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 GWN, such as Friday Night Salons, Community Conversations, College & Career Chats, Mentor Professional Development sessions, Journey Meetings, and Genre/Media Workshops, are designed to foster community engagement, learning, and growth. These gatherings offer opportunities for mentees, mentors, and members to build relationships, expand their creativity and knowledge, and advance their personal and professional goals. Through these diverse events, participants are supported in their ongoing development and connection within the GWN community.
Community
Studios
Community Studios are small groups of GWN mentees and mentors who come together to focus on specific genres, media, topics, or areas of interest. In Community Studios, you will 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 GWN community, including mentees, mentors, 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 contains GWN’s committees, each serving a distinct role within the community. Our committees include IV Edit(orial), IV Teach, IV Philanthropy, IV DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging), and IV Tech. The Intersectional Voices initiative by Girls Write Now is dedicated to elevating the voices and perspectives from diverse backgrounds within our community. Through these committees, we actively work to address and integrate various viewpoints, 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. Mentees and mentors 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 GWN, Affinity Groups offer a brave space for participants to discuss identity-related issues 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 community gatherings. These events celebrate and promote GWN’s publications, honor our mentee authors, and recognize significant contributions to the literary and creative fields. They provide platforms for guest speakers to share their wisdom and for young writers to showcase their work. Special events foster a vibrant community spirit, encourage creative expression, and strengthen connections within the GWN community.
Storytelling for Change: A National Voter Registration Day Event
Join Girls Write Now, and our co-sponsor, STARS Citywide Girls Initiative, to celebrate National Voter Registration Day with a coordinated democracy blitz aimed at getting every eligible person registered to vote in advance of
election 2024 and beyond!
On Culture: Honoring It, Examining It, and Evolving It in Our Writing
In this Salon, Ghanaian-American author and Queens, NY native Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond will discuss her professional journey to writing about her culture, and how she approached writing about polygamy and other Ghanaian marriage customs in her new novel MY PARENTS' MARRIAGE.
A Celebration of Isabel Allende
This Hispanic Heritage Month, join us in celebration of the phenomenal Chilean writer and journalist, Isabel Allende! In collaboration with Mattel, we will welcome Barbie’s Signature Inspiring Women Isabel Allende doll!
Inspiring Women Write Now
In collaboration with Mattel, we’ll take you behind the scenes to discover how this extraordinary line of dolls was created, focusing on the selection of iconic figures like Isabel Allende and Bessie Coleman.
Community Conversation: Student Activism and Art
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.