Plus, three fellowships—one closes tomorrow.
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Each week, a word becomes a world.
October 5-11
The Power of Words:
Featured Media
Alphabet Boy
By Cassidy Duncan
This animated picture book is drawn in letters, line, and watercolor. Tender and bright, the short follows one boy's courage to trust himself.
Imagination and Innovation
Cassidy took two forms she loved, the picture book and the animated short, and made them one. She drew a boy made of other people's words, then let him find his own. In the process, so did she. At Girls Write Now, an unconventional idea gets a yes before it gets a note. Every yes is funded by someone like you. Back the next experiment. Help the next writer find her own words.
In Our Own Words:
Notes from Our Community
Life@GWN
"Writing the last page first"
Mentee Fiona H. Profiles Picture Book Author Tish Rabe
Tish Rabe came to New York to sing opera and landed on Sesame Street instead. Two hundred books later, including many written for Dr. Seuss since 1992, she told mentee Fiona H. why she always starts at the end: "When you're reading to a child before they go to sleep, before they go out to play, the last page contains the message of the whole book." Fiona wrote this profile in the Art of the Profile Journey, taught by broadcaster and podcast producer Christabel Nsiah-Buadi.
Talia Argondezzi is a humor and satire author whose work has been published in McSweeney's and The New Yorker. She is a Girls Write Now Salon artist.
PROMPT OF THE WEEK
Comedy in Contrast
Generating the Unexpected
The key to comedy is surprise: as readers, we laugh when the writing is unexpected. Often, humor writers get there through contrast—between the situation and the tone, between what the reader expects and what the writer delivers. Let's brainstorm characters with that surprise baked in. Go fast. They don't have to be good. Just write down as many as you can.
PARTNER HIGHLIGHT
Designing the Future
Eggi Magazine & Girls Write Now Reimagine the Collaboratory
On September 22, mentors, mentees, and designers gathered at the Collaboratory, our Garment District headquarters, to reimagine the space we just signed a long-term lease on. Eggi Magazine founder Elisa Kim brought together a panel: Lila Allen of Wrong House, architectural designer Wengelyn Muñoz of CTA Architects, Suzanne LaGasa of ProtoToto Design Lab for Kids, and Jenée-Daria Strand of Public Art Fund. They talked about the writing behind design. Then everyone sketched the Collaboratory they want to write in.
Happening Write Now:
Mark Your Calendar
PUBLICATION LAUNCH
Celebrate our New Book Metamorphosis
Wednesday, November 4, 6-8 PM ET, at McNally Jackson Seaport
Hear original work from the next generation of women and gender-expansive writers as our authors read their poems, short stories, essays, and more. Then pick up your own copy of Metamorphosis and browse the McNally Jackson shelves with the Girls Write Now community.
Open to all mentees, mentors, members & the public.
A POLITICS & ORGANIZING CAREER CHAT
Becoming Changemakers
Tuesday, November 10, 4:45-6 PM ET, Virtual
A week after Election Day, meet the people who keep the work going. Hear from a panel of organizers, advocates, and political professionals about how they built careers around the causes they believe in. Whether you’re drawn to politics, advocacy, or organizing, come network with inspiring changemakers and take the opportunity to ask them your burning questions.
Open to all mentees, mentors, members & the public.
COLLEGE CHAT
College to Career: Real Stories & Real Paths with SMBC
Tuesday, November 17, 4:45-6 PM ET, Virtual
What is college really like, and how did it lead to the job you have now? Join Girls Write Now for a College Chat with professionals from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, who will share how they chose a school, picked a major (or changed one), and made the leap from campus to a first job in banking. Learn about the personal and professional pathways that led to their careers in financial services.
Open to all mentees, mentors, members & the public.
Get the Gig:
Curated Opportunities Just for You
Need help applying for these opportunities—and more?
Meet with a Mentor on Demand today!
FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Cave Canem
A Free Retreat for Black Poets
Cave Canem supports Black poets through an annual retreat of intensive workshops and readings at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg. Fellows study with established faculty and join a wide community of peers. They write from many traditions: blues, confessional, experimental, dramatic, lyric, narrative, performance, and political. There's no application fee, and the retreat is free for all Fellows.
Deadline: October 6, 2026
Create a portal account to apply.
FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Wendy's Subway
Ten Paid Weeks in Brooklyn
Wendy's Subway seeks an Editorial Fellow for 2027. The fellowship gives an emerging arts or literary editor hands-on training, mentorship, and professional development. The Fellow works closely with a small editorial team and gets in-depth experience in editing and book-making.
Deadline: October 23, 2026
Create a portal account to apply.
FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Writers Guild Initiative
Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting
One emerging screenwriter receives a $10,000 stipend and a year of mentorship from a prominent screenwriter to develop an original screenplay (not the script used to apply). Open to screenwriters ages 18-25 who will be no older than 25 on December 31, 2026.
Deadline: January 8, 2027
Create a portal account to apply.
If you don't already have a Girls Write Now account, create one now.
