ON OUR SHELVES

Summer Book Recs from our New Mentors

Add Them to Your Stack!

Last week, we asked our incoming mentees what they’ve been reading. Now it’s our new mentors’ turn. Sula. The Dry Season. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. And right beside them: The One & Only Googoosh, Blood Over Bright Haven, The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli. From a 1973 American classic to a 2026 debut, from Iranian pop history to Palestinian memoir to romantasy—take the summer reading adventure of your life! 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

New York City Poetry Festival Features Girls Write Now Poets & Performers

Sunday, July 19, 2 PM ET at Nolan Park on Governors Island, New York City

Join four mentees for an afternoon of poetry on identity, resistance, and coming of age. Girls Write Now takes the Youth Stage at the 15th Annual New York City Poetry Festival. This will be the second time our mentees grace the Poetry Festival stage. Registration is free—all you need is the $2.75 ferry fare. Can't wait to see you there!

AT OUR DESKS

Championing Yourself

A Writing Exercise on Your Success

Write yourself a poem about all the reasons you are rooting for your success in life.

In her debut poetry collection, Plantains and Our Becoming, Melania Luisa Marte explores themes like identity, culture, home, displacement, nationalism, and ancestral knowledge. Apply Melania's process by examining how poetry can help us connect to our roots and collectively reclaim our human nature.

JOURNEY MEETINGS

Summer Journeys are in Session

Wednesday, July 8–Saturday, September 19

As a mentor or mentee in a Journey, you're invited to exclusive Journey Meetings with your cohort. From performing standup comedy, to crafting a peer poetry zine, to writing your way to wellness in the podcast space, you hone your craft with expert teaching artists to guide you through a fresh, generative curriculum.

If you're a summer mentor or mentee in a Journey, make sure you are registered for your meetings. If you're interested in joining Journey Meetings, pre-enroll for Fall Journeys now!

FRIDAY NIGHT SALON

Urban Mythmaking: Finding the Fantastical in the City with Wen-yi Lee

Thursday, July 23, 6–7:15 PM ET

How do we connect with the fantastical in our everyday lives? How do cities transform when we think of them as living characters? And how do we imagine different versions of the world around us? In this Salon, Wen-yi Lee—author of the urban historical fantasy When They Burned the Butterfly—will guide us in finding magic and mythology in the city and the streets around us. We'll raffle two free copies of the book, so be sure to join us. Thank you to Macmillan!

Open to the public, this Salon also serves as a feature of our Fantasy Book Club Journey, in which mentors and mentees explore contemporary literature by closely reading three books in the genre.

CAREER CHAT

Hot Off the Presses: Chatting with Editors from The Drift, Bustle, and Travel + Leisure 

Tuesday, August 4, 4:45–6 PM ET, Virtual

Print media has been changing since the advent of the internet. Join us to hear from legacy and new media professionals about what it takes to produce a magazine or zine—whether you want to work for an established publication or start your own. Speakers include Grace Wehniainen, TV Writer at Bustle; Jacqueline Homen, co-editor of NEIGHBORS; Jasmine Singh, founder of the Shared Drafts Project; Lyra Walsh Fuchs, Essays Editor at The Drift; and Jess Feldman, Associate Director of Special Projects at Travel + Leisure.

Open to all mentors, mentees, members & the public.

FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY

The Center for Fiction

Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowship

The Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowship provides financial support, professional and creative development, personalized mentorship, and community engagement to nine early-career fiction writers based in New York City.

Deadline: July 31, 2026. 
Create a portal account to apply.

PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY 

No, Dear

Brooklyn Poetry Journal

Brooklyn-based poetry journal No, Dear is accepting submissions for its 36th issue on the theme of BRIDGE.

Deadline: August 15, 2026.
Create a portal account to apply.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Macmillan

Editorial Assistant, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, is hiring an entry-level Editorial Assistant to support the editorial director and executive editor. The role focuses on administrative tasks for the managers and the imprint, with opportunities to contribute to select editorial projects. Henry Holt publishes children's books across age levels and genres, including picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, middle grade and young adult novels, and nonfiction.

Deadline: July 10, 2026 (approaching!)
Create a portal account to apply.