Spring 2026
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. Each Cycle involves facilitating three community studios, one per month. Participants will gain valuable skills in leadership, teaching, and community building. Mentors and mentees can facilitate a community studio either solo (if they are 18 or older) or together as a pair.
Pre-Enroll in a Fall 2026 Journey Now!
Though Spring 2026 enrollment is not currently open, you may express your interest for a Journey by filling out the form below.
You may also sign up for Mentorship on Demand and/or membership at any time.
Learning Objectives
Teach GWN Community Experiences
Mentees and mentors in this Journey are required to facilitate three Community Studios—one per month during the cycle—and attend both a training session and a facilitator meetup. The weekday, time, and exact dates for your facilitated studio sessions will be determined based on your schedule before the journey begins.
Studio Weeks for the Spring 2026 Cycle:
- March studio period: 3/9 – 3/20
- April studio period: 4/13 – 4/24
- May studio period: 5/11 – 5/22
Facilitator Meetup:
- Tuesday, 4/28 at 7pm ET
Additionally, participants are asked to attend at least one Community Studio led by their fellow facilitators.
Teach GWN Courses
Teach GWN: Facilitating Community Studios
This course focuses on providing participants with strategies and tools to effectively sustain and manage their community-based social activism initiatives. It covers topics such as project planning, resource management, and strategies for long-term impact and growth.
GWN Toolkit: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging
This course equips participants with essential strategies and tools to foster a more inclusive and equitable environment. Through interactive content and practical exercises, learners will develop skills to enhance diversity and promote a sense of belonging within their communities.
GWN Toolkit: Mentoring Best Practices
This course provides participants with effective strategies and techniques for successful mentoring relationships. It covers key practices for guiding, supporting, and empowering mentees to achieve their goals and thrive in their personal and professional development.
Teach GWN Mentoring
Mentees and mentors in the Teach GWN Journey will be paired for at least one cycle. Each pair will meet for a minimum of two hour-long sessions per month. Mentees will either develop curriculum for their Community Studio with guidance from their mentors or collaborate with their mentors to develop and facilitate a Community Studio together. This Journey is open to mentor/mentee pairs, peer-to-peer pairs, and members who have been mentees or mentors in the past.
Journey Teaching Artist
Teach 360 Adventure
All Journeys within this Adventure focus on leadership to help Mentees and Mentors develop leadership skills and be inspired to create a better future together. Learn more about the other Adventures offered at Girls Write Now below.
Teach GWN is a Journey in the Teach 360 Adventure.
Explore All Journeys
Explore All Journeys
Lead Community Change (Part 2) (Spring 2027)
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 GWN’s rich storytelling resources.
Indigenous Poetry (Spring 2027)
Explore the rich traditions and contemporary voices of Indigenous poetry. Mentees and mentors will read and discuss poems by Indigenous poets that reflect identity, culture, land, community, resilience, and storytelling. Alongside close reading, participants will write original poems inspired by these works, experimenting with imagery, voice, form, and personal expression. Through discussion and creative practice, they will explore how poetry can honor heritage, preserve stories, and illuminate both personal and collective experiences. Mentees and mentors will take away a deeper appreciation of Indigenous poetic traditions, strengthened creative writing skills, and a greater understanding of poetry as a tool for connection and expression.
Journalism: The Art of Profile Writing (Spring 2027)
Every person has a story to tell, and profile writing offers a way to share those stories with the world. In this Journey, mentees and mentors will learn how to build trust with subjects, conduct respectful interviews, and maintain the writer’s role as observer rather than confidante. The Journey emphasizes a holistic approach that considers subject, writer, and reader.
AI & Technology: Protopian Futures (Spring 2027)
This Journey explores the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies through a protopian lens—focusing on how innovation can be intentionally shaped toward more equitable, creative, and human-centered futures. Mentees and mentors will examine the possibilities and limitations of AI, engaging in discussions and hands-on explorations that highlight both current applications and future potential. Through critical reflection and creative experimentation, mentees and mentors will consider how technology can be designed and used to expand opportunity, deepen connection, and support more just and imaginative ways of living and creating. Mentees and mentors will strengthen their critical understanding of AI and emerging technologies while deepening their perspective on ethical innovation and human-centered tech practices.
Explore Tour (Spring 2027)
Explore Girls Write Now’s creative and storytelling pathways through a multimedia, multi-genre experience featuring mini courses, exploratory studios, and one-to-one pair sessions. Develop skills across fiction, journalism, publishing, video, podcasting, visual storytelling, and more.
Independent Study (Spring 2027)
Create your own experience with our Independent Study Journey. Mentees and mentors meet as a pair, attend events of interest, and use coursework to support creative projects and personal goals. Along the way, you can connect with others during a mid-cycle mixer designed to spark inspiration, share ideas, and build community. The Journey culminates in a showcase where participants present the work they have developed throughout the cycle and celebrate their accomplishments together. Mentees and mentors will benefit by gaining greater independence in their learning, deepening their creative practice, and building meaningful connections while pursuing self-directed goals.
Teach GWN (Spring 2027)
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. Each cycle involves facilitating three Community Studios, one per month. Mentees and mentors will gain valuable skills in leadership, teaching, and community building. Mentees and mentors can facilitate a Community Studio either independently (if they are 18 or older) or together as a pair.
Everything Is 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’s pioneering work at the intersection of science and creativity, this Journey invites mentees and mentors to explore the natural world through the complementary lenses of scientific inquiry and artistic expression. Inspired by Ghiradella’s legacy, and through close observation, research, and reflection, they will investigate the forms, patterns, and processes found in nature while creating an original project—through writing, visual art, media, performance, music or another creative form—that celebrates the connections between nature, science, and creativity.
The Career Journey: Inside Book Publishing (Fall 2026)
Discover the various roles in publishing that bring books to life, from editorial and design to marketing, publicity, production, and more. Through conversations with publishing house and literary agency professionals, participants will gain insight into the nuts and bolts of a book's journey from concept to publication.
