News she wanted to focus on the topic of consent in the updated edition of Speak. “The last 20 years, in terms of our understanding of rape culture and talking about human sex, has been a journey from the need to hear ‘No’ to the need for ‘Yes,’” Anderson said.

Joyce Tenneson

“Now we’re getting to a more rational, healthier understanding of sexual intimacy about sober, informed, enthusiastic consent.” To not understand the significance of enthusiastic consent “is a fucking crime,” Anderson said.

The author said she hopes young people will read Speak and have conversations with their parents about bodies and sexual violence. “It’s been affirming to watch a couple generations go through high school now and see how much bolder they are,” Anderson said.

“I think the success of every generation cracks the door open a little wider for the children that will follow them.”