GIRLS WRITE NOW
is the first writing and mentoring organization for girls and gender-expansive youth in New York City. For 25 years, they have been breaking down barriers of gender, race, age, and poverty to mentor the next generation of writers and leaders who are impacting businesses, shaping culture, and creating change.
Girls Write Now uses writing as a vehicle to provide girls and gender-expansive teens of color with the guidance, care, and support they need to gain confidence in their talents and accomplishments; graduate from high school and access viable college/career opportunities; and break cycles of poverty and disempowerment.
They pair underserved youth who have long been negatively impacted by the lack of resources and opportunities in public schools with professional writers as lifelong mentors and role models, offering a variety of multimedia and multi-genre workshops taught by expert teaching artists. Their programming enables mentor/mentee pairs to dive deep into a wide range of creative, digital, and critical writing practices that help students develop a diverse set of skills, build a portfolio of work, and achieve success in their academics and beyond.
Girls Write Now serves a culturally and educationally diverse community of girls and gender-expansive youth — 90% of color, 90% high need, 75% immigrant or first generation and 25% LGBTQ+/gender-expansive.
PROGRAMS
Writing 360 is an introductory-level writing program that pairs youth with professional writers for a one-to-one mentorship and community writing experience structured around creative, critical, and digital skill-based programming.
Pairs attend monthly genre and media-based workshops led by expert teaching artists, where mentees draft original pieces and build an impressive body of work.
Workshops are a jumping-off point for weekly meetings where mentors guide mentees through the process of editing drafts into final products for submission to contests, publications, and presentations, including in Girls Write Now’s annual anthologies and their performance series, Girls Write Now Live.
WRITING
360
Publishing 360 is an advanced program modeled after Writing 360, providing youth with exposure to new genres and media that are fun and dynamic and — as the world gets more and more digital — beneficial to include in applications and resumes.
Pairs in this program will:
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Dive deep into visual and audio production at monthly workshops led by expert teaching artists
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Learn all about digital publishing as members of Girls Write Now’s Website Editorial Team, from idea generation to editing to branding, packaging, and promotion
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Dream up a multimedia project such as a podcast series, short film, scripted pilot, digital zine or interactive data story and get the technical support needed to make it a reality
PUBLISHING
360
Writing Works is Girls Write Now's professional development program, designed to create a win-win for emerging writers and organizations in need of their talent.
This program offers mentees support with college essays, scholarships, internships, and professional writing across a broad range of industries. Mentees have the opportunity to be matched one-to-one with a professional writer and interact with a wide range of professionals who use writing in their jobs every day.
Overall, Writing Works helps increase access to writing and technology careers by mentoring girls and gender nonconforming youth to be creative thinkers, clear communicators, and competitive candidates for the trails they choose to blaze.
WRITING
WORKS
Led by women and gender-expansive teaching artists, Girls Write Now events are a chance for aspiring writers to come together to create multi-genre, multimedia work, share perspectives, hone professional skills, and support one another. Current events include:
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The Friday Night Salon Series, where artist hosts share their personal and professional journies and guide attendees through a series of writing prompts
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The Community Chat Series, where attendees gather to harness their collective creative energy and find clarity and comfort through writing and conversation
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Girls Write Now Live, a performance series that showcases the amazing work from mentees developed with guidance from their dedicated mentors
EVENTS
Check out "A Passenger's Library," a spoken word poem by mentee Anais Fernandez, written during the 2020-2021 program year.
Hear from mentor and mentee alumnae Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and Patrice Floy about the impact Girls Write Now has had on their lives.
