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  • Thousand Voices Book Club (Spring 2026)

Spring 2026

Thousand Voices Book Club

In partnership with the Thousand Voices imprint, this Journey invites mentors and mentees to explore contemporary literature. Participants will close-read three books and discuss them at monthly Journey Meetings. We’ll focus, in particular, on reading as writers and taking note of the ways each author crafts their story.

Girls Write Now Collaboratory

This Journey is Closed, but You Can Pre-Enroll in a Spring 2027 Journey Now!

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Thousand Voices Book Club Community Experiences

Participants are required to attend one Journey Live Meetings each month throughout the cycle. Additionally, you can schedule 1:1 office hours with the Journey Instructor for individual assistance as needed.

Spring Cycle Journey Meetings:

  • Saturday, March 28, 2026, 12-1:30 pm ET
  • Saturday, April 25, 2026, 12-1:30 pm ET
  • Saturday, May 23, 2026, 12-1:30 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 for this journey include Leadership Community Studios, Community Conversations, and Career Chats.

Journey Circle: Community

Thousand Voices Book Club Courses

Thousand Voices Book Club
This course is designed to help develop critical thinking skills, engage with literary criticism, and form a reading practice. Specific topics range from active reading to review writing to connecting stories to current events.

Writing

Thousand Voices Book Club Mentoring

Mentors and mentees in the Thousand Voices Book Club Journey will be matched for a minimum of one cycle. Pairs will meet for at least two hour-long sessions each month. This journey is open to both mentor/mentee pairs and peer-to-peer pairs.

Journey Teaching Artist

Annaya Baynes

Girls Write Now Staff

Annaya Baynes (she/they) is a Community Coordinator. They graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and French. As an undergraduate, she worked on Spelman’s social justice podcast, The Blue Record, and the reproductive justice-oriented podcast Black Feminist Rants. Annaya has interned at various publishing houses, including Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and The Feminist Press. They have a deep love for literature and film. She is a Master’s student at NYU’s Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies.

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Book Club

What Past Participants Have to Say

“I really enjoyed being able to read some great books and watch some cool performances.”
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Alejandre Lamas-Nemec Mentee
“[I] learn[ed] new things about myself through being in community with others who love words and language – I knew I would love being a mentor, as I have been one in other capacities, but the specific literary emphasis surprised me in how connected it made me feel with others.”
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Lisa Borten Mentor
“I think seeing the Literature for Life presentations in person was the best. I was able to see incredible performers bridge both theater and literature in beautiful adaptations that I was lucky enough to see in person. I was also able to talk to some of the adults in the audience and have meaningful conversations with some mentors and guests from the public. Many of the people I talked to were much older than me yet we were able to have meaningful and enjoyable conversations. I probably would never have seen the performances or connected with the people I did if I stayed at home so I’m really happy that I went in to the office for those experiences. Girls Write Now impacted my personal growth by teaching me the skill of editing my work. My mentor encouraged me to look for edits that I could make, and even discuss or question her edits to my essay. I feel confident in my editing which is a skill that I never had before as a writer, and I’m excited to keep working. ”
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Sofia Elena Salyer Mentee

Read 360

All Journeys within this Adventure focus on close readings of books and creative works in community with other writers. Learn more about the other Adventures offered at Girls Write Now below.

Thousand Voices Book Club is a Journey in the Read 360 Adventure.

See All Adventures

Explore All Journeys

Explore All Journeys

Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion (Spring 2026)

In this Journey, mentors and mentees will develop essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking. Through engaging activities and interactive discussions, participants will learn to craft persuasive speeches, construct well-reasoned arguments, and present their ideas with confidence. They will explore techniques for effective communication, refine their ability to think critically under pressure, and practice responding to diverse perspectives in a structured setting.

Civil Discourse Connection & Persuasion; two girls speaking with a mic

STARS: Crafting White Papers for Change (Spring 2026)

In this Journey, Fellows from STARS CGI partner organizations engage in a youth-led writing and advocacy experience that empowers them to turn their experiences into policy-focused narratives. Through in-person and virtual sessions, participants learn to research, write, and collaborate on a White Paper that amplifies youth voices across New York City and advocates for increased support, funding, and policy improvements for youth programs. The Journey builds communication, leadership, and advocacy skills, culminating in a youth-authored White Paper presented to a City Council Member as a public call to action.

Storytelling Across Languages and Cultures (Fall 2025)

This Journey invites multilingual storytellers—and those curious about language, identity, and culture—to explore how the languages we speak and the communities we come from shape our stories. Through writing, discussion, and creative expression, participants will examine the connections between language, culture, and self. The Journey celebrates multilingual voices and empowers participants to honor their perspectives and grow as confident storytellers across cultures.

Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter (Fall 2025)

In this fiction Journey, our curriculum will focus on opening chapters. The first pages of a novel are some of the most daunting for many writers. There's so much to establish in very few pages—the ones your future readers will flip through to decide if they should keep reading. In this journey, we'll deep dive into the varied ingredients that make a compelling first chapter. We'll examine how to use your limited space to build motivated well-rounded characters, craft palpable stakes, establish a fully-realized setting, create a killer hook, and so much more. We'll tackle big questions, like how to know if you are starting in the right place and how to get all this information onto the page without overwhelming your readers. Whether you're starting a story from scratch or already editing a draft of your novel, join us to develop some impactful opening pages.

Wicked Stagewriting: From Plays to Musicals (Fall 2025)

The Writing for the Stage: From Plays to Musicals Journey is designed to help develop the skills and understanding needed to work as a writer in today’s theatre industry. This Journey provides insight into the work of a playwright – a deep understanding of live storytelling and professional scripts, plays vs musicals, professional working practices, and employment strategies. We will look to popular musicals such as Wicked for inspiration in creating original pieces. Specific topics range from story structure and formatting scripts to actually seeing a script to fruition.

Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion (Fall 2025)

In this one-Cycle Journey, Mentees will develop essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking. Through engaging activities and interactive discussions, participants will learn to craft persuasive speeches, construct well-reasoned arguments, and present their ideas with confidence. They will explore techniques for effective communication, refine their ability to think critically under pressure, and practice responding to diverse perspectives in a structured setting.

Civil Discourse Connection & Persuasion; two girls speaking with a mic
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