Fall 2025-Spring 2026
The Lead Incubator
The Lead Incubator is a crucial extension of the Lead Community Change Journey, offering mentees the space, resources, and support needed to implement their project plans and drive meaningful change in their communities. It acts as a dynamic platform where they can turn their ideas into action. Mentees participating in the Lead Incubator focus on advancing their community-based social activism projects with the support of their mentors and Girls Write Now’s resources.
Girls Write Now Collaboratory
This Journey is Closed, but You Can Pre-Enroll in a Spring 2027 Journey Now!
Learning Objectives
The Lead Incubator Community Experiences
Mentees and mentors in this Journey are required to attend the monthly one-hour Journey meetings listed below.
Fall Cycle:
- Saturday, November 15, 2025, 3 pm ET
- Saturday, December 13, 2025, 3 pm ET
- Saturday, January 10, 2026, 3 pm ET
Spring Cycle:
- Saturday, March 14, 2026, 3 pm ET
- Saturday, April 18, 2026, 3 pm ET
- Saturday, May 16, 2026, 3 pm ET
If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—strongly recommended options include Leadership Community Studios, Community Conversations, and Career Chats.
The Lead Incubator Courses
Lead: Maintaining a Social Activism Project
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.
Podcasting Fundamentals
An introductory course that covers the essential skills and tools needed to create and launch a podcast. Participants will learn about podcast planning, recording techniques, and editing, providing them with a solid foundation in podcasting.
Teach GWN: Facilitating Community Studios
This course provides training in the techniques and best practices for leading and managing community studio sessions. It focuses on creating engaging and productive environments that support learning and collaboration among participants.
The Lead Incubator Mentoring
Mentees and mentors in The Lead Incubator Journey will be matched for two cycles. Each pair will meet two times per month and, as a pair, attend all of the community events listed above.
Journey Teaching Artist
What Past Participants Have to Say
All Journeys within this Adventure emphasize leadership, aiming to help mentees and mentors develop their leadership skills and work together to create a better future. Explore the other Adventures offered at Girls Write Now below to learn more.
The Lead Incubator is a Journey in the Lead 360 Adventure.
Explore All Journeys
Explore All Journeys
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.
Teach GWN (Fall 2026)
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.
The Career Journey: Inside Book Publishing (Fall 2026)
This Journey is for mentors curious about breaking into publishing, mentors already in the industry who want to pass on what they know, and mentees serious about building a career in books. Together you'll map the roles across publishing houses and literary agencies and get into the nuts and bolts of what each one actually does.
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.
Screenwriting: Crafting Short Film Stories (Spring 2027)
This two-cycle Journey guides participants from crafting a short film script to bringing it to life on screen. In the first cycle, mentors and mentees focus on developing compelling stories, dynamic characters, and engaging dialogue, learning the essentials of screenwriting for short films. In the second cycle, participants move from script to screen, exploring the practical aspects of video production, including planning, collaboration, and bringing their creative vision to life. By the end of the journey, mentees will have both a polished script and hands-on experience in producing their own short film.
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.
Speak Your Truth: Spoken Word Poetry (Spring 2027)
Explore the power of spoken word poetry as a form of storytelling, self-expression, and social commentary.
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.
