Girls Write Now Collaboratory

Journeys

Each Journey in the Girls Write Now Collaboratory is a package of Writing Course Content, Mentorship, and Community Experiences for mentors and mentees. Our team of teachers, artists, and content experts have thoughtfully curated each Journey to be a dynamic, multifaceted experience. Journeys can be light touch or intensive, short or long-term, asynchronous or in real time.

Where can you go to form meaningful connections, build valuable marketplace skills, and experiment with new tools and ideas? The Girls Write Now Collaboratory. What are your goals? Your passions? What does your schedule look like? Find the Journey that is just right for you. For only three hours per month, you can meet with a mentor or mentee to work on creative, academic, and/or professional projects, while forming lifelong relationships. You don't need anything more than your own unique experience—and with our model, mentors and mentees explore chosen topics side-by-side.

Pre-Enroll in a Journey as a Mentor or Mentee in the Girls Write Now Collaboratory This Summer.

Pre-Enroll for Summer

Journey Mentors & Mentees

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Journey Mentors

Girls Write Now mentors are professionals, typically ages 25 and up, from all fields and disciplines, and from around the nation. They work with curiosity and collaboration, learning and growing, while supporting their mentees’ writing and leadership needs and goals.
Journey Mentor

Journey Mentees

Girls Write Now mentees are writers and leaders, typically ages of 14-24, from around the nation. Through a lens of creativity and activism, mentees produce stories, podcasts, poems, films, and more with the support of a mentor and the Girls Write Now community.

Journey Cycles

A Journey cycle is a three-month time period. Every month for three months of the Journey, mentors and mentees spend three hours or more together in pair sessions and community experiences, bolstered by our dynamic curriculum. You can sign up for one, two, or three cycles to meet your schedule and goals.

  • Summer: July 1-September 30
  • Fall: November 1-January 31
  • Spring: March 1-May 31
Cycles

Journeys Lead to Adventure

Each Journey is a part of an overarching Adventure for mentors and mentees. Think of Adventures like majors that over time provide a 360 degree exploration of a genre, topic, or focus area.

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Select the Journey you want to go on this cycle! Once you're accepted, you'll be matched with a mentor or mentee who shares your interests.

Select the Journey you want to go on this cycle! Once you're accepted, you'll be matched with a mentor or mentee who shares your interests.

The Power of Punchlines: Stand-Up Comedy for Change (Spring-Summer 2025)

In this 2-cycle journey, participants 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, you'll learn how to write and perform material that blends humor with meaningful social critique. Through workshops and performance coaching, you’ll develop your own comedic voice. Discover how satire and personal storytelling can raise awareness, inspire dialogue, and challenge the status quo— all while keeping your audience laughing. By the end of the journey, you'll have developed a 5 -10-minute stand-up routine that not only entertains but sparks meaningful conversations about the world around us. Comedy is a form of intelligence, whether you’re new to comedy or a seasoned performer, this journey will help you use humor as a force for social impact.

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Careers for Creatives: Unexpected Opportunities (Spring 2025)

The Careers for Creatives: Unexpected Opportunities Journey is perfect for mentees and mentors who are looking to turn their passion for storytelling, content creation, or journalism into a career. Through a dynamic online course, mentoring sessions, and live networking events, you will explore various career paths available to writers today, learn practical skills to help you succeed, and discover how to build a sustainable career that aligns with your interests and strengths. Discover career paths in finance, technology, corporate communications, publishing and more!

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Collaboratory Access for Mentors, Mentees & Members

Enjoy a la carte or as part of a Journey

All mentors, mentees & members also have access to our Resources, including jobs, internships, scholarships, writing contests, enrichment opportunities, and more.

Writing

Writing

Build skills though courses that focus on any genre, media, leadership, activism, college, career, and more.

Mentoring

Connect one-to-one across generations and establish a supportive relationship that lasts a lifetime.

Community

Collaborate and share with other inspiring minds at countless engaging events and experiences.

Join Our Community

“After years of working with Girls Write Now, I can say without hesitation that mentorship through this program fills a gap in today’s workplace. Most organizations no longer have the time, structure, or training culture to truly teach people how to manage—how to listen, give feedback, navigate differences, build trust, and lead with clarity and empathy. Mentoring in the Journeys program develops exactly those skills. You learn how to work with people from different backgrounds, how to build confidence in others, and how to communicate with purpose. These are the foundations of strong management and effective leadership. It has been the single most important contributor to my own development across leadership roles, and I regularly encourage early-career professionals to become mentors for this reason. The value is immediate, practical, and lasting—for the mentor, the mentee, and the organizations they go on to lead.”
Anne Sanderson
Anne Sanderson, Executive Leader, Strategic Communications & Engagement Mentor
“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!”
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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!”
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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.”
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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! ”
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Sarah Bode, Associate Director of Marketing for Henry Holt and Co. Mentor

Journey Mentorship

Make a commitment as a mentor or mentee for at least one Journey and get full access to our writing, mentoring, and community experiences and resources.

Membership

Be a part of our community without committing to a Journey, and receive select access to our writing, mentoring, and community experiences and resources.