Fall 2025: Storytelling Across Languages and Cultures

Storytelling Across Languages and Cultures – Journey Learning Objectives:

1. Explore Language through Storytelling: Reflect on how the languages we speak shape the way we express ourselves and connect with others.
2. Honor Personal and Cultural Experiences: Create written or multimedia pieces that highlight unique cultural perspectives and lived experiences.
3. Boost Multilingual Storytelling: Practice storytelling in a supportive environment that encourages multilingual expression and experimentation.
4. Explore Culture’s Role in Storytelling: Examine how different storytelling traditions inform the way stories are told, structured, and received.

• Complete at least 2 pair sessions per month and log these in your Portal
• Attend each monthly Journey Meeting (see Engagement Dates )
• Complete all lessons and assignments in the Storytelling Across Languages and Cultures course (see Asynchronous Coursework )
• Create and Submit at a story through the Submissions section in the Portal to be published on your Author Page and entered to the Storyshares Writing Contest.

Mentees and mentors in this Journey are required to attend the monthly Journey Meetings and Journey Workshop listed below.

• Saturday, November 15, 2025, 1 pm — 3pm ET
• Saturday, December 13, 2025, 1 pm — 3pm ET
• Saturday, January 17, 2026, 1 pm — 3pm ET

If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead, Kenna McCafferty, in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—strongly recommended options include Community Studios and Salon Experiences. To find out more about upcoming events check girlswritenow.org/events and visit the Events Page in your Portal to register for upcoming live events.

Complete each lesson in the the following course. As you progress through each lesson, make sure to press “complete” before moving on to the next.

Storytelling Across Languages and Cultures
This course is designed to explore how the languages we speak shape the way we tell stories and connect with others. You’ll create and share personal stories that reflect your own background and culture, using writing or multimedia. Along the way, we’ll look at how different cultures tell stories, and how that affects structure, style, and voice. This is a supportive space to try out new ways of expressing yourself, whether in one language or many.

Throughout the three-month Journey cycle, mentees will be guided and supported in writing an original story that celebrates, highlights, and uplifts cultural and linguistic diversity! By the end of the cycle, you will complete a polished story and have the exciting opportunity to be among the first official submissions for the Storyshares 2026 Writing Contest.

Please note that submitting to the contest is a separate submission; you are still required to submit your stories HERE! Please upload your project to the Storytelling Across Languages and Cultures folder. Title your project as follows: Firstname_Lastname_Projectname.