Summer 2025
Social Media & Marketing
Girls Write Now Collaboratory
This Journey is Closed, but You Can Apply for a Fall 2026 Journey Now!
Social Media & Marketing Community Experiences
The following events are required for all Social Media & Marketing mentees and mentors:
- Tuesday, July 15 at 6-7:30 PM ET – Journey Meeting
- Tuesday, August 12 at 6-7:15 PM ET – Career Chat
- Saturday, September 20 at 3-4:30 PM ET – Mentee Showcase
If you cannot make an event, let your Staff Lead know in advance. Your Staff Lead will help you find an alternative event to attend.
Social Media & Marketing Courses
Social Media & Marketing: Behind the Screen (Required)
This course is designed to help develop your overall understanding of roles within the realm of social media and marketing, provide you with specific tools and tips for effective marketing, and meld your creative skills with your marketing skills. Specific topics range from how to create engaging social media posts for brands to data storytelling.
Social Media & Marketing Video Fundamentals (Optional)
Within our ever-growing digital landscape, video has become one of the main mediums through which people absorb content, share their thoughts, and tell their stories. The reach that a compelling video can have is enough to entertain, spark meaningful discussions, and/or create change. To ensure that your message or story achieves its full potential, it is important to understand the three key stages of video production: pre-production, production, and post-production. In this mini-course, we will take a closer look at these three stages and explore the aspects of video creation that contribute to compelling content.
Social Media & Marketing Graphic Design Fundamentals (Optional)
In today’s visually-driven world, effective communication is about more than just words. This course is designed to provide budding writers with essential graphic design skills to enhance their storytelling and engage their audience. Through a blend of hands-on projects and discussions, students will learn how to create visually appealing content that complements their writing.
Social Media & Marketing Mentoring
Mentees and mentors in the Social Media & Marketing Journey will be matched for one cycle. Each pair will meet 2 times per month and, as a pair, attend all of the community events listed above.
Journeys in the Multimedia 360 Adventure focus on creating in a particular medium. They are designed for mentees and mentors who want to express ideas with digital and audio techniques.
The Social Media & Marketing Journey is a part of the Multimedia 360 Adventure.
Find Your Journey
Find Your Journey
Everything’s a Story: Nonfiction that Reads like Fiction (Fall 2026)
In this Journey, mentees and mentors will explore the ways in which creative storytelling techniques can be applied to nonfiction writing of all kinds, from memoir and personal essay to op-ed and how-to articles. We will dive into what makes a story—from structural archetypes to writing that flows—and learn how to harness the power of story to make nonfiction compelling and transformative.
Wild Ideas: Nature, Science & Creativity (Fall 2026)
Created in honor of Helen Ghiradella, the biologist who uncovered the hidden architecture of butterfly wings, this Journey invites you, mentor and mentee, to explore the natural world through the complementary lenses of scientific inquiry and creative expression. Through close observation, research, and reflection, you'll investigate the forms, patterns, and processes found in nature, then build an original project—writing, visual art, media, performance, music, or a form of your own choosing—that celebrates where these disciplines meet. Along the way, you'll sharpen your powers of observation, stretch your interdisciplinary thinking, and develop the ability to translate scientific understanding into meaningful art.
Hooked on Fiction: Story Structures for Plotters, Pantsers, & Plantsers (Fall 2026)
In this Journey, we’ll tackle one of the most daunting parts of novel writing: the opening chapter. Participants will explore how to hook readers while establishing character, setting, and stakes—asking big questions like where to begin and how to share key details without overload.
Building Buzz: Publicity in the Publishing Industry (Fall 2026)
In this Journey, mentors and mentees explore how books are marketed, discovered, and reach bestseller lists in the digital age.
The Power of Punchlines: Stand-Up Comedy for Change (Fall 2026)
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. From climate change and economic inequality to LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, and mental health, participants will learn how to write and perform material that blends humor with meaningful social critique.
Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion (Fall 2026)
In this Journey, you—mentor and mentee—will build essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking. Through hands-on activities and lively discussion, you'll learn to craft persuasive speeches, construct well-reasoned arguments, and present your ideas with confidence. You'll explore what makes communication land, sharpen your thinking under pressure, and practice responding to perspectives unlike your own in a structured setting. By the end, you'll be able to make your case clearly, engage in dialogue that goes somewhere, and carry these skills into academic, professional, and civic life.
Independent Study (Fall 2026)
Create your own experience with our Independent Study Journey. Mentors and mentees meet as a pair, attend events of interest, and use coursework to help plan creative projects and meet your goals.
Lead Community Change (Fall 2026)
Lead Community Change is a dynamic two-cycle Journey that harnesses the transformative power of storytelling to drive social impact. Aspiring young leaders and activists will unleash their creativity to develop and implement innovative community-based social activism projects, supported by Girls Write Now’s rich storytelling resources.
Dark Tales: A Horror Book Club (Fall 2026)
Step into the shadows of horror and discover what makes a story truly unsettling. Across three monthly book club meetings, you—mentor and mentee—will dig into close readings and lively discussion of selected works, examining how authors build suspense, conjure atmosphere, evoke fear, and use the genre to probe deeper social, psychological, and cultural questions. Together you'll unpack narrative technique, character development, and the many shapes the genre can take. By summer's end, you'll have a richer appreciation for horror, sharper critical instincts as readers, and a store of inspiration and craft to carry into your own writing. Required books this cycle: Dark Is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce, The Body by Bethany C. Morrow, and I'll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel.
Explore Tour (Fall 2026)
Explore all of the creative and storytelling pathways Girls Write Now has to offer through a multimedia, multi-genre experience that includes mini courses, exploratory studios, and one-to-one pair sessions.
