Life@GWN
Life@GWN introduces the storykeepers of Girls Write Now—our diverse and multi-talented community members living their lives and embodying our mission. Learn about Life@GWN in our features below.
Interested in telling the story of your time at Girls Write Now? Do you have wisdom to share? Enter Life@GWN…
R. F. Kuang on Claiming Her Voice
The New York Times Bestselling author admittedly once shied away from calling herself a woman author. R. F. Kuang had plenty of role models to look up to when she set her sights on becoming a writer and sought, instead, to escape the constraints her gender imposed on her craft.
As the constraints of gender tighten around women and girls across the country, with 22 million girls and women living in states where abortion is restricted or inaccessible just 2 years after the Dobbs ruling, Kuang is rethinking her position and the importance of her voice, freedom and expression as a woman to champion the voices that will go unheard as they confront the new realities of womanhood.
Now she shares her Life@GWN with us.
James Rhee’s Secret to Soul-Success
Girls Write Now 2024 Honoree James Rhee knows success comes in many colors. Whether in the proud patterns of legacy brand Ashley Stewart, or the bright red of the helicopter that inspired his first book red helicopter: a parable for our times, James Rhee knows that success shines brighter when it comes from within.
As Author, Cultural Storyteller, Empowerment Speaker, Media Personality, Mikki Taylor, put it at the 2024 Girls Write Now Awards: “We should all be so grateful to come to that point in our lives where we can answer the question: what is my soul saying is necessary?” For James Rhee, that meant connecting the dots between capitalism and kindness.
Being the Change… Anna Klein’s Life@GWN
We’re still telling stories, but we’ve taken a new look at them. This week, we’re thrilled to present another new-to-community champion, multi-hyphenate Antonia Hylton. Look for her on-air reporting, or listen to her pods Southlake, or Grapevine.
Antonia’s Life@GWN
In the words of her colleague and friend, Al Roker, Antonia Hylton “exemplifies the Girls Write Now message — if you can write, you can do anything. About Girls Write Now, Antonia said, “It’s the organization that I wished I’d had when I was younger, a community of people dedicated to young women’s futures, helping them formulate and strengthen their voice.
Writers & Storytellers Make the World and Form its Memory
We’re still telling stories, but we’ve taken a new look at them. This week, we’re thrilled to present another new-to-community champion, multi-hyphenate Antonia Hylton. Look for her on-air reporting, or listen to her pods Southlake, or Grapevine.
Antonia’s Life@GWN
In the words of her colleague and friend, Al Roker, Antonia Hylton “exemplifies the Girls Write Now message — if you can write, you can do anything. About Girls Write Now, Antonia said, “It’s the organization that I wished I’d had when I was younger, a community of people dedicated to young women’s futures, helping them formulate and strengthen their voice.
“Do what other people won’t so you can live and give what other people can’t.”
For the next few weeks, we’re telling stories differently on Life@, featuring some friends new to our community. An interview for Forbes Women described one of our newest champions as follows, “two decades ago Joan Hornig, then a financier and longtime hobbyist jewelry designer, had the inspired idea that giving can and should be simple, and established her own jewelry brand, Philanthropy is Beautiful, to both incentivize philanthropic giving and provide a sustainable alternative to more established brands with long histories of deeply unethical practices.”
Joan’s Life@GWN
Previous subject, recent honoree, and champion James Rhee invited Joan Hornig to join the Girls Write Now community, and we are richer for it. Her Life@GWN began when she joined us earlier this Fall for a private event.
Joan lives by the personal motto, “Do what other people won’t so you can live and give what other people can’t.”
Healing Vessels & Cheering Each Other On
Anne Caceres-Gonzalez does not fit into any one box. By day she is the Director of People and Culture at Mischief @ No Fixed Address. She supports Girls Write Now as a member of the Partnership and Anthology Committees, all while describing herself as a Native New Yorker with Caribbean roots. You will soon learn that she is fierce about family, traditions, building community, and requires NO ONE to speak on her behalf.
The Alchemists
This is a very special edition of Life@GWN. In it, our team catches and releases, saying a goodbye of sorts to Spencer George, who after seven years with us will test her wings to embark on a new and exciting season of graduate work at Duke University. We also formally welcome a beloved, relative newcomer, Julia Andresakis, a former mentee and intern through transformations in her career and LIfe@GWN.
Together, they discuss Girls Write Now on the Art of the Craft: A Guidebook to Collaborative Storytelling released on HarperOne April 23, and the processes of transformation, creation, and combination that make for the alchemy of a good story. As always, it’s better told in their own words.
Parables, Kindness, & Speaking Through Action
At Girls Write Now, we know the power of words. But as 2024 Honoree, James C. Rhee, reminds us, sometimes actions speak louder. Reflecting on the lessons learned from his mother, and the modest wisdom of his father, Rhee shares the forces that pushed him to make change in the world, and gave him the power to put pen to paper about his own lessons learned along the way.
Celebrating the release of his first book, red helicopter: a parable for our times out today on HarperOne, Rhee’s words are filled with the power of life-long practice. He shares what it means to act with kindness, embrace confusion and make the world you want to live in.
The Transformers
To transform is to change or convert. Rachel Cohen, who experienced her own transformation as a former journalist turned software engineer, found a new opportunity for growth when she met her mentee, Lashanda Anakwah, a self-described “sheltered” HS sophomore. In the years since, their lives and their relationship have moved beyond mentor and mentee, growing into something far deeper, richer, and lasting.
In celebrating our 25th anniversary, we’re returning to early iterations of Girls Write Now, in order to appreciate just how far our programs, and our people have come. Let’s call these two The Transformers.
“My Superpower is Listening”
Emily Méndez leads by listening. That’s how her career at Girls Write Now began. Now, she’s growing her curious ear and curatorial eye as an Editor-in-Residence, where she hears from our community in their own words, and helps connect them to our audience with the knowledge that all stories need a good listener. Emily took the time to tell her own tale. Lend an ear (or eye) as she tells us about it below.
New Frameworks & Learning about Learning
Fueled by her curiosity, Kenna thrives in learning new things and her superpower lies in the art of inquiry, allowing her to foster connections with others and uncover ingenious solutions to different issues. Kenna finds that the diverse storytelling present is what makes the Girls Write Now community so special and is constantly inspired by the resiliency and creativity in their stories. She is motivated by the relationships community members build and their collaborative efforts towards shared goals.
“I Can Grow and Give Myself Grace along the Way”
Last month, Girls Write Now welcomed three new Fellows to our staff. Meet Ayana Perkins, the Fellow focusing on Engagement and Experience. Learn about her experience with Girls Write Now and how her Faith impacts her life.
“Here, I feel like a person. Not just a cog in a wheel.”
Girls Write Now rang in the new year celebrating 25 years of transformative stories and an upcoming published guidebook, Girls Write Now on The Art of the Craft written and edited by the young voices of the organization. Excited to take part in centering such voices is Annaya Baynes (she/they).
The Bookmakers
We are thrilled to introduce Girls Write Now bookmakers, Molly MacDermot, Director of Special Initiatives and Vahni Kurra, Senior Community and Marketing Coordinator. In addition to their regular responsibilities supporting the mission and the work of Girls Write Now, each year they lead an Anthology Committee, composed of illustrious volunteers from across every field and discipline, publishing, media, communications, visual arts, etc., in the production of our annual print anthology.
Feedback and Support, the Best Ways to Grow.
Girls Write Now is thrilled to introduce a new member of our community, Reporter and Host of BronxNet Community Television, Kibin Alleyne.
“You Are Better Than Good Enough.”
As Girls Write Now enters our 25th year of mentoring the next generation of writers and leaders, we are expressing our gratitude for our incredible mentors the best way we know how: telling stories. Today’s story features volunteer mentor Josleen Wilson, with us for more than a decade, in her own words.
“I am Known for My Tenacity”
Happy New Year! In this first 2024 edition of Life@GWN, we are honored to introduce Daphney Guillaume. She came to Girls Write Now corporate partner HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers from a background outside of publishing, distinguishing herself by showcasing a keen understanding of the intricacies of the business.
An Unlikely (Brilliant) Partnership
Stephanie Gordon currently serves as a Director in U.S. Public Finance, Corporate Banking at RBC Capital Markets where her portfolio includes capital improvement programs and infrastructure projects, primarily focused on the transportation, power & utilities, student loans, housing and prepaid gas sectors. Active in many of RBC’s diversity initiatives with a focus on youth mentorship, outreach, and multi-cultural issues, Girls Write Now is delighted to announce her as the newest member of our Board of Directors. Stephanie graduated from Harvard University with degree in Economics and a citation in Spanish. She demonstrates her commitment to investing in the future in her own words.
“There Is Only One Team in My Town…”
For 15 years, Michael Mejias has worked as the founding Executive Director of Inkluded Inc., a non-profit championing diversity in Publishing. Additionally, he’s the Director of Diversity Initiatives at Writers House, where he founded both the Writers House Intern Program and the Writers House Mentor Initiative. Mr. Mejias is also the founding Executive Director of the Dramatic Question Theatre, a non-profit dedicated to developing plays by BIPoC and Female-identifying playwrights. He’s from the West Farms Square housing projects in the South Bronx.
”The Scariest Thing that I Have Ever Done is Harbor Hope.”
You might be sensing a theme. This week is the next installment in a collection of stories about professional affiliations that become friendships, how new jobs bring former colleagues together, about being a mentor, and being mentored. Meet mentee and Girls Write Now editorial intern, Dolores Haze…in her own words.
“Dwelling on the Past…Won’t Change the Past…Learning is the Only Path Forward”
Now retired, Dr. Brenda Henry-Offor was a college program developer with considerable expertise in mentoring college and graduate students. Her specialties are in Renaissance Drama, Women’s Studies, and Education. She is warm and witty, and makes you feel welcomed the moment she says “hello.” Get to know a bit about her, in her own words…
“Experience, knowledge, and history …is what guides me.”
Staff and volunteer stories speak to the unique experience of working inside a rapidly evolving non-profit organization advocating for the rights of girls and gender-fluid creatives to find and raise their voices. These stories bring to life what happens inside our four walls, what it’s like to work there, among interdisciplinary and inter-generational teams operating within a culture of radical acceptance. Today, we’re presenting Girls Write Now’s Director of People and Culture, Daniella Olibrice, in her own words.
“I Bring My Most Human Self to the Workplace.”
Life@GWN introduces our inclusive community of #storykeepers, #storytellers, #storygrowers, & #storyseekers. Rounding out our staff pair interview series, meet Fellow Sally Familia explaining their commitment to bringing their most human self to work each day…and where the music that defines them originated. As told to and written by Jeanine Marie Russaw 👩🏽🏫.
“…Mom? You made this happen.”
“A person never steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river, and they are not the same person” —Heraclitus
No two days here are exactly the same at Girls Write Now. Even if my schedule doesn’t appear changed, I have since learned something that will differently inform my approach to the same tasks.
“Take the good with the bad, and always show gratitude.”
In our latest exciting edition, Annabel Young sat down with one of her fellow fellows, Azia Armstead. Azia shares on the community she’s found at Girls Write Now, her superpower (hint it’s a sensible one), and the wisdom and style of her grandmother. Her story, in her words…
“The Idea of Bearing Witness”
Life@GWN introduces our inclusive community of #storykeepers, #storytellers, #storygrowers, & #storyseekers. We’re thrilled to present one of our very own Fellows in her own words. Annabel Young is a writer, poet, creative, and comedian whose many talents inspire us and little jokes keep us laughing at Girls Write Now. Annabel’s profile was brilliantly written by Fellow cohort member Azia Armstead, whom you’ll meet in the next edition.
“My Superpower is Identifying and Amplifying the Superpowers of Others.”
Life@GWN introduces our inclusive community of #storykeepers, #storytellers, #storygrowers, & #storyseekers. We’re thrilled to present one of our newest community members in her own words. Dawn E. Shedrick, LCSW & Wellness Consultant to Girls Write Now, who has partnered with us to, quoting her, “nurture and incorporate trauma-informed practices through training and consultation.” Dawn’s warning label reads, “BEWARE: High risk of being loved unconditionally.” You’ve been warned…
“I Believe in Ghosts…”
Life@GWN introduces our inclusive community of #storykeepers, #storytellers, #storygrowers, & #storyseekers. In our latest edition, Anne Hellman shares her commitment to giving back, her passion for women, and why ghosts regularly inhabit her imagination.
No Math, I Promise!
Next up, two-time Girls Write Now mentor Lauren Kiel. In this edition of Life@GWN, we introduce her as coach, confidante and champion #storygrower. Lauren is proof positive that The Stories Change Minds. Get to know her in her own words.
“She’ll Get it With or Without You.”
Without even having graduated high school yet, she is fierce. Natalie Henry is an African-American poet, writer and author of the award-winning memoir, “It Was Me and You.” A self-described passionate advocate “for community wellness by connecting people through various mediums of art,” Girls Write Now is thrilled to have a front-row seat at the greatness she does and will achieve.
“Knowing…is a Superpower.”
Martina Clark is a mentor, educator, and award-winning author of My Unexpected Life: An International Memoir of Two Pandemics, HIV and COVID-19. Check out martina-clark.com to follow her blog, read interviews, and listen to podcasts…but enough from us…
“The Worst That Can Happen Is…”
Welcome to the next edition of Life@GWN. This week we feature poet, animal lover, and Girls Write Now mentee alum Jada Fitzpatrick. Once again, one of our own tells their story in their words.
Just “Meat Sacks with Feelings…”
Meet GWN staffer Emily Mendelson, a prolific writer, experienced nonprofit program manager, and hopeful romantic. It’s a gift to work with interesting and innovative humans. Fall into her story, in her words…
Giving Up Your Truth to the Character
Actor, writer, and #storyteller Clio Contongenis is New York City since day one. A self described cat mother, bibliophile, and occasional gremlin, her credits include mentee alum of the Girls Write Now program now known as Writing 360. Although she finished the program in 2010, she will forever be one of us. Why?