For more than a year, the Girls Write Now flagship Mentoring Program has also been a laboratory to pilot a new curriculum that explores the intersection of writing and digital media. Through a series of “Dorkshops”, the girls first explored the art of remix, turning poems into films and backstory into audio diaries. This past fall, we concentrated on narrative game design, and brought to life stories about kidnapped best friends and sea turtles on the run from environmental damage. And this spring, our Dorkshoppers will take the lead with creative publishing as they join together to build their own collaborative e-book.
Thanks to an 18-month $100,000 leadership grant from the MacArthur Foundation-funded Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in the New York Community Trust — our largest donation to date! — this digital writing mentoring program will be launched in the fall of 2013 with our partner Parsons the New School for Design.
To take full advantage of our writing chops and Parsons’ digital prowess, the program will begin with a focus on creative publishing. The internet has unleashed a myriad of self-publishing opportunities for writers: from blogs to e-books, book trailers to interactive novels, it’s a whole new world out there — and it’s our job to make sure that mentoring the next generation of women writers leaves them prepped with the skills and creative vision to express themselves fully in the digital world.
Our new digital mentoring program will also be funded by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, and the Pinkerton Foundation. Check out our website later this spring for details on how to apply to the program — and keep your eyes peeled for our girls’ names on a touchscreen near you.