LIFE@GWN

The Artist in Me is Finally Being Fed… 

Featuring Kayla Dudley

Kayla Dudley lives on art; it is her energy, what she constantly consumes. Admittedly, she couldn’t go a day without it. Her life at Girls Write now has nurtured and continues to grow her relationship with the craft—whether that be with her poetry or the guidance to create her own poetry organization, Healotry. She calls her experience with this community, “amazing karma.” 

READ WITH US

Crying in H Mart

By Michelle Zauner

For our Book Club: Summer Read Journey, Mentors and Mentees picked three books to read together and discuss. The first of these books is Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Penguin Random House), an intimate and moving memoir about the author's adolescence navigating her mixed race identity, her career as an indie musician, and the complicated relationship with her mother who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. This Journey focuses in particular on reading the book as writers, and taking note of the ways the author crafts her story. 

Apply for our Fall Book Club Journey today.

WRITE WITH US

Summer Sounds:
Prompt & Playlist

By Sally Familia,
Girls Write Now Community Coordinator

Read Vogels/Girls By Mentee Madeline Berberian-Hutchinson. After reading the poem and the process of creation, write a piece reflecting on a memory that includes a family member, chosen or born into.

Take inspiration from Madeline's poem and Sally's song selection to set off on your own poetic path!

GIRLS WRITE NOW MEDIA

Cover Reveal for the 2025 Anthology

Hope Lives In Our Words Comes Out August 26

It’s almost here! The Girls Write Now 2025 Anthology will be published August 26, 2025 via Dutton Books, in collaboration with Amazon Literary Partnership, and Feminist Press. As an acknowledgement and creed, the theme “Hope Lives in Our Words” encourages each reader to reflect on the power of language to shape our world. Stay tuned for pre-order information, and save the date to celebrate at our November 6 book launch at McNally Jackson in NYC!

NEWS & PRESS

Over 50 And Ready to Give Back Through Mentorship: Where Do I Begin?

Crunchy Tales Features Girls Write Now as a Top Mentoring Opportunity

"There comes a moment in midlife when some life questions shift from 'What’s next for me?' to 'What can I give back?' For some women over 50, the answer is mentorship... 
'When mentoring with heart, start by listening more than talking. It’s not about giving lectures but truly understanding the person you’re guiding. Respect their boundaries, remember, not every challenge needs a fix. Sometimes, just being there to acknowledge what they’re feeling is enough.,' recommends Samantha B., 65, volunteer at Girls Write Now."

STUDIO EVENTS

July Community Studios

Ends July 30, Various Times, Virtual

Dip into your creativity when you sign up for a July Community Studio! Led by Mentors and Mentees in the Girls Write Now community, Studios feature an incredible lineup, including Poetry as Nourishment: Writing Food & Eating Poems; Reflecting: The Art of Writing Creative Nonfiction Essays—and many more!

Create your Girls Write Now Portal account to sign up.

Open to All Mentors, Mentees, Members & the Public

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION

Did June Fill You With Pride?

Wednesday, July 23, 7-8:30 PM ET, Virtual

Though Pride Month has passed, Girls Write Now will always be committed to supporting and empowering our LGBTQIA+ community members year-round. In the face of repression and constant uncertainty, it’s important that we process all that is going through our minds and hearts. Join us for a rich conversation on where we are, and what we can do to get to where we’re going. 

Open to All Mentors, Mentees, Members & Staff

SPECIAL EVENT

Open: A Play & Post-Show Panel

Thursday, July 24, 7:30-9:00 PM ET,
WP Theatre
2162 Broadway, New York, NY

A spellbinding story of love, loss, and the impossible—join the Girls Write Now community at a showing of Open, the critically acclaimed off-Broadway play by Girls Write Now teaching artist Crystal Skillman. After the 70-minute show, stick around for “Flavors of Magic” presents Sara Crasson. 
Students can use the code OPENST for discounted tickets.

Open to All Mentors, Mentees, Members & the Public

CAREER CHAT

A Word from Our Sponsors: A TV Industry Career Chat

Tuesday, July 29, 4:45-6 PM ET, Virtual

This Chat will explore the possible pathways to break into the TV industry. Here is your chance to ask all of your burning questions with a panel that covers everything from writing to acting to producing and more! Hear from writer/director Shaz Bennett (Queen Sugar), actress/director Milena Govich (Law & Order), sound recordist Lily Van Leeuwen (The Stroll), director/producer Stacey Holman (Freedom Riders), and producer/development exec Laura Luckenbaugh
(Interview with the Vampire)!

Open to All Mentors, Mentees, Members & the Public

SPECIAL EVENT

Charcuterie + Chat:
An Open House

Thursday, July 31, 6:15-7:30 PM ET,
Girls Write Now HQ
247 West 37 Street, 10 Floor, NYC

Would you like to spend the evening with flourishing writers and creatives? Are you looking to learn more about the community before you join? Do you have questions on your application as a mentor or mentee? If you answered yes to any of the above, this event is for you! Join Girls Write Now for an evening of connection and intention. Speed dating-inspired, you’ll get the chance to meet the current and future writers of Girls Write Now!

Open to All Mentors, Mentees, Members & the Public

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Hearst Magazine

Cosmopolitan Editorial Assistant

Cosmopolitan seeks an energetic, resourceful, and proactive editorial assistant to support the editor-in-chief. This position will offer a front row seat, and be a pivotal point of coordination for the team, between the brand and other divisions of the company, as well as external stakeholders. This role is split between administrative tasks and some editorial responsibilities, keeping the editor in chief’s office running smoothly, and pitching/writing stories or social posts. The ideal candidate has both keen writing skills and highly developed organizational and project management skills.

WRITING CONTEST OPPORTUNITY

Narrative Magazine

Spring 2025 Story Contest

Our spring contest is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers. Narrative Magazine is looking for short shorts, short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 15,000 words, and must not have been previously chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest. Narrative winners and finalists have gone on to win Whiting Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, the Pushcart Prize, and the Atlantic prize, and have appeared in collections such as Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and many others. First Prize is $2,500, Second Prize is $1,000, Third Prize is $500, and up to ten finalists will receive $100 each.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Beacon Press

Editorial Assistant

Beacon Press, a 170-year-old independent, nonprofit book publisher in Boston that specializes in progressive nonfiction, is hiring either a full-time editorial assistant or assistant editor. The editorial assistant (1-2 books a year) or assistant editor (3-4 books a year) position includes a mix of editorial and administrative responsibilities while assisting the editorial director. It is an excellent way to grow as an editor and gain further publishing knowledge and simultaneously do good in the world. Responsibilities can shift or increase in one direction as the assistant learns more and develops specific publishing interests.