Plus a Special Session on Emotional Intelligence
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Representing Literature
for New York State
LitNYS is the nation's largest ecosystem of literary arts organizations, building literary capacity, community, and culture for 25 years.
March 2026 Letter
Capacity Building
MENTORING SERVICES
Introducing Mentor on Call
Connecting New York Literary Arts Leaders to Jumpstart Capacity-Building Solutions in Real Time
Most networks struggle to facilitate meaningful connections between members. LitNYS members identified this as a challenge—and we heard you!
Developed in partnership with Girls Write Now, Mentor on Call is a new addition to the LitNYS Mentoring Program, enabling light-touch, high-impact, self-directed knowledge-sharing to leverage our collective resources, provide mutual aid—a goal of the 2025 Convening—and strengthen the vital ecosystem of literature.
From seasoned leaders looking to give back, to emerging professionals seeking guidance, any member of the LitNYS network can become a Mentor on Call and/or receive support from one. You determine the capacity building areas in which you have knowledge to give or gain—from fundraising, finance, and marketing to systems, governance, strategic planning, and beyond.
Mentor on Call is a virtual platform that can be accessed at a moment’s notice with no long-term commitment based on your needs and availability. This is a volunteer-based, peer-to-peer initiative—mentors generously volunteer their time to strengthen the field, and there is no cost for LitNYS members to receive support.
Over the next few weeks, we will be focused on building our initial roster for LitNYS Mentor on Call, and gathering interest from those who seek mentoring. Apply today to mentor or to be mentored!
Mentor on Call is powered by Girls Write Now, and a service of the LitNYS Mentoring Program.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Up to $7,500 To Build Your Organization's Capacity
Capacity Building Regrants—Deadline is April 7, 2026
LitNYS invites literary arts organizations currently funded by the New York State Council on the Arts to apply for capacity building Advancement Regrants of up to $7,500. Grants will be awarded to support thoughtful development and expanded capacity
within literary arts organizations that produce excellent work and need help to increase and sustain their capacity as institutions.
Eligible requests may address, but are not limited to, strategic plan creation or implementation; consultancies; staff and board development; software and hardware purchases or upgrades; and website development. Building on an organization’s strengths, projects may expand a program’s capacity to promote equity and belonging in communities.
For guidance on an application concept, feel free to reach out for a consultation.
Leadership Building
SPECIAL SESSIONS
Emotional Intelligence
Thursday, April 16, 10 AM-12 PM via Zoom
Presented by Geraldine Grossman
Geraldine Grossman is the Founder of My Executive Coach, a national leadership and
coaching consultancy. Working with leaders, Geri’s clients learn to lead with Emotional
Intelligence, the distinguishing factor in a leader’s effectiveness and success.
What if the key to stronger leadership isn’t IQ—but EQ—Emotional Intelligence? In this engaging workshop, we will explore how emotional intelligence helps leaders build trust, manage conflict, inspire creativity, and strengthen workplace relationships. Participants will learn the four pillars of EI:
- Self-Awareness: Recognizing your emotions and how they affect your work and behavior.
- Self-Management: Controlling your emotional reactions and staying composed.
- Social Awareness: Understanding the emotions and perspectives of others; and
- Relationship Management: Using emotional awareness to communicate, collaborate, and resolve conflict effectively.
Within small breakout discussions and activities, we will practice applying these pillars to real-life challenges to engage employees, manage conflict, and build leadership effectiveness.
Registration is limited to 30 participants.
Upcoming Special Sessions
Restorative Practices
Thursday, May 21 & Thursday, June 4
10 AM-12 PM via Zoom
Presented by Daniel O'Brien & Kyle Skovira
Finding Your Power in the Funder Relationship
Thursday, September 17
10 AM-12 PM via Zoom
Presented by Kerry McCarthy
MEDIA SHOWCASE
Podcast & Blog Series
Last year we shared the untold stories of LitNYS leaders on Girls Write Now's podcast, Lunch with LitNYS available on all major podcast platforms.
This year, Girls Write Now features conversations between LitNYS mentoring pairs on LinkedIn's Life@LitNYS.
Life@LitNYS Launches
Anne Townsend & Asari Beale in Conversation
I love community-building. We’re a social species, and our survival depends on our interconnectedness. The extent to which we can learn from each other and lean on each other is, I believe, directly related to how much we can succeed.
— ASARI BEALE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TEACHERS & WRITERS
Each month Life@LitNYS will feature a new mentoring pair, and we are thrilled to announce that our first conversation is now live on LinkedIn. Anne Townsend, founder of ART+ Strategy, and Asari Beale, Executive Director of Teachers & Writers Collaborative, discuss their role in New York State's literary landscape and the impact their relationship has had on their leadership. Sometimes it's as simple as keeping meeting notes, or as complex as creating individualized giving plans—from big to small, Asari and Anne share insights on community, collaboration, and the work behind the work.
Community Building
LitNYS LinkedIn Group
Exchange and promote news, resources, opportunities, publications, and more with your esteemed colleagues. Join our LinkedIn group to stay connected!
MEMBER NEWS
Extra! Extra! From the LitNYS Member Network
Read All About New Initiatives, Upcoming Events, Publication Announcements—and Share Your Own!
At Pen Parentis we are excited about launching a National Writer-Parent Hub as well as adding three “Sprints” to our regular meetups. Our Literary Salons season is also jam packed—and we transformed it into a monthly show on YouTube. Give us a like!
Looking for new ways to share your community's stories? Learn more about podcasting at the next Girls Write Now Career Chat. Join us March 17, 4:45 - 6:00 PM EST for the nuts and bolts on podcasting from DIY to NPR.
All LitNYS network members are invited to share your updates. Please post on LinkedIn or send to litnys@girlswritenow.org to be included in the April LitNews issue.
ANNUAL CONVENING
2026 Literary Arts Convening
October 4-6 at Cave Canem, NYC
The 2026 LitNYS Statewide Literary Arts Convening will be held October
4-6, 2026 at Cave Canem in New York City. Friends old and new, please save the date! This is a special gathering you won't want to miss.
LITNEWS PARTNERS
LitNYS
LitNYS is a coalition of New York State-based literary arts organizations committed to field-building work and collective thriving. We connect individuals of shared interest and purpose helping them build and sustain capacity to foster, promote, and present the literary arts. Founded in 2001 as a New York State Council on the Arts Literature initiative, LitNYS responded to national literary leaders’ call to professionalize the field. Our comprehensive collaborative approach—through our Advancement Regrants, Mentoring Program, Special Sessions, and Annual Statewide Literary Arts Convenings—has made us the nucleus of field-sustaining work for Literature in New York State.
Girls Write Now
Brought to you in partnership with Girls Write Now, LitNews NYS is a monthly digest of features, resources, and opportunities from the LitNYS network. With attacks on our freedoms mounting daily, now is the time to strengthen and project our collective voices, and Girls Write Now is committed to facilitating connections between LitNYS partners to further this goal. For nearly three decades, Girls Write Now—a nationally award-winning nonprofit, media incubator, and multi-generational community—has broken down the barriers of gender, age, race, and poverty to mentor, teach, and connect writers and leaders across disciplines and around the nation.
