Community Experiences
For Mentors & Mentees to Connect & Share
The Collaboratory offers a variety of interactive live community experiences throughout the year, designed to help our community explore, learn, connect, and grow. Tailored to the needs of our community, these events feature expert teaching artists, guest speakers, and facilitators dedicated to helping mentors and mentees enhance their writing and media skills, expand their personal and professional development, and foster collaborative creation.
Core
Live Events
Core Live Events at Girls Write Now include our well-established offerings, such as Friday Night Salons, Community Conversations, College & Career Chats, Mentor Professional Development sessions, select Genre/Media Workshops, and now Journey Meetings. These diverse events are all designed to foster community engagement, learning, and growth, with opportunities for mentors, mentees, and members to build relationships, expand their creativity and knowledge, and advance their personal and professional goals.
Community
Studios
Community Studios are small groups of Girls Write Now mentors and mentees who come together to focus on specific genres, media, topics, or areas of interest. In Community Studios, you have the opportunity to connect with fellow community members, workshop pieces in progress, receive feedback, discuss relevant topics, and engage in writing and creation time. Studios are facilitated by members of the Girls Write Now community, including mentors, mentees, pairs, and members who take on leadership roles to support the community, fostering a collaborative and empowering environment.
Intersectional
Voices
The IV (Intersectional Voices) suite are Girls Write Now’s leadership committees, each designed for the community to have a voice in the organization’s key initiatives and policies. They include IV Edit(orial), IV Teach, IV Philanthropy, IV DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging), and IV Tech. Our Intersectional Voices committees are dedicated to elevating the diverse perspectives of our community. Through these committees, we actively work to address and integrate a wide range of viewpoints, including making recommendations to leadership, ensuring a more inclusive and representative environment.
Expressive
Arts
Expressive Arts Sessions are regular gatherings led by a mental health professional with training in narrative therapy, expressive writing therapy, and art therapy. These sessions use a combination of visual arts, expressive writing, and narrative therapy techniques. Mentors and mentees explore self-care practices, learn to understand and navigate their emotions, and gain tools for emotional resilience and creative expression.
Affinity
Groups
Affinity Groups are communities united by shared interests or identities, such as race, gender, or religion. They are essential for fostering an inclusive environment where everyone is valued and empowered. At Girls Write Now, Affinity Groups offer a brave space for participants to discuss identity-related opportunities and challenges and turn those discussions into actionable steps for a more equitable experience in their creative and personal lives.
Special
Events
Special Events include awards ceremonies, launch parties, contests, and other special community gatherings. They provide platforms for leaders across sectors to share their wisdom and showcase work, always with a focus on our mentors and mentees. Special events are vibrant and spirited, encouraging creative expression, and strengthening connections within the Girls Write Now community.
Community Conversation: Post-Election Art, Activism, and Healing
Join us for an open and compassionate Community Conversation all about going back to campus during an election year. We'll connect with one another through a discussion about writing as a form of resistance and the ways we can uplift one another to create spaces of hope and joy in classrooms and on campus.
Spoken Word: Voices Unleashed
Unlock your inner poet with "Spoken Word: Voices Unleashed!" Join us in learning the art of crafting and performing powerful spoken word poetry. Dive into various styles, master essential elements, and create your own captivating pieces.
Joy, Resistance, and Change: Healing through Cultural Storytelling
Within the multifaceted discussion of how to cultivate positive mental health practices, this studio will discuss exploring cultural identity as a means of nurturing oneself. Learn about how writing is used as a means of personal self-care and navigating rich cultural heritage.
Discovering Oneself: Creative Nonfiction Writing
This month, we will explore the lyric essay as a genre of creative nonfiction. Attendees will read some examples together and then practice writing their own lyric essays!
Stories That Shape Us
Each of us has stories that shape us, that give us language for our experiences, and each of our languages is unique.
This month, we will read various examples of nature/environment/place being described. We will process the works together and have discussion around guided questions.
Three Elements of Storytelling through Screenwriting
This community studio will focus on three important facets in screenwriting: story treatments, character building, and formatting. Not only will these studios help teach the craft of screenwriting, but also provide perspective and applications to other storytelling methods.
Estée Lauder + Girls Write Now Exclusive: Think Tank on Tech, Art, Language & Beauty
Join us for an inspiring Tech Day with Estée Lauder, where creativity meets technology to make a lasting impact! This event will spark curiosity, build skills, and empower minds through hands-on learning and expert insights. Together, we’ll explore the world of technology and collaborate on building a curriculum that shapes future tech talent.
A Networking Event on Technology, Innovation & the Next Generation of Leaders
Join the leading tech company Kyndryl at the Girls Write Now NYC headquarters to learn about tech, AI, and how to break into the ever-growing field. We will discuss the relationship between writing and AI and what we need to know about cybersecurity to feel safe, and engage in generative writing and networking activities.