Even in Wicked, hope lives: Podcast with co-writer of the musical & films, Winnie Holzman
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October 13-19
Hope Lives In Our Words
Featured Media:
Find your next obsession.
Hope Lives in Our Words
Editors' Note
By AJ Lamas-Nemec
For our new book, Hope Lives in Our Words, we invited AJ Lamas-Nemec, mentee and member of our Print Committee: Intersectional Voices in Editorial, to write an introduction that spoke to this year's title. The result? An honest and heartwarming ode to hope.
Mic Drop:
You have to hear this.
Celebrating at the Fall 2025
Girls Write Now Awards
Honoring Rachel Bloom, Kardea Brown, Winnie Holzman,
Suleika Jaouad, Maria Pacheco & Dana A. Williams
Hope was on full display at the Girls Write Now 2025 Awards, held last week in the DVF Atelier in New York City. Stakeholders with vastly different life experiences gathered together to listen intently, enlarge our understanding, and ultimately to bridge worlds. We all felt the lifeblood of democracy in full force.
The Awards kicks off our 2025 year-end appeal, raising funds to resource the interconnected world of Girls Write Now—holistic writing, mentoring, and multi-generational community-building across all genres, media, disciplines, and states of the nation. The power of joining forces to champion our work is that it breaks down the boundaries of gender, age, race, and poverty. Hope cascades, our shared vision expands, and we create the change we all need now more than ever.
CHASING SPIRITS X GIRLS WRITE NOW
Ivanna Sintes-Klein & Bobin Shim Win the Writing for Life Contest
Celebrating Essays on Courage & Mental Health
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the Writing for Life contest, hosted by Chasing Spirits and Girls Write Now: Ivanna Sintes-Klein for the age category 16-19; and Bobin Shim for the age 13-15! This prize was created to honor the life and legacy of Maya Logan Eileraas, a fourteen-year-old who used the pandemic to write their novel and fought for writing as a lifeline while in foster care and mental healthcare facilities. We are proud to uplift these stories as we continue to advocate for young people's mental health. Stay tuned for the reveal of our honorable mentions!
SPEAKING IN FIRST DRAFT PODCAST
Speaking on Becoming Wicked
The Wickedly Talented Winnie Holzman on Defining Success (Beyond a Blockbuster Hit)
We're "obsessulated" with our next bonus season guest, Winnie Holzman, writer and co-creator of Wicked the musical and films. Together, Winnie and host Kathryn Destin get real about process, influences, and ambition when it comes to creating a cultural sensation. Prepare to hear some behind-the-scenes stories of the development and "betterizing" of Wicked, and what we can continue to learn from it in our ever-so-complicated, but beautiful world.
READ WITH US
Books & Media by Our
Fall 2025 Honorees
From Cookbooks to Comedy, Find Your Favorites
This season's honorees represent a wide range of industries and disciplines, including comedy, journalism, food writing, nonfiction, playwriting, and journaling. If you're looking to expand your bookshelf and watch list, you'll definitely want to see what our Fall 2025 honorees have in store.
WRITE WITH US
Prompt of the Week
By the Girls Write Now Community
What gives you hope? What would you share with someone who needed to feel hopeful right now?
Girls Write Now welcomes you to the Wall of Hope for our 2025 Anthology Hope Lives In Our Words. During these uncertain and tumultuous times, this wall of hope highlights hopeful tidbits from our community that can lift spirits when we need it most. Read through what gives us hope and add your own wisdom.
Happening Write Now:
Mark your calendar.
COMMITTEE MEETING
Intersectional Voices in Technology
Thursday, November 13, 7-8 PM ET, Virtual
The world of work is shifting fast—driven by changes in how we write, give and receive mentorship, and where we find community. Girls Write Now is uniquely poised to meet these changes in this moment. At this month’s committee meeting, we’ll harness the diverse experiences and expertise of Tech Committee members, identifying the real tensions of leaders across sectors to best position Girls Write Now as a strategic solution with essential services to meet those needs.
Open to all mentors, mentees, members & the public. Become a member to access registration. It's quick and easy!
SALON SERIES
There Are No Accidents: Unpacking the Underlying Crimes in Crime Fiction with F.H. Batacan
Friday, October 24, 6-7:15 PM ET, Virtual
Join Girls Write Now and acclaimed author, F.H. Batacan, for a compelling craft talk on the art of writing crime fiction! Batacan’s groundbreaking debut novel, Smaller and Smaller Circles (2002), redefined Filipino crime fiction, earning numerous literary accolades including the Philippines’ National Book Award. This year, she returns with Accidents Happen and Other Stories—a bold, genre-blurring collection that interrogates the intersections of class, gender, and politics in the making (and unmaking) of justice.
Open to all mentors, mentees, members & the public. Become a member to access registration. It's quick and easy!
SPECIAL EVENT
Hope Lives in Our Words: 2025 Anthology Launch Party
Thursday, November 6, 6-8 PM ET,
McNally Jackson Books - Seaport
4 Fulton St, New York, NY 10038
Celebrate the launch of Hope Lives In Our Words: The Girls Write Now 2025 Anthology at McNally Jackson Seaport! Hear dynamic new work from the next generation of women and gender expansive writers as our authors read their poems, short stories, and more! Plus, get your copy of Hope Lives in Our Words as you browse the McNally Jackson shelves with members of the Girls Write Now community.
Open to all mentors, mentees, members & the public. Become a member to access registration. It's quick and easy!
SALON SERIES
From Sesame Street to Dr. Seuss: Writing Books Kids Love to Read with
Tish Rabe
Friday, November 14, 6-7:15 PM ET, Hybrid
Girls Write Now HQ
247 W 37th Street, 10th Floor
Have you ever wondered who's behind your most beloved children's books? Join Girls Write Now and Tish Rabe, children’s book author and publisher, for a special conversation about her inspiring journey in children’s literature. From her early work as a writer and editor, to becoming the founder of her own publishing company, Tish’s stories offer a sense of calm and care, wrapping children in the warmth of love and connection.
Open to all mentors, mentees, members & the public. Become a member to access registration. It's quick and easy!
Read on for more incredible opportunities—and thank you for your support!
Get the Gig:
Curated opportunities just for you.
JOB OPPORTUNITY
NBCUniversal
Newsletter Writer/Editor
NBC News is seeking a Newsletter Writer/Editor. This journalist will support a weekday afternoon general news newsletter that will feature NBC News talent. The newsletter is part of the NBC News subscription product. The newsletter will deliver readers an engaging and useful digest of the most important news of the day and a look behind the scenes of how NBC News is reporting a story.
Please contact Erica Silberman at community@girlswritenow.org before you apply!
Deadline: October 10, 2025, at 11:59PM ET
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Riley's Way Foundation
Marketing Intern
Riley’s Way empowers young leaders, ages 13-23, with the training, funding, and lifelong community to lead with kindness and create lasting social change. They are building a future where kindness drives leadership, and every young person has the skills, resources, and support to create a better, kinder world. They are seeking a Marketing Intern to support their communications and outreach efforts. This is a remote role ideal for individuals interested in nonprofit communications, digital marketing, and storytelling.
Deadline: October 17, 2025, at 11:59PM ET
FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY
James Jones Literary Society
First Novel Fellowship
The James Jones First Novel Fellowship, in the amount of $12,000, is awarded annually to an American writer of a novel-in-progress who has not previously published a novel. The Fellowship is co-sponsored by the James Jones Literary Society and the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing of Wilkes University.
Deadline: March 15, 2025, at 11:59 PM CT/12:59AM ET
