Girls Write Now Journeys for Professionals

Partnership Programming

Girls Write Now Journeys

Meaningful, Multi-generational Learning Experiences for Professionals Across Industries

Girls Write Now sits at the intersection of storytelling and connection—the human infrastructure every workplace is craving—with a 30-year track record of helping professionals of all backgrounds and levels show up as their whole selves, tell their stories, and lead with purpose. At a time when so many feel stretched thin or disconnected, Girls Write Now helps professionals feel creatively energized, supported, and seen—all while elevating the communication and leadership skills that matter most in the workplace: clear and compelling storytelling, confident public speaking, and the ability to express ideas with clarity and authenticity across teams and generations.

View Fall Journeys

Kyndryl employees working with Girls Write Now

What Does a Journey Look Like?

Three hours per month for three months—open to employees of all backgrounds and levels of experience.

JOURNEY CYCLES: Journeys run in three-month cycles—Spring: March 1–May 31; Summer: July 1–September 30; Fall: November 1–January 31.
TIME COMMITMENT: Each Journey requires approximately three hours per month.
MENTOR-MENTEE MATCHES: Mentors (typically ages 25 and up) are paired one-to-one with mentees ages 13–24.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS: Journeys combine one-to-one, cross-generational mentorship and collaboration (1–2 sessions per month) with live community workshops, salons, and chats—virtual or in-person, at least one per month, including one required professional development session. Pair and group experiences are bolstered by a dynamic curriculum covering a diverse range of genres, media, and topics.
OUTCOMES: Each Journey is a three-month arc culminating in a meaningful creative deliverable that meets your unique personal and professional goals, in line with the Journey you select.
PROCESS: The application includes biographical information, a few short questions, a writing sample, references, and a ranking of your preferred Journeys, followed by fun group interviews and background checks. During onboarding, mentors confirm their spots, complete training on Girls Write Now’s safety and red flag protocols, and are matched with their mentees; at the first session, pairs set joint goals in the portal. At the end of the cycle, mentors choose to continue in a new Journey—with or without the same mentee—or take a break as a member, where they can still enjoy community opportunities and serve as a Mentor on Demand for ad hoc sessions. All mentors complete a cycle wrap-up form so their feedback can strengthen the program.

Explore Journeys

“Girls Write Now has provided an unparalleled platform with support, tools, resources, and open communication. It’s been a collaborative, inspiring, joyful ride, and I feel lucky to be part of something so special!”

Stacie Rose, Award-Winning Writer, Editor, Producer & Director Mentor

“It was challenging—but rewarding!—for both my mentee and myself to try stand-up. It was intimidating at first, but Hollie Harper, the award-winning comedian and Girls Write Now teaching artist, made it very approachable. My mentee is pushing outside of her boundaries—it’s so impressive to watch her open up to the larger group and write her own jokes! She’s thriving with the new challenge of stand-up, and so am I!”

Ellyn Mendenhall, Writer Mentor

“When I started mentoring with Girls Write Now in 2020, my colleagues in big tech often asked why—or more precisely, ‘What does writing have to do with analytics?!’ Five years later, my answer is clear: Technology and creativity go hand in hand. You can’t afford to resist either one.”

Felicia Dodge, Director of Content Strategy & Social at We Are Social Mentor and Teaching Artist/Guest Author

“The Social Media & Marketing Journey sessions were so informational and engaging! I do social media marketing for a living and I learned a lot! ”

Sarah Bode, Associate Director of Marketing for Henry Holt and Co. Mentor

“Girls Write Now is a space where I am an expert in something and a novice in many more things. A space where a novice is a perfect thing to be. Where a willingness to listen is the only ask at the door. Back in my first mentor-mentee pair, it struck me that mentorship was a true exchange, learning flowed in both directions. What a gift to be a part of this community and this exchange, especially right now.”

Ashna Shah, Organizational Transformation Consultant Mentor and Teaching Artist/Guest Author

What Professionals Gain as Mentors: Creative & Career Benefits

When professionals join a Girls Write Now Journey, they grow in ways that go far beyond volunteering. They sharpen their communication and storytelling, build real management and coaching experience, and reconnect with their own creativity—all in about three hours a month. Mentorship also builds genuine cross-generational fluency, the skill every workplace is trying to teach and few know how to.

Real Connection & Belonging

Live, small-group community-building experiences create psychological safety and genuine relationships across teams and generations.

Communication & Storytelling Skills

Through a practical, creative curriculum, participants sharpen writing, speaking, and narrative skills that directly support leadership, collaboration, and clarity in any role. Journeys offer clear frameworks and tools delivered in a tone that is human, authentic, and accessible.

Mutually Beneficial Mentorship

Journeys include guided mentorship where participants both give and receive insight, strengthening cross-generational fluency and building management experience.

Creative Restoration & Burnout Relief

The experience offers structured creative time—three hours a month—to recharge, reflect, express yourself, and reconnect with what feels energizing and purposeful.

Purpose & Visible Impact

Participants contribute to a multigenerational community, building skills while making a tangible difference in the lives of emerging young writers and leaders entering your industry.

Write

Sample Journeys

Lead Community Change

Lead Community Change is a dynamic two-cycle Journey that harnesses the transformative power of storytelling to drive social impact.

Learn More

Teach GWN

In this Journey, members of the GWN community will develop curriculum and facilitate a community studio for one or more cycles within GWN’s Collaboratory structure.

Learn More

Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion

In this Journey, mentors and mentees will develop essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking.

Learn More

The Power of Punchlines: Stand-Up Comedy for Change

In this Journey, mentors and mentees will explore the power of comedy as a tool for social change, with a special focus on stand-up comedy.

Learn More

Building Buzz: Publicity in the Publishing Industry

In this Journey, you’ll explore how books are marketed, discovered, and propelled to bestseller lists in the digital age.

Learn More

Dark Tales: A Horror Book Club

Step into the shadows of horror and explore what makes a story truly unsettling.

Learn More

Explore all Journeys

We partner with companies across industries to identify top mentors

Publishing • Entertainment • Fashion & Beauty • Finance • Technology • Health • Education • & Beyond

Girls Write Now and Estée Lauder Companies join forces to achieve global change through equitable literacy and arts access.

Girls Write Now is proud to team up with HarperCollins to help more young women and gender-expansive youth own their stories and share them with the world.

Girls Write Now is thrilled to partner with RBC for over five years, helping give young writers access and exposure to an industry in need of their talent and skills. Communication is everything, no matter what field, and our partnership with RBC positions us at the nexus of growth in storytelling for all industries.

Mattel partners with Girls Write Now to help give girls and gender-expansive youth the resources and support they need to continue to believe that they can be anything.

“Girls Write Now reminds young women and gender-expansive creatives—especially those from underrepresented backgrounds—that their voices matter, their opinions count, and they are important. Over the years, my admiration for their mission has only deepened. It’s an organization that builds confidence, provides opportunities, and offers unwavering support. ”

Jon Yaged, Chief Executive Officer of Macmillan Publishers Girls Write Now Partner

“Girls Write Now’s mission—to mentor and empower young women to find their voices through writing and creative expression—deeply aligns with Adobe’s values of creativity, inclusivity, and community impact. Through their programs, these young creatives gain not only the tools and skills to tell their stories, but also the confidence and mentorship to pursue careers in media, technology, and the arts. Adobe has played a meaningful role in helping Girls Write Now amplify these voices, and I’ve seen firsthand how transformative that support has been. When they invite me to speak on panels, and I introduce myself as an Adobe employee, the audience’s excitement and light-heartedness is palpable as they associate our company with creativity.”

Shifali Bose, Senior Engagement Manager, Adobe Girls Write Now Partner

“One of our shared missions across the global News Corp organization is to inform, inspire and connect communities through storytelling. Girls Write Now plays a vital role in fostering emerging talent and strengthening the future of creative expression, and we are honored to receive this recognition as we continue working together to develop the next generation of storytellers.”

Maria Pacheco, Chief Executive Officer at Storyful Girls Write Now Partner and Honoree

“This organization and its mission of supporting young writers through workshops, mentorship, and community is near and dear to my heart. My hope is that the Alchemy Fund will provide resources for the program’s brilliant mentee writers, so that they can conjure their own versions of creative alchemy long into the future.”

Suleika Jaouad, Founder of The Alchemy Fund & Author of The Book of Alchemy Girls Write Now Partner and Honoree

“For more than ten years, Amazon Literary Partnership has supported Girls Write Now, and today and every day we are humbled by the vital work they do to support young women and break down the barriers of gender, race, age and poverty to mentor the next generation of writers.”

Al Woodworth, Senior Manager of Amazon Literary Partnership Girls Write Now Partner

Learn More About Our Partnerships